5/28/14 west civ class

Today we took our middle ages test and I honestly say it was the hardest test of the semester. Out of all the tests I think it was the most challenging. But it seemed that way because all of the other ones were very easy. Even though it was the most challenging I still think I got an A on it because I still knew 90% of the information that was asked on it.

5/27/14 west civ class

Today in class we just reviewed for our middle ages test next class. Mr. Schick reviewed a power point and told us what was most likely going to be on the test tomorrow

 

Notes on Middle Ages that will mostly likely be on the test tomorrow

• Middle ages lasted from 476 A.D to 1453 A.D (about 500-1500 A.D)
• The society of the middle ages had the beliefs and classic culture of Rome and customs of various Germanic tribes
• Western half of the Roman Empire was invaded by Germanic invaders causing disruption of trade, downfall of cities and population shifts
• because of the decline of learning romance language began to evolve(French, Italian, Spanish....) many people besides priests were literate
• Germanic warriors were loyal to not the king but to the lord of the manor that provides them with weapons and food and shelter
• Clovis who was the king of Gaul had a battle conversion and had 3000 of his warriors become Christians ( just like Constantine)
• In 520 a guy named Benedict wrote rules for monks: vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience
• His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns 
• Monks and nuns operated schools, maintained libraries, and copied books
• The church begins to act as a government and use their money to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies
• Theocracy- A kingdom where a main religion rules and the church is like a government
• Pope Gregory's spiritual kingdom was known as Christendom
• Clovis had two sons Charles Martel and Charles the Hammer 
• Charles the Hammer defeated a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours this spreads Christianity throughout Europe
• Pepin the Short becomes king next, he is the son of Charles Martel
• Pepin the short died and had two sons, Carolman who wasn't important and Charles AKA Charlemagne who was a great ruler
• Charlemagne became the most powerful king in western Europe and was a peoples man like Julius Caesar, he limited the power of the rich
• He fought Muslims and spread Christianity
• Charlemagne had a terrible heir named Louis the Pious who took over
• Louis had three sons who decided they couldn't handle the empire so they split it into 3 with the Treaty of Verdun thus ending Charlemagne's powerful empire  

5/23/14 west civ notes

Today in class we kept reviewing over notes on the Middle Ages, even though we went over a new PowerPoint I wasn't able to add a lot of notes because I already had notes on a lot of the facts in the PowerPoint.  

Added Notes on the Middle Ages

• Pope Gregory's kingdom was known as Christendom
• Outside of Clovis's empire are small kingdoms (seven are in England)
• Charles the Hammer was most known for defeating a Muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours, if this hadn't of happened the Muslims would have most likely taken over Europe
•  Charlemagne built the best empire since Rome's empire
• Charlemagne supported the common people and tried his best to keep the power away from the rich, like Julius Caesar 

5/20/14 west civ notes

More on Middle Ages

• Clovis unites franks into one kingdom and church and Frankish rulers convert to Christianity
• The church and Franks get people to convert to Christianity
• Benedict wrote rules for monks and monasteries to follow: vows to poverty, chastity, obedience, and study
• His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns
• Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books( Bibles, Greek texts)
• Venerable Bede wrote an amazing history of England
• Franks controlled the largest empire at the time in Gaul, it was ruled by Clovis the time period Clovis ruled was called Merovingian Dynasty
• Charles the Hammer (Charles Martel) extended the Franks reign to the north, south, and east which led to the spread of Christianity into those areas (like the new world) instead of the Muslim religion  
• Pepin the Short was Charles the Hammer's son and the pope named him "king by the grace of God" which started the Carolingian Dynasty
• Pepin had two sons, Carolman and Charles  
• Carolman died so Charles or Charlemagne took over(he was also called Charles the Great)
• He built the greatest empire since Rome
• He fought Muslims in Spain, fought Germanic tribes, and reunited the western empire
• Doing this he spread Christianity like crazy
• He became the most powerful king in western Europe
• Pope Leo then crowned him emperor signaling the joining of Germanic power, the church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire  
• Charlemagne's government: He limited the authority of nobles and he regularly visited every part of his kingdom, he also encouraged learning and had monasteries open schools for everyone, he was a man of the people like Julius Caesar
• Unfortunately after Charlemagne died Louis the Pious was ineffective and Pious's sons split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun 

5/19/14 west civ notes

Middle Ages Notes

• Germanic Kingdoms unite under Charlemagne
• Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe
• Middle Ages equals the medieval  period, lasted from 500-1500 A.D. (medieval Europe is fragmented)
• Invasions changed the way things were in western Europe
• Disruption of trade- Europe's cities no longer were the center of trade and money was scarce
• Downfall of cities- Cities no longer were the center of administration
• Population shifts- Nobles retreat to rural areas and cities don't have strong leadership
• Decline of learning- many invaders were illiterate but they communicated through oral tradition, only priests and church officials could read and write, knowledge of Greek literature; science; and philosophy was almost lost
• Loss of common language- dialects develop in different regions, by the 800's French, Spanish and other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin
• Germanic Kingdoms emerge- Roman society was loyal to the local public government
• Nobody cared about the king and nobody really paid attention to him
• Franks who were settling in Gaul had a leader named Clovis
• Clovis had a battle conversion like Constantine, he had a bishop baptize him and his 3,000 warriors after winning a key battle, the church approved of Clovis and began to support him
• A powerful alliance came into existence between Clovis and the church
• A pope named Gregory expanded the power of the pope which allows the church to use church money to raise armies, repair roads, and help the poor
• Gregory the Great begins to act like a mayor of Rome and as the head of an earthly kingdom
• the Church is more like a government at this time 

5/16/14 west civ notes

Middle Ages

• Feudalism- a political, military and economic system based on land holding and protective alliances (the system is based on personal loyalty to people who can help you)
• Made up of the rich guy who owns the land and needs people to protect and work on it. And the tough guys who do all the work and help the rich guy protect his land
• Feudalism Pyramid: Vassals/Nobles/Bishops (top powerful guys), Knights ( warriors who protect the land: in the middle), Peasants/Serfs (poor, powerless people who just worked on the land for the rich guy, a lot of these guys were present during this time, on the bottom of the pyramid)
• Manor: the lords estate     consisted of the amazing lord's manor house, a church, and some workshops (the manor was kind of small)
• Knights and protectors were given Fiefs which were pieces of the lords land and a house where they could sleep
• Peasants were taxed on grain, marriage, and the church. They paid very high taxes
• They lived in  crowded cottages with live animals and insects living in them as well
• 

5/14/14 west civ notes

I got a 100% percent on my huge Rome test and now we are starting the dark ages

 

The Middle Ages: AKA The Dark Ages

• The west part of Rome was struggling during this time
• During this time welfare was more important then education and culture in the upper class
• Cities in Rome ceased at being main trading centers
• Roman institutions gradually stopped working
• Missionary Monks brought Christianity and Roman traditions to peoples beyond the empires old frontiers
• In the largest Germanic Kingdom kings ruled in partnership with warrior land owners and church leaders
• On the east side Constantinople(the capital of eastern Rome) only ruled patch's of land in Europe and the state had become more Greek than Roman
• The east side was also struggling and tried to contribute to the suffering west side of Rome   

5/13/14 west civ class

   Today in class we reviewed for our big test on Rome tomorrow, I have all my note ready and I'm going to study hard tonight. Overall I think it should be a pretty easy test because 2/3's of it is from the other two tests that I did so well on. Tomorrow I think I will be very prepared and confident to take the test tomorrow. My prediction is that I will get another A.

5/12/14 west civ notes

Fall of the Roman Empire Notes

• In 180 A.D. Rome was having a lot of problems, economy was being bad and it was becoming very risky to trade something and taxes were high; Military wasn't as strong and the soldiers weren't as loyal
• Eventually the Emperor at the time named Diocletian divided the Empire completely in half. The two empires became the Greek-speaking East (who had more resources) and the Latin-speaking West (who still stayed with the Roman tradition and ways) 
• Diocletian was the last emperor to be named by his troops
• Diocletian did not like the Christians at all and persecuted them then most harshly
• In A.D. 324- Constantine became emperor over both halves of the empire, but after he died the roman empire split in half again
• This time the barbarian invaders overran the empires frontiers and eventually in 476 A.D. the roman empire finally falls
• Diocletian ruled from 284-303 A.D.
• Diocletian said Rome just needed a big army so they started hiring barbarians
• Constantine ruled from 306-337 A.D. and agreed with the Christian religion and supported it
• Constantine proclaims the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D.
• Edict of Milan was the complete freedom of worship throughout the empire and ended the persecution against the Christians, because Constantine supported the Christian religion he also made Christianity the official religion of Rome
• While Romans power is decreasing the barbarian tribes began to gain power and took over many countries in Europe
• The last Roman Emperor was a teenage boy (13 years old) named Romulus Augustulus installed in 475 A.D. by his father     

5/9/14 west civ class/notes

  Today in class we got our tests back and I am happy to say I got a 100%. My prediction was right and I did very well on the test. Hopefully I can keep my streak going and get a good grade on the final exam.

Decline of the Roman Empire

• Christians and Jews were monotheistic (belief in one god) so they were in trouble with the Romans because the Romans believed in MANY roman gods
• Christianity appealed to the poor and since their were a lot of poor people the religion spread quickly
• Eventually with the spread of Christianity roman leaders began embracing Christianity
•  In 313 A.D. the emperor of Rome Constantine prays to the Christian god before going into a key battle and wins, he then designates his win to the Christian God
• He then passes the Edict of Milan that says that Christians can't be persecuted anymore and it was the approval of Christianity making Christianity the official religion of Rome 

5/7/14 west civ class

    Today we took our test on Rome and I can confidently say I got an A on that test. I thought it was very easy and there was only two questions that I was a little bit unsure about. Hopefully my prediction is correct and I get a really good grade on this test.

5/6/14 west civ notes

 Since are test is tomorrow today in class we just spent our time reviewing and taking extra notes to  make sure we are fully prepared.

Added Notes on Rome

• The first Indo-Europeans to settle in Italy was the Latin's who settled on the Tiber river
• Tarquin the Proud was Rome's last king
• His son raped a women and he did nothing about it
• Rome moved from a monarchy to a republic by electing people to make decisions
• res publica or republic means peoples business
• Plebeians were the common not as rich people and patricians were rich powerful connected people
• Consuls were the monarchy in the republic it was just two senators and worked for one year(presidents)
• Senate was the aristocracy and made up of 300 patricians they worked for life(Senate) 
• Tribunes was the democracy and represented the Plebeians(house of representatives)
• Twelve Tables was slabs with written laws in them and was publicly displayed in the forum
• Our Constitution of the US is like the Rome's Twelve Tables
• Forum is Rome's political center, just like Greece's agora      

5/5/14 west civ class/notes

We reviewed for the test that will be on Wednesday. Here are notes on the questions that will be on the test.

Test Notes

• Caesar Augustus's birth name was Octavian
• Augustus started the whole Roman Empire (no more republic) Rome was now led by emperors
• Augustus started a period of peace called Pax Romana (Roman Peace)
• Jesus was a roman citizen and a Jew
• After Jesus's death by crucifixion Jesus became known because Paul went around and preached about Jesus
• Paul communicated to people about Jesus through letters (Pauline Letters) 
• Caligula was the next emperor after Tiberius his reign was very good at first but then he began to fight with the senate and claimed to be a god (He was Insane), He eventually was assassinated by his own aids in 41 A.D.
• Claudius was next in line and he was ostracized and made fun of by his own family and workers for all his disabilities, he conquered Britain and built roads and aqueducts and renovated the Circus Maximus
• There were many disputes between the Christians and Jews vs. The Romans because the Romans believed in many gods while the Jews and Christians believed in only one god
• Christians were viewed as a cult because they would not listen to the emperor, they listened to their God. The romans would raid Christians homes and treated them terribly, the people who were put in the coliseum were usually Christians 

5/2/14 west civ notes

More Notes on Rome

• After Caesars death there was split power between Octavian/Augustus, Mark Antony, and Lepidus
• Soon the three began fighting over the power and Octavian was able to defeat both of them in 31 B.C.
• He then managed to turn military dictatorship into a permanent monarchy
• Augustus's power kept many features of the roman republic and allowed subject peoples a good deal of self-rule. He also brought Rome's expansion of their empire to a halt 
• This led to 200 years of stability that scholars call Roman Peace (Pax Romana)
• When Augustus gained power he killed many of the senators and replaced them with his friends and family, the assembly was completely destroyed and the common people no longer had a say. But this was ok with the citizens because they trusted Augustus
• Augustus made people worship him as a god and made them believe that he actually cam from the gods
• Augustus made many changes to Rome, first he brought the system of government appointments under his personal control, He made the army more loyal and reliable by only having volunteers serve in the army for a period of 25 years
• After stopping the expansion of Rome Augustus had his army stationed in permanent camps instead of allowing them to fight in different countries
• Augustus wanted a loyal leader to take over when he died like what Caesar did to him, but he didn't have a son, so he adopted a son named Tiberius who he wanted to take over after he died and he did take over
• This led to a system that kept the roman government in stable monarchy for 200 years (Pax Romana)
• The power was handed down through son to son, but most of the emperors didn't have a son so they would adopt the boy who they wanted to take over power

4/30/14 west civ class

Today we were supposed to watch a video on Julius Caesar but Mr. Schick couldn't get the video to work. So he let us do whatever we want in class and go to the cafeteria. It was a nice "off mod".

4/29/14 west civ notes

Even More Notes on Rome: The Roman Empire

• After Caesar dies there is battle over who will be the next ruler
• The power eventually falls to Octavian, AKA Caesar Augustus
• Augustus was Caesar's grand nephew
•  During Augustus's rule the republic system fell and Rome was now just an empire
• Augustus's rule began Pax Romana- period of peace and prosperity
• He built roads and aqueducts that brought water to the cities
• Set up civil service to take care of roads, he grain supply, and even a postal service
• Augustus died in 14 A.D. and passed the power to Tiberius
• Jesus began his ministry at the age of 30 (31-33 A.D.)
• Jesus became popular after he died
• Statements like "this kingdom is not of this world" said by Jesus made the Romans nervous and they began to plan his execution
• Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion 

4/28/14 west civ notes

More Notes on Rome: Julius Caesar

• Julius Caesar was born into a patrician family but he usually sided with the poor and supported them
• Caesar formed the first triumvirate which was like a three person government
• The three man government consisted of Caesar, Pompey- a very successful war general, and Crassus- The richest man in Rome at that time
• Rubicon was a river that marked the northern most border of the Roman Empire at the time
• Caesar left Rome and started a military campaign in Gaul, He became very powerful and built a very strong army
• While Caesar was expanding his army in Gaul, Crassus led his army to a crushing defeat by Parthia
• With his huge strong army he came back to Rome and showed off his success
• The senate told him that he could only come back into Rome if he brought only a little portion of his army, they feared he had too much power and fame
• Caesar had a decision to make, either charge in with his huge amount of troops or listen to them. He had to make a decision before crossing the Rubicon
• Caesar decided to just come in with his huge army and Pompey attempted to take down Caesars army with his army
• Caesars men chased Pompey to Egypt and killed him
• People liked Caesar in Rome but the they were also terrified of his army, he ended up being voted in the government as a tribune
• He also became a consul and got the people to vote him as dictator for ten years
• He took care of Rome and his people and gave the poor land only if they were loyal to him
• He made many smart political moves and improved a lot of Rome, but he was very power hungry
• He placed himself in every political branch and became almost a supreme ruler of Rome
• Everyone loved him in Rome except for the senate, they were very jealous
• On the Ides of March (March 15) 44 B.C. Caesar was invited into the senate and the senators all stabbed Caesar to death

4/25/14 west civ notes

   Today in class we finished the presentation of our projects and I am still confident that my group got at least an 85. I really like this project because a lot of people brought in really good food. After the presentations we took more notes on Rome

More Notes on Rome

• In Rome the rich and poor were separated by a huge water mass
• Proletarians- people who wCere citizens of Rome but had no property, they were second class citizens but they were still able to vote
• When men grew older and reached a certain age they were automatically in the army, they had no choice, they were completely fine with this
• Semi-Professional soldiers in the Roman Legion were in the army because they were citizens of Rome who needed a way to make money and better themselves by looting the towns they attacked
• The Gracchus Brothers were two guys who suggested that the rich should give the poor's land back. The rich responded by killing one of the brothers and throwing him in the Tiber river
• Julius Caesar was a patrician who sided with the poor citizens
• Caesar was a brilliant thinker and politician, he knew how to work with the people
• In 60 B.C. Caesar began collaborating with Pompey a war general and Crassus the richest man in Rome. They formed a small three man government
• Caesar took over Gaul and built an army and expanded his empire throughout Europe, He became very powerful and wealthy.
• After learning about his power in Gaul the Romans invited Caesar back to their empire
• Caesar took over as the supreme ruler of the Republic and used the senate as more of his advisors
• He was a very good leader and treated his citizens well but he was very power hungry
• In 44 B.C. he secured a vote from the senate making him dictator for life
• Unfortunately there was core of senators who were jealous of Caesars success so on the Ides of March (March 15) 44 B.C. they got rid of the ruler by attacking him with knives and stabbing him to death.

4/23/14 west civ notes

    Today we presented our project, I believe we did pretty well. The only thing I would change is we could have presented a little longer then we did. But I don't think I would change anything about our Coliseum except for maybe to add a couple for arches into the building. I like the fact that we were the only group to make it out of wood. Overall I think it was a pretty well done project and we should deserve at least an 85%.

4/22/14 west civ class

  Today in class we turned in our projects and started to present. Unfortunately my group was not able to present but we are presenting tomorrow. Based off the other classmates projects that I saw today I think we can get a pretty good grade on this project. Because out of all the groups that presented a coliseum today I think ours is better than all of theirs but one who's was really good but I think our presentation will be better. I believe our group is ready to present and we all know how we are going to explain our project. Hopefully we will do well and get a good grade.  

4/11/14 west civ class

    Today we took our test on ancient Rome, I personally thought it was very easy and I knew most of the stuff covered on the test. I am confident enough to say that I probably got at least a 90 on it because I knew that many of the questions. There were only two or three questions that I had to really think about, and eventually had to take an educated guess on. But even those I am confident that I made the right choice, hopefully my predictions come true and I did really well on the test.

4/9/14 west civ notes

We continued to review notes and prepare for the test on Friday. I was able to add a couple more notes on Rome that I have to review

 

More Notes on Rome 

• Roman Legion- was their army, police, firemen.........
• They were the men with the armed weapons
• During Battle the Legion was a group made up of 5000 men
• Century was a group of 80 men within the legion arm force
• Infantry was foot soldiers
• Calvary was soldiers on horseback

Punic Wars Continued

• Rome vs. Carthage
• 3 battles fought
• Rome won all three battles 
• Carthage is located on the northern coast of Africa
• Carthage's army general was named Hannibal
• First war was fought over the Island of Sicily and Rome won
• Second war Hannibal pulled together a ton of soldiers and elephants and charged around Spain and past France and into Rome trying to obliterate Rome but even though Rome was caught off guard they were still able to fight off Carthage
• Third war, Rome got tired of waiting for Carthage to rebuild their army and trying to start another war  so they just charged into Carthage and completely sacked the empire and destroyed everything in Carthage thus ending the Punic Wars 

4/8/14 west civ notes

  Today we reviewed for our Rome test that will be on Friday, I am actually remembering a lot more than I thought. I'm pretty confident that I can get at least a B. I just need to read over a couple of things and I think I will be prepared to take this test.

 

Additional Notes

• Since there was so many middle class citizens in ancient Rome a new house was made called the assembly the representatives for the common people were called tribunes
• Three parts of the Roman Republic was: Democracy, Monarchy, and Aristocracy
• The main square in Rome was called the Forum
• res publica stands for the republic in Ancient Rome
• Consuls(two of them) represents Monarchy. Like President in the U.S.A government
• Assembly represents Democracy. Like House of Representatives in U.S.A government
• Senate represents the Aristocracy. Like the Senate in U.S.A government
• The dictator who was elected for a time of crisis could only serve for 6 months max

Punic Wars

• Carthage vs. Rome
• Carthage is on the north coast of Africa
• Carthage  had control of almost all of Africa's north coast and  some of Europe like Spain
• 3 wars were fought total
• First war was a battle over the island of Sicily, Rome won
• Hannibal(Carthage army general) used elephants to fight in wars 

4/7/14 west civ notes

Answers to Rome worksheet

1. The geography effected the development of Rome because they were in the middle of Italy which was in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. So they were able to control almost everything in that area. The Tiber River provided fertile soil and the areas around them allowed easy expansion of their empire. They were in a perfectly located destined area.
2. The Etruscans influenced the development of Rome by showing them a better way of farming, they also introduced the Romans to their art and the Romans used the Etruscans inventions of the arch and streets in rows. The Romans became a more organized civilization because of them.
3. The two groups that competed for power in the ancient republic of Rome were the Plebeians who were the common people and the patricians who were the rich nobles/aristocrats
4. The significance of the Twelve Tables in Roman Law was that it was one of the first times that the basic laws of a civilization was set down in writing and not passed down orally. The laws were placed in the middle of the town for all to read. Also the common people couldn't be accused of doing something wrong unless the law was shown to them in the Twelve Tables.
5.  After the sacking of their city by the Gaul's the Romans regained control of Italy by creating new tactics and taking back Italy. After the rebuilding was done they fled into the Gaul's territory and destroyed almost everything in their town and took most of the people living in Gaul back to Rome as slaves.  

Additional Notes

• Etruscans showed the Romans the entertainment of the gladiator battles
• The Etruscans showed the Romans the use of arches in architecture which helped with the Roman aqueducts.
• The Gaul's were the ancient French
• The Punic wars was a three round war where the Romans battled the Carthaginians
• The first round allowed the romans to push Carthage out of Sicily and take control of it
• The second round started with Hannibal destroying many Roman armies but the romans perseverance allowed them to pull out a victory leaving carthage weak and helpless
• Fearing that Carthage would strike again, the romans started the third war with the Carthaginians and completely took control of Carthage. The senate ordered for all the people of Carthage to be sold into slavery, the ground leveled and the area to be cursed.



4/4/14 west civ notes

More Notes on Rome

• When people moved into Italy they had almost the same resources that Greece had
• The Romans imitated Greeks way of living and improved on it
• First people to settle in Italy was the Latin's and they settled on the Tiber river
• Other groups to settle was the Etruscans and the Greeks
• The king was advised by a council of elders called the senate in early Roman government
• The senate was made up of elderly rich men
• the king decided who was a member of his senate
• Around 500 B.C. Rome overthrew the monarchy government and formed the Republican Government
• The Republic was a mixture of a democracy and an oligarchy, citizens elected representatives to make decisions for them
• Patricians were rich aristocrats, Plebeians were the common people
• Plebeians were workers, artisans, and farmers. Some were pretty rich but they didn't have a connection to all the power
• In the Republic most things were run by the senate which was an assembly of many rich patrician families. Among the senate there were two consuls which were kind of like two presidents, they could veto each others decisions.
•   The consuls served for 1 year and then had to run for office again
• When there was a huge crisis they gave all the power and decision making to one dictator for six months max
• In 450 B.C. according to the plebeians demand the laws were set into twelve slabs of stone called the twelve tables and were set in the middle of the public square
• As the plebeians grew richer and more powerful they began electing their own representatives called tribunes, these tribunes were able to take part with the government and represent the common people
• The tribunes could veto the senate's decisions 

4/2/14 west civ notes

Ancient Rome/Italy Notes

• First people to settle in Italy was the Latin's, other people to settle in Rome was the  Etruscans and the Greeks
•  Italy was centrally located in the middle of the Mediterranean sea
• Rome was on seven hills and right on the Tiber River right in the middle of Italy which was right in the middle of the Mediterranean sea
• Romans were able to divert water and rivers into a bigger water mass to get rid of swampy, marshy areas, because of this they had more useful land
• The last king that Rome/Italy ever had was Tarquin the Proud, the Romans just ran him out of office and out of town because they had enough of him
• Romans loved the way Greeks did things, they based a lot of things off of Greece tradition, EX: Gods and Goddesses, Architecture, Art,......
• What Romans did differently then Greeks was that they elected different people to represent them, instead of voting as a whole and not making much progress
• 3 parts to the Republic: Democracy, Monarchy, Aristocracy
• In the monarchy part, the Romans had two CONSULS, they both had an equal amount of power and could veto each others ideas, its like the president today but there is two of them
• The aristocracy was kind of like the Senate today
• The democracy is like the House of Representatives today
• The American government is almost exactly like the Roman government back then
• There were two main groups of people the Plebeians and the Patricians
• The Plebeians were middle classed, normal people
• The Patricians were the rich aristocrats with power
• There was another group of people in Rome, Slaves, they made up a lot of the population in Rome

For the project I will be working with Brad Hubbard and Phil Prevosto

4/1/14 west civ class

   Today in class we discussed a project that is going to be due after spring break. Mr. Schick gave us many different ideas and the one idea that stood out to me was the model of the coliseum. I have done models of things for projects in the passed and I think I am going to do another model for this one. This could be really fun because I like constructing things, hopefully I can do a good job on it and get a good grade because this project is worth a lot of points.

3/31/14 west civ notes

      In the beginning ages of Rome their government consisted of a king and a council of elders called the senate. The elders helped the king make decisions, the king appointed specific people to be in his senate. Usually these people were patricians, men who already belonged to a powerful, leading family. When a king dies the senate would take all the power. Around 500 B.C. this monarchy like system was overthrew and the first Republican government was created, this was a mixed government that was basically a mix between a democracy and an oligarchy. Their were to major sides of the Republic, the patricians who were the rich aristocrats, and the plebeians who were not as wealthy and mad up the rest of the population. There was still a Senate in the Republic and it was usually still being made up of patricians, this gave the patricians more power and they were able to make all the decisions. However decisions were being made very slowly and the senate decided that they needed one dictator to have all the power and make laws for a maximum period of six months. This process worked great but it still gave no power to the plebeians who getting very angry because they thought they deserved power. So as years passed the plebeians grew wealthier and stronger and eventually in 250 B.C. the plebeians and the patricians had no real distinction between them and the plebeians were able to take part in the government along with the patricians. New rules were made so the plebeians could become part of the senate and even marry into patrician families. Around 450 B.C. the plebeians were complaining to the patricians about not having written laws. Normally the laws were passed down orally and interpreted by judges. But the plebeians demanded the Roman law would be set down in writing. So the laws were engraved on 12 slabs of wood or bronze and set in the middle of the Forum, a chief public square, for all to see. These slabs were known to be the "Twelve Tables" and served as the foundation for the elaborate system of Roman law that grew up later in centuries.

3/26/14 west civ class

   Today we took our test on Ancient Greece and I believe I did really well on it. I am actually confident enough to say that I might have gotten 100%. Overall I think the test was really easy, and that is not just because we were able to use our blogs, which I am very grateful for. In fact I didn't use my blog at all because I already knew most of the information, which is why I am so confident. Hopefully I am right and I do very well on this test because it would be an excellent way to start off the 4th quarter.

3/25/14 west civ class

   Today in class we continued to review for our test that will be given tomorrow. I believe I am very well prepared and the video that we watched today in class made me even more ready and confident to take this test. I'm going to review over my notes tonight and make it almost guaranteed that I will get an A on this test. The only part of the test that I am really worried about is having to remember the different heroes of Greece, so I will have to prepare a lot for that part of the test tonight.

3/24/14 west civ class

    Today we reviewed over the vocabulary worksheet again in class and it was actually very helpful. Since Mr. Schick wasn't there for like 4 classes I was having a hard time remembering the different people that were going to be on our test. But today in class while we were going over the sheet      Mr. Schick gave good background knowledge on each person that we had to learn. The stories that he told on each person helped me remember a lot of the names. Hopefully it was enough help to get me a good grade on the test that is now Wednesday.

3/21/14 west civ class

   Today in class Mr. Schick handed back our projects and as a class we voted on the grades that each project should get. Unfortunately my project was not shown and voted on so I wasn't able to fight for the deserved grade I thing I should of gotten. As of right now I do not know what grade I got on it but hopefully I did well, I believe that my project was at least worthy of a high B. There was some mix up though in class because Mr. Schick said that we never gave him storyboards but I remember that I handed them in  the day the projects were due. Hopefully we can set things straight on Monday, unless we get another snow day from the storm that is coming this weekend.

3/19/14 west civ class

   Finally today Mr. Schick was back in class but we still really didn't do anything. But we did go over the worksheet that we did and our cyber day assignment. Going over both these worksheets made me feel very confident in myself because I got a lot of the answers right on both of the assignments. This gives me a lot of hope and reassurance that I will do very well on this upcoming test. Which Mr. Schick has finally announced that it will be on Friday.

3/18/14 west civ class

     Today we had another substitute because Mr. Schick had something else to do. Fortunately I already had all the work done that he assigned which was to complete the handout that he assigned a long time ago and to finish the questions that he assigned for yesterday's cyber day. So basically it was another easy day thankfully, so I spent my time in class looking over my notes and preparing for the upcoming test on Ancient Greece. Even though I have no idea when it is going to be given because Mr. Schick hasn't really been here to tell us.

3/17/14 west civ cyber day

1. Greece was not known for having mostly fertile land
2. 3/4 of Greece was covered by mountains
3. The term barbarian originally meant non-Greek
4. megalithic structures were massive rough-cut stones used to make monuments
5. Tribes were political and social groups tied together by common interest, traditions, and ties of kinship, family-based group, clan based group, and a group of warriors
6. Tribes were governed by chieftains, kings or queens, and tribal leaders
7. Greeks were the first barbarians to make contact with civilization
8. China cannot be considered a member of western civilization
9. Ionian sea is west of Greece
10. Aegean sea is east of Greece
11. Aegean's lived on grains, olives, and vines 
12. Mycenaean's arose on the island of Crete
13. Mycenaean's arose on islands near the southern part of Greece's border  
14. Mycenaean's built massive walls to protect themselves
15. The Dark Ages was a time where population dropped no one sailed and writing fell out of use
16. The Phoenicians controlled the seas and land along with Greece
17. The "c" stands for circa
18. Colonies dotted the coast line around the Mediterranean sea
19. Counties most closely resemble city-states
20. oligarchy was a type of government where a small group of people had all the power
21. democracy was a government where most adult male citizens shared the power
22. Tyranny was a government where there was a self-proclaimed dictator
23. Monarchy was a government where a single ruler had all the power and it was usually passed from father to son
24. Spartans used the oligarchy government system
25. Boys began their Spartan military training at the age of seven
26. Athens was the wealthiest city-state in ancient Greece
27. An acropolis was the religious center and fortified citadel of an ancient Greece town
28. Peloponnesus was the southern peninsula where Sparta was located
29. Triremes were massive ships used by the Athenians to ram other ships
30. Hoplites were heavily armored soldiers of ancient Greece 

Short Answer

1. The Dark Ages lasted from 1100-700 B.C.
2. Homer wrote the Odyssey and the Iliad
3. Mediterranean originally meant middle of the earth
4. Aristocrats were wealthy, land owning Athenians     

3/14/14 west civ class

    Today in class we started to watch part two of the Ancient Greece video. It was  an easy class though because I already finished the worksheet based off my background knowledge on Ancient Greece. I continued to watch the video and learned a couple things but most of the information I already knew. Unfortunately Mr. Schick was not here today again so instead we had Mr. Teter as a sub. Overall it was an enjoyable and relaxing class.

3/12/14 west civ class

        Today in class we continued to present our commercials on ancient Athens and ancient Sparta. I was able to go today but unfortunately my partner wasn't their during the class period so I had to present by myself. I believe I did pretty well and I think I will get a good grade on my project because in my opinion it was as good as everyone else's. It seemed that Mr. Schick liked it to which is a good sign because his opinion counts the most. The only thing I think I would change in the commercial was I probably wouldn't start the video with classical music because that could possibly bore the audience from the start. But other than that I believe that I did a good job on the commercial and represented Athens very well.

3/11/14 west civ class

    Today in class we started our presentations for our commercials but unfortunately I was not able to present today. So far all of the presentations were actually pretty good and very well done. I believe that all of the groups so far deserve an A on their projects because it looked like they all worked very hard on them and tried to do their best. Hopefully my classmates feel the same way about my commercial so that way I can get a good grade on my project and continue to have a good grade overall in western civilization for quarter 3.

3/10/14

       Today in class Mr. Schick is still away so we had another sub and we continued to work on our projects and do the worksheet that he gave us. I was able to get the wrest of my worksheet done which is great and I was able to make my commercial a little more better. The only thing I had a problem with is that I thought that our projects were going to be due today but since Mr. Schick wasn't here I guess they aren't due until he gets back. Because of this I already had my project done so after I finished the worksheet I had nothing to do for the rest of the period.

3/7/14 west civ class

      Today was actually a pretty good class even though Mr. Schick wasn't there to teach since he was on senior retreat. We continued to watch the video individually and took more notes on the handout that we got in the beginning of the week. I worked thoroughly though the double mod that we had in class and I was actually able to get a lot done. I would say I got a little more than half the answers down so now I only have a little bit left to go until I finish the worksheet. Hopefully I can get it all done or almost to being done on Monday and I hope that Mr. Schick is having a fun time on senior retreat.

3/5/14 west civ class

     Today we continued to watch the video on ancient Greece, but since it was a short bell schedule we didn't get very far into it. I have finally started putting in pictures and effects into my video and it is actually turning out to be pretty good. The only problem I am having is trying to download music into my file so I can put it on my video. I will just have to ask Mr. Schick tomorrow so my video can be the best possible commercial I can make. Hopefully no other problems will arise in the future and I can get this commercial done without any more stress or problems.

3/4/14 west civ class

      Luckily today we were able to back to school which means I didn't  have to do a dreaded cyber day. In class we started to watch a video that will last for about 3 days and we took notes on a hand out that Mr. Schick gave us. The hand out was a past test that we are now using as a study guide, it had lots of vocabulary in a box and lots of questions that we had to match the vocab to. Mr. Schick said that we should know only about 20% of the vocab on the page, but luckily for me I remembered lots of stuff that I learned from past grades on ancient Greece. So really I knew almost 50% of the vocab on the page which is also why I believe I am going to do great on the upcoming test about Greece.

3/3/14 west civ class

     Today we did not have class because we had a snow day, which also means I had a terrible time doing all my school work for cyber day. I really wish this winter will pass and spring will just come so I don't have to keep doing school work from home. Its very hard to stay on task when my sister is being loud and actually enjoying her day off from school. Anyway, I did a little research on Athens to help me with the commercial project but all I really found was information that I already knew before hand. Hopefully my work tomorrow will give me a good amount of research so I can start on my story boards and by the end of the week get an A on this long term project.

2/28/14 west civ class

         Today in class we watched two videos that were inviting people to visit Baltimore and Los Angeles. The people who made the Baltimore video were very boring and did not show all the great things that Baltimore had to offer. On the other hand the Los Angeles video showed countless tourist attractions with upbeat fun music and really made you want to fly into Los Angeles a soon as possible. After watching the videos Mr. Schick assigned us a project where we have to make a story board for a commercial or an actual commercial that is fun and persuasive that convinces a person to visit or move to ancient Athens or Sparta. I think I am going to do Athens because they have more things to persuade people with, for an example art, culture, military, navy, philosophers, etc..  I also know that I am just going to do a story board but I have know idea what I am going to put in my commercial yet.

2/26/14 west civ class

     Today in class we reviewed our notes that we took when Devon was "teaching" our class. As he reviewed I added even more notes on Greece that I didn't add before. Here are some new notes on Ancient Greece:  

Greece

• Athens made fun of Sparta way of life and thought it wasn't worth winning
• Athens was a more water based and navy like while Sparta had an army and fought more on land
• Athens had Triremes, they were huge ships that made Athens have one of the most feared navies
• Even though Athens wasn't as war like as Sparta and their lives didn't revolve around war they were still ruthless and very aggressive in battles
• Sparta had a very thin population because they were so isolated, that's why their men trained so hard for war
• Athens controlled lots of trade because they controlled the sea because of their strong navy
• The Spartans used the "phalanx" tactic when in war
• In Athens democracy all land owning men who weren't foreign could only vote
• Aristocrats were wealthy and powerful and owned land
• Aliens were people who came from other parts around that particular area of Greece (foreigners)
• When being banished from Athens for ten years this was a process called ostracism
• Four main types of government: Monarchy, Oligarchy, Democracy, Tyranny
• Monarchy was the first government that covered Greece before others were created
•  Seas that surrounded Greece: Aegean sea, Ionian sea, Mediterranean sea, and Adriatic sea

  

2/25/14 west civ notes: More on Greece

Geography

• Mountainous peninsula- mountain covers 3/4
• Location shaped the Greeks culture
• Skilled sailors
• Poor natural resources
• Because of the terrain the Greeks had trouble uniting so small independent communities formed
• Diet was grapes, grains, and mainly olives
• lack of resources led to Greek colonization
• Trees in the area were used for ship building
• Temperature ranged from 45 in the winter to 80 in the summer

Mycenaean

• Began around 2000 B.C.
• Mycenae is located on a rocky ridge and protected by a 20ft thick wall
• Kings dominated Greece from 1600-1200 B.C. so they controlled trade in the region
• 1400 B.C. the Mycenaean's invaded Crete and absorbed Minoan culture and language

Dark Ages

• 1200 B.C. sea people began to invade Mycenae and burnt palace after palace
• Dorian's moved into war-torn region
• Dorian's were far less advanced, economy collapsed, and writing disappeared for 400 years

Homer and Myths

• Stories were passed on by the word of mouth
• Homer lived at the end of the dark ages
• He recorded stories of the Trojan wars in "Iliad" and "The Odyssey" (written in 750-700 B.C.)
• Trojan War was probably one of the last conquests of the myceneaens

 

2/24/14 west civ notes

Citizens and Communities: The Greek City-States

• Lo3- compare the city-states of Athens and Sparta, describe how Athenian form of democracy operated
• City-State- small towns with a few square miles of surrounding countryside
• Greece was becoming a land split by different city-states and Athens and Sparta were the two main and largest ones
• acropolis- combination of a fortress and a temple precinct
• It was believed by the Greeks that each city-state had their own god to protect them, for an example Athens god was Athena
• Hoplites- soldiers in the Greek army
• soldiers equipped themselves with bronze helmets and armor, round shields, long spears with iron blades and short iron swords
• In the earliest Greek times civilization in city-states were usually monarchies and were ruled by a king
• Soon new types of government began  to form in different city-states, Sparta became an oligarchy, a type of government were a small group of people rule over everyone else
• In large city-states their was usually lots of confusion in power and it would eventually lead to tyranny, a self proclaimed dictator, but the tyranny wouldn't last long and democracy would start to form in these states
• A democracy was used in many states because it allowed the majority of all the men in the state to make all the decisions, the power was given to the people
• The biggest city-state that used this government was Athens
• Athens was more educated and sophisticated and believed in equality, they also welcomed foreigners to their country and had high interest in the music and arts, Sparta was very warlike with a very strict government and liked to isolate themselves from other states
•  During Athens golden age (460-430) which came after the Persian wars when Athens led the Greek city-states to victory, the Athens community was very confident
• This age ended when the Peloponnesian war occurred, this was a war between Athens and Sparta where Sparta was victorious
• Women were treated somewhat fairly an were allowed to be educated
• there were thousands of slaves that were used across Greece they were usually non-Greeks

 

Sparta

• Sparta's government power consisted of a council of elders, two kings or high priests and army commanders, and the people who had the most power was five officials who were elected annually and were called ephors meaning overseers
• All boys were trained through their lives to become a full time hoplite warriors

Athens

• One of the wealthiest and most powerful city-states
• Athens became a trading and manufacturing center throughout the years
• powerful and wealthy descendants of long established Athenian families that traditionally ruled the city sates were called aristocrats

2/21/14 west civ class

      Today in class I learned that not everyone can teach a group of students. Since Mr. Schick is not going to be in school on Monday he held auditions for the Monday "sub" today. Some people did ok and others did absolutely terrible and I wasn't learning anything new at all. Luckily Mr. Schick stepped in and went over the notes that he took on this chapter. Here are some extra notes that I was able to add on to my original notes:

Greek Notes Continued

• The Greeks were also very advanced in technology and created many of the things that we use today
• They were the first civilization to use democracy
• They came up with many different skilled warfare tactics which made them do great in battle
• Their whole life was centered around loyalty, courage, and battles 

2/19/14 west civ class

     Today in class we got our tests back and we reviewed over them. I was very happy about my grade but frustrated at the same time. I got a B on the test which is pretty good but my percentage was an 88% which means I was probably one question away from getting an A and a "ding". The most frustrating part out of all of it was that I got an answer wrong because I didn't even give an answer, I skipped right over it without even filling in a bubble. On the bright side I still got a good grade and I learned a valuable lesson, and that lesson is to check over my test more carefully next time before turning it in. So that way I don't make the same stupid mistake.

2/18/14 west civ class

      Today in class I played one of the most frustrating educational games in the world. Since we just got out of our Egypt unit we had to play a game where we had to construct are very own successful virtual pyramid by the end of the class. I was not able to finish mine because my pyramid kept failing its requirements so I had to keep starting over. I am very thankful that I never leaved in ancient Egypt because I would hate having to build a pyramid in real life even more than I hate it now. I'm very impressed how the Egyptians were able to build these massive structures because even virtually it took a huge amount of time, thought, focus, and self control.

2/17/14 west civ notes

The First European Civilization: The Greeks

• 2,200-400 B.C.
• LO1: describe the way of life of the barbarian peoples of Europe after the agriculture revolution
• Greeks began as one of many European barbarian peoples, they had a life based on farming and warfare
• In 2000 B.C. people began migrating to into southeastern Europe Greek city states were the first to practice citizen participation in government
• Europeans were the first to use the agricultural plow
• In 3500 B.C. some people lived in western Europe
• Tribes- groups of villages or farmsteads that shared common interest and tradition
• Stonehenge- most famous of megalithic structure that was built by trading and farming people in western Europe in 2000 B.C.
• The Greeks were the first barbarian people of Europe to make contact with civilization
• Megalithic- Greek word meaning large boulder, megalithic structures were huge structures made out of large boulders
• The Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses
• The tribes that occurred would usually battle each other for metals, slaves, and other goods
• tribes usually didn't last very long because the group would usually end up fighting over the goods they won in battle
• The classical Greek civilization that we know today didn't emerge until 800 B.C.
• The Greeks also believed in the afterlife
• The Greeks settled in mainland Greece from about 2000 B.C. and onward, between 1200-800 B.C. they spread to islands and eastern coastlands of the Aegean sea
• As the Greeks began spreading across Europe and Asia the Aegean region still remained the center of the Greeks world    

Cyber Day Short Answer Responses

Technological Innovations of the Egyptians 

   

The Egyptians created many things but one of the three big inventions that made was the first ever paper, writing system, and the 365 day calendar. They Egyptians created papyrus which was the precursor for paper, they recorded things down on papyrus. if it wasn't for the Egyptians we might not have the paper we use today. They also created one of the first writing systems, hieratic, this allowed Egyptians to write letters and record laws down. Finally they created the 365 day calendar based of the moon and the seasons, we still use this calendar today.

 

 

Features of Egyptian Pyramids

    

 Pyramids were built out of huge blocks of stone that were put into tiers to make the shape of a pyramid, Egyptians had to use many safety precautions and huge ramps to lift these heavy stones to great heights. These Pyramids were huge tombs built for ancient pharaohs, inside the pyramid is a burial chamber that holds the mummified pharaoh in its sarcophagus. The inside of the pyramid also consisted of many false chambers and traps that attempted to stop thieves from raiding the tombs. Unfortunately these traps usually failed and many tombs were raided of their gold and jewelry during ancient times.

 

 

Cyber day Essay posts

Hierarchy of Ancient Egypt

      

       There was many differences in the Egyptian community during the ancient times. The social groups consisted of the upper class that dealt with laws and religious beliefs. The middle class where people created some of the greatest structures that stand today. And the lower class where people worked for the higher class people. This hierarchy worked for the Egyptians because it allowed them to have one dominant ruler, the pharaoh, and they were able to create laws that helped organize their society. With this order the Egyptians were able to build stable villages that led to them having one of the longest periods of unbroken stability in history.

      The upper class consisted of soldiers, scribes, government officials like the priests and nobles, and of course the pharaoh. Soldiers defended the Egyptian villages and fought in wars for their country. They used wooden weapons with bronze tips and they usually rode on chariots. The scribes wrote everything down for the Egyptians in hieroglyphs or hieratic. They also told stories and recorded medical treatments for many diseases and injuries that they found. This is one of the reasons why the Egyptians were so successful, they were very medically advanced. Next is the government officials, these people helped the pharaoh make decisions for his country. Which leads me into the supreme ruler of Egypt, the pharaoh. This man  ruled over everyone and owned al of the land, he also made every political or religious decision. He created the laws and collected all the taxes. It was believed by the Egyptians that the pharaoh was just another god.

       Next was the middle class, merchants and artisans were considered to be in this class. The merchants bartered with people to get animals and crops for their country. But later coins were created and merchants began buying and selling goods using the coin system. Artisans designed and created some of the most well known structures that stand today. They constructed the pyramids for Egypt which are giant tombs for great pharaohs, and the Great Sphinx which was built from 2555-2532 B.C. This giant monument depicted the image of a giant lion body with a human head. This structure still stands today and is visited by many people from all over the world.

     Finally we have the lower class, these people were very common and did most of the hard work that the pharaohs needed done. These people were farmers and slaves, farmers domesticated animals to help with the farming. They also grew wheat, barley, lentils, and onions that provided the society with enough food to eat. The slaves helped and did all the work for the wealthy.

 

The Importance of the Nile River

   

 The Nile river helped the Egyptians become so successful during the ancient times. It provided the Egyptian people with the basic needs of life, it was worshipped strongly by the Egyptians like it was a gift rom god. All Egyptian societies were built along the Nile which flowed from south to north, it provided them with water, food, transportation, and an irrigation system. if the Nile wasn't used by the Egyptians they would have never been as successful as they were.

    The Egyptians used the Nile a lot for transportation, they shipped food and resources our the Nile on boats, this saved a lot of time and hard work. Also because the Egyptians used boats so much they were able to upgrade them and created sailboats. This allowed the Egyptians to use wind power to push their boats along the Nile. With this new technology that they made they were also able to create even more technology that helped their society greatly even more.

      The Nile gave the Egyptians almost all of their food and water supply. The river gave them water for their crops and for them to drink, also all of the animals that lived in the Nile like fish provided the people of Egypt with plenty of food to eat. If that wasn't enough the Egyptians also used the Nile for irrigation. They used the river to water their farm land so they could grow crops and create even more food for them. They also used the Niles current to push heavy things down the coast which saved a lot of man power and time. If it wasn't for the Nile, Egyptians would of had to worry about food and water supply too much, especially since they lived in the dry climate of Egypt. If they spent all of their time trying to find food and water they would have never created some of the technological advances that we still use today.      

2/12/14 west civ class

     Today in class we watched a video about ancient Egypt, the video was made by John Green. He reviewed a lot of good information about the facts that we learned about Egypt and hopefully it was enough to help me pass the test that will be given to me soon. I took a couple of new notes but I had most of the facts that Green explained written down. That is why I believe that I am well prepared for the test and think that I will get an A.  

2/11/14 wes civ class

    Today in class we had a substitute so we worked quietly by ourselves. We reviewed our notes on Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and prehistory. This was a great opportunity to make sure that I had all the notes  needed and to make sure that I was well prepared for class. I now believe I have all the information needed and  that I will do well on the upcoming test.   

2/10/14 west civ notes

Egyptian Life

Geography

• every July the Nile floods
• Nile provides water, transportation, and irrigation
• managing the river required technological breakthroughs

Pyramids

• Sphinx was built 2555-2532 B.C. (lion with human head)
• Sphinx is the oldest monumental statute in the world today

Daily life

• Slaves/servants  helped the wealthy
• farmers farmed wheat, barley, lentils, and onions
• Artisans carved statues and reliefs
• Merchants used the barter system until coins came into existence
• Scribes kept records, told stories, and wrote medical information down
• Soldiers fought in wars and used wooden weapons with bronze tips and rode chariots
• upper class consisted of priests, engineers, physicians, nobles
• pharaoh was religious and political leader

Pharaohs

• They owned all the land, made the laws, and collected taxes
• Hatshepsut's were women pharaohs (very rare)

Gods and goddesses

• Over 2000 gods and goddesses
• They controlled the lives of the people 

2/7/14 west civ notes

More on Ancient Egypt

• Earliest Egyptian writing was known as hieroglyphics and it was created in 3100 B.C.
• Hieratic script was a short hand developed by scribes and priests
• Egyptians also made papyrus, the precursor to paper, they were put in scrolls and were the ancient books for Egyptians
• Egyptian astronomers created the first 365 day calendar and doctors created many potions and cures for many illnesses and common ailments
• wooden sailboats were constructed to increase transport ability on the Nile
• Pyramids were massive stone tombs built by them
• Temple of Amon was constructed by them and is still the largest religious building that stands today
• Egypt's history is one long period of unbroken stability, punctuated with occasional periods of turmoil and disruption     

2/4/14 west civ class

     We talked about Egypt today in class and how they changed technology in the world. Egypt is made up of the Nile and the two lands that make up Egypt. Upper Egypt was a 500 mile long strip of fertile land across the Nile while lower Egypt was a wide land of the Nile delta. The Egyptians worshipped the Nile because it provided them with many needs for life. In 3100 B.C. the two lands were unified under one king or Pharaoh. Egyptians relied on the harmony of the universe that they called "maat", the pharaohs responsibility was to keep maat. The pharaoh was all powerful and was treated like a god. It was believed that the pharaoh had a connection to other Egyptian gods or goddesses that were portrayed with animal heads or bodies. Because the pharaoh had so much power he usually had multiple wives. The Egyptians also believed in the after-life, they mummified their loved dead ones and covered them with jewelry and objects that they will need in the after-world. Each persons souls will either be sent to the jaws of a monster or to an after-world of paradise based on whether they lived a good life and how pure their soul was.