5/28/14

Today in class, we took a test. It was very hard. Some of them I know, but others were very hard. I did study last night. I was pretty confident I knew the information but a lot of those questions I fe could have gone either way. In class you threw a eraser at Hanna. It was kind of scary. If she would have stood up you probably would have hit her. That would not have been good. I hope this grade doesn't move my grade down. I have a 90 and it would suck if it went down. I am very happy with it now. If I get lower then 80 I will not be happy. I hope I do fine.

5/27/14

important notes to know: Study this and notes on Charlemagne

• the middle ages were from 476 AD- 1453 AD
• this society has roots in:
• classical heritage of Rome
• Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church
• customs of various Germanic tribes
• overrun the western half of the Roman Empire:
• causing:
• disruption of trade
• downfall of cities
• population shifts to rural areas
• Effects of Invasion:
• Decline of learning
• tribes had oral tradition, songs, but couldn't read Greek or Latin
• Romance languages evolve (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
• few besides priests were literate
• Germanic warriors' loyalty is to the Lord of the manor he provides them with food, weapons, treasure
• Results:
• no orderly government for large areas
• small communities rule
• Clovis rules the Germanic people of Gaul, known as the Franks (which is where "France" comes from)
• in 496 he has a battlefield conversion- he and 3000 of his warriors became Christians
• In 520, Benedict writes rules for monks:
• vows of poverty (live simply in monasteries)
• chastity (no martial relations)
• obedience (listen to church superiors)
• His sister Scholastice writes similar rules for nuns
• they operate schools, maintain libraries, copy books
• Church revenues are used to help the poor, build roads, and raise money
• this is a theocracy- a government ruled by religion
• Gregory's spiritual kingdom (Christendom) extends from Italy to England, from Spain to Germany
• Clovis' descendants include Charles Martel, known as Charles the Hammer
• Hammer defeats a Muslim raiding party from Spain at The BATTLE OF TOURS in 732
• Charles Martel's son is Pepin the Short
• son #2 is Charles, known as Charlemagne, meaning Charles the Great
• six foot four
• built the greatest empire since Roma
• Fought the Muslims in Spain
• Fought Germanic tribes
• Spread Christianity
• Reunited Western Europe
• Became the most 

5/23/14

Today in west civ, we took more notes on  Germanic kingdoms and how they united under Charlemagne. I like when you post power points on your blog. It makes it easier and if you forget something you can always go back and look it up later. We talked about the effects of invasion. It effected the learning. There was a decline in learning. Tribes had oral tradition, songs, but couldn't read Greek or Latin. They had romance languages. They had a few priests that were literate. We learned how they emerged. they emerged from AD 400 to 600. The Germanic warriors loyalty is to the lord of the manor. He provides them with food, weapons, and treasure. There was no orderly government for large areas and had small communities that rule.

• Notes on blog

5/21/14

Today we did not have class so I did not learn anything knew.

5/20/14

• 511 AD- Clovis unites Franks into one kingdom
• 600 AD- Church + Frankish rulers convert many
• fear of the Muslims in southern Europe spur many to become Christians
• Monasteries and convents
• 520 AD- Benedict wrote the rules for monks and monasteries
• Poverty, chastity, obedience, study
• His sister Scholastica did the same for nuns in convents
• 731 AD- the Venerable Bible wrote a killer history of England
• Monks opened schools, maintained libraries, and copied books (Bibles, Greek text)

European Empire Evolves

• Franks control largest European Kingdom
• The Roman province formerly known as Gaul
• Ruled by Clovis- the Merovingian Dynasty
• Major domo- mayor of the palace- ruled the kingdom
• Charles Martel- Charles the Hammer
• extended the Franks' reign to the north, south, and east
• Defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732- historic battle
• Charles the Hammer's son- Pepin the Short
• Possibly named for his unusual short haircut
• Working for and with the Pope, Pepin fought the Lombard's
• Pope Stephen II named Pepin "king by the grace of God" beginning the Carolingian Dynasty 751- 987 AD
• Pepin the Short had two sons: Carolman AND Charles
• Carman died, leaving

Charlemagne takes center stage

• Charlemagne- aka Charles the Great
• six foot four
• Built the greatest empire since Rome
• fought the Muslims in Spain
• Fought Germanics tribes
• Spread Christianity
• Reunited Western Europe
• Became the most powerful king in western Europe
• Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from an unruly Roman mob
• This signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire
• Charlemagne's Government
• He limited the authority of the nobles
• He regularly visited every part of his kingdom
• Kept close watch on his huge kingdom
• Culture revival
• Encouraged learning
• Ordered monasteries to open schools
• Opened a palace school
• But his heirs were weenies...
• His son- Louis the Pious- was ineffective
• Louis' three sons; Lathair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German- split up the kingdom at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD

5/19/14

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne

Main Idea

• Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire.

Why it matters?

• Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from.

Middle Ages= medieval period (same thing)
500-1500 AD
medieval Europe is fragmented (many different tribes that have settled in different parts)

Invasions trigger changes in western Europe

• Invasions constant warfare spark new trends
• Disruption of trade
• Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
• Money is scare
• Downfall of cities
• Cities are no longer centers of administration
• Population shifts
• nobles retreat to the rural areas
• Cities don't have strong leadership
• Decline of learning
• Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
• Only priests and church officials could read and write
• Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost
• Loss of a common language
• Dialects develop in different regions
• By the 800's, French, Spanish, other Roman-based languages are evolving from Latin

Germanic Kingdoms emerge

• The concept of government changes
• Roman society: loyal to public government
• Germanic society: loyal to family
• Germanic chief led warriors
• During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)
• During wartime, warriors fought for the lord
• "The king? Who's that? You want to collect taxes from me? Who the heck are you?"
• Franks live in the Roman province of Gaul- their leader is Clovis
• The Franks under Clovis
• Another battlefield conversion (Just like Constantine)
• Clovis and 3000 of his warriors are baptized by the bishops
• The Church in Rome approves of this "alliance"
• Clovis and the Church begin to work together

Clovis' military expertise + the Church's support and money = a strategic alliance between two powerful forces!

Germanic peoples adopt Christianity

• Gregory I (Pope) expands papal power
• Papacy= pope's office
• Secular power = worldly power
• So.. under Gregory the Great...

Papal power (power of the pope) is Political Power; Presented from the Pope's Palace

• The church can use church money to
• raise armies
• repair roads
• help the poor
• Gregory the Great began to act as mayor of Rome, and as head of an earthy Kingdom

5/16/14

Today in class, we went over the answers to our test. I was very happy with my grade. A 96 was probably one of the best grades I have gotten in my class. It moved my grade up to an 90! Which is an A. I am pretty happy with my grades right now. I have five A's and 2 B's. My goal is to get second honors. I have had second honors all year long and I would like to keep it up.

Feudalism: a political, military and economic system based on land-holding and protective alliances.
Rich dude (Lord)- "I own land; I need people to help me work it and defend it."
Tough dudes (Vassals)- "There are a lot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on tot here land."

The Feudal Pyramid:

1. King
2. Vassals- (nobles and bishops)
3. Knights- mounted warriors who received fiefs for defending their lords land
4. Peasants- (mostly serfs)
• landless, powerless, moneyless, rights-less, just working the land for "the man" (their lord)  

Mind your Manors

• Manor: the lord's estate
• the lord's manor house
• a church
• some workshops
• 15-30 families
• all on a few square miles
• Good news: it's a self- sufficient community
• Bad news- it's harsh if you're a peasant

How harsh is it?

• Peasants are poor and pay high taxes
• tax on grain
• tax on marriage
• Church tax (tithe= 10% of their income)
• They live in crowed cottages
• Live with animals and insects
• Eat VERY simply
• the church says this is your lot in life
• God determines your place in society

5/14/14

Today in Mr. Schick's west civ. class we took our big Rome Test. I had studied a little bit because I know this lesson pretty well. When ever I take a test like this it always makes me nervous. I am just afraid that I am going to forget everything. While taking the test, it was very easy. I knew all the answers to the first two pages, but the last page I had to think more about it. I did not know much about Romulus Augustus so for those answers I had to guess. I knew a good amount of information about both Diocletian and Constantinople. I know all of the tribes though, which was good. I was so happy to see that I had gotten an 96! That is one of the best test grades I think I have gotten this whole semester.

5/13/14

Today in class, we looked over what was going to be on our test tomorrow. We are supposed to study the power point and the test that we took last week. This week I have had many test. On Monday, I had a quiz in Spanish on vocab words. Today, I had two test. I had a biology test which I think I did pretty well on. Then I had my hardest religion test that I have ever had to take. There was so much information I had to learn it got to the point were I couldn't learn the information anymore. I have many test this week too. Tomorrow, I have West Civ. and a math test. I think that many teachers are trying to cram more information in before the exam. I can't believe that Exams are already three weeks away.

5/12/14

Decline of the Roman Empire

AD 180: Rome has problems

• economic (trade became risky; taxes were too high; food supply was dropping)
• military (frontiers were hard too patrol; Roman generals fought for control; soldiers' loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared)
• Diocletian divided the empire into two
• Greek-speaking East (had more resources)
• Latin-speaking West (Rome. tradition)
• Diocletian:
• Diocletian was Roman emperor from 284 to 305. Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus.Wikipedia
• Born: December 22, 244 AD, Solin, Croatia
• Died: December 3, 313 AD, Split, Croatia
• Full name: Diocletian
• Spouse: Prisca
• Children: Galeria Valeria
• he wasn't a big fan of Christians. he tried to persecute them out of existence.
• AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire
• moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantine), where Asia met Europe (now Turkey).
• after his death, empire is divided again this time, "barbarian invaders" (Huns, Vandals, Visigoths, Angles, Saxons, Franks) overrun the empire's frontiers
• That's it for the Roman Empire (AD 476)

Two Emperors:

• Diocletian:
• he rules from 284-303
• its cool to persecute Christians
• Rome needs a big army (400,000 strong)
• Rome needs a big government (20,000 officials)
• Constantine:
• rules from 306-337
• its COOL to BE a Christian
• conversion to Christianity via a cross in the sky (conquer by this!)
• 313- his Edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship
• built a new capital in the East
• Byzantium, soon became known as Constantinople
• Edict of Milan;
• it was rules stating that no more persecution of Christians
• was the dominant religion force of the Roman Empire

The struggles of the peasants

• country dwellers are getting bankrupted by endless tax collection
• new farming system: peasants work for elite landlords on large farms
• peasants can avoid paying taxes, but they are getting hit just as hard by the landlords
• paying of debts and being "allowed to like on the land, in exchange for endless back-breaking work
• landowners hold local power as counts and bishops, wielding more real power than the faraway empire
• foreshadowing feudalism

the western Empire Crumbles

• Rome's power is decreasing, while nomadic barbarians gain power
• western Empire is too poor to be neglected
• Huns migrate from Chine to eastern Europe
• Visigoths take over Spain, and actually capture and loot Rome itself in-410
• Vandals control Carthage and the western Mediterranean
• other barbarian tribes:
• Ostrogoth's in Italy
• Franks in Gaul
• Angles and Saxons in Britain

End of an era

• From the beginnings:
• 500 BC- the monarchy is abolished
• 450 BC- the Twelve Tables are established
• Through the glory days:
• 44 BC- end of the line for Julius Caesar
• 27 BC- 180 AD- the Roman Peace (Pax Romana)
• to the bitter end:
• constant fifth century invasion by barbarians tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling
• the last emperor was a teenage by installed in 475 by his father
• barbarians deposed Romulus Augustulus without bothering to kill him

Notes 5/10/14

The Changing World of Rome: Emperors, Christians, and Invaders 200 B.C.- A.D. 600

Learning Objective 1: Describe the effects of Roman rule on the development of Judaism.

• The biggest change in the era of Roman peace was the spread of the monotheistic religion, Christianity
• the religion began as a group called Judaism 
• In 2 centuries, Christianity developed away from Judaism to the Catholic Church
• the religion brought many changes
• Germanic barbarians became more wealthier, highly organized, and there military was much stronger
• A.D. 200, they became much threat to the Romans that the emperors had to build a better army
• at the beginning they did not like Christianity, but at the end they grow a partnership with it
• the emperor began to collapse 

5/9/14

• Christianity evolves from cult status to established, official structure
• priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome)
• Christians and Jews were monotheistic
• conflicted with Roman beliefs
• persecution against both was common
• Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew
• as it grew, even more Roman leaders embraced Christianity
• AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion
• He issues the Edict of Milan
• Not only no persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome
• The Roman Empire and Christianity are now linked in power influence

5/7/14

Today in Mr.Schick's West civ. class, we took our test. I thought that I did very well on it I got a couple wrong, but I still think I A it. There was a couple of them that were very confusing. Both of the Caesar's confused me. They were both very similar in ways. I got an 90!! I am very proud of that grade. I hope this moves my grade up. I have an 88 and I would love to move it up to an A. I have enjoyed learning about Rome. They are all very interesting people. From all of the emperors to the way people lived. I hope that the next lesson we get will be interesting. I like learning about world culture and historical events that have happened in time. I enjoyed learning about the Greeks to they were all very interesting groups of people.

5/6/14

Specifically, where did the first Indo-Europeans settle around 750 b.c.?
on the shores of the Tiberus Rivers, near the Seven Hills had the mountain ranch, on the meditterean sea

Who was the Tarquin the Proud, and what was so significant about him?

last of the kings, he was thrown out because of a scandal of his son. He raped a respectable older women her name was Lucrisa he ruled from 534-510 BC.

Describe how Rome moved from monarchy to a republic?

Ruled by Etruscan kings who were advised by rich patricians (monarchy)
After Tarquin the government became res publica or republic

Describe the difference between a patrician and a plebeian.

Patrician: upper class, landowning, established, connected, powerful
Plebian: common people, workers, small time farmers, some wealthy non-patricians

Define: Senate consuls tribunes

Senate: 300 people, represented the patricians, appointed for life
Consuls: two guys that were as close to a monarchy, could veto each other, only served one year
Tribunes: represented the plebeians, not powerful, but gained power over the years were like democracy

What was important about the Twelve Tables

Marked the first time the laws were written down in Rome
Set up a protect plebeians who were getting pushed around by patricians
displayed in the forum

Roman republic serves as a model for what modern document, what modern government

The Constitution of the US and its separation of power

Senate/assembly  US Senate/ House of Reps    Consuls/ Dictator-- President of the US
Senate could act like judges-- like our Supreme court

Describe why only the rich could serve in the Senate

Members were not paid, the only way to be appointed was to spend a lot of money to look good, popular, and powerful Plebs could not afford to do that

Forum is Rome's political center

Notes 5/5/14

Caesar

Monday, May 5, 2014

• Caesar was the First Emperor
• From Republic to empire
• Caesars real name was Octavian but he went by Caesar because it was his family name
• He was given the honor of the name Augustus
• Pax Romana: Roman peace; a period of peace and prosperity
• Passes power to Tiberius

 The word spreads about risen Jesus

• Paul is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and message
• He travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain
• He writes letters to many of those he spoke to- these epistles are a part of the New Testament
• If not for the efforts of Paul, it is likely that Jesus remains an obscure preacher, instead of the central figure of the world's largest religion.

Caligula was after Tiberius

• In addition to being Germanic's' son, he was Tiberius' adopted grandson and great-nephew putting him next in line for emperor
• He started off well; granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record
• All in all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were "completely blissful then…..

Bad finish for Caligula

• He began to fight with the Senate
• He claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed in many places-- including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem
• Other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest
• Assassinated by his own aides, AD 41 (age 28)

Next in line: Claudius

• Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment, thought to be cerebral palsy or polio), he was the last adult male in his family was Caligula was killed
• He rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus
• Had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to hum, even plotting to seize power for her lover Silius through a coup - So Claudius had them killed 

Meanwhile- religious troubles

• Christianity and Judaism; monotheistic
• Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god
• AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall)
• The Western Wall today id the holiest of all Jewish shrines
• Half a million Jews died in the rebellion

Persecution of Christians

• Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor
• Especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)
• Often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Coliseum (thrown to the lions etc.)
• Despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly- by AD 200, around 10 percent of the people in the Roman empire were Christians

Notes 5/2/14

• 44 b.c. Caesar secured a vote form the senate making him dictator for life.
• On the Ides of March, 44 b.c., Caesar appeared in the Senate unarmed and unguarded
• the senates struck him with a daggered
• the people who were to rule next were Mark Antony, commander under Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, the leading and assain, Octavian grandnephew and adopted son
• Mark Antony and Octavian joined forces
• the divide the Roman world
• Octavian based in Rome, Mark in Alexandria, and Lepidus, in North Africa
• Octavian pushed Lepidus out of power.
• In 31 b.c. the two rulers went to war
• Octavian defeated mark and Cleopatra
• within  a year both mark and Cleopatra committed suicide
• Octavian was now the supreme leader of the world
• within the empire Greek was dominant in the East
• Over time it became more of a Roman inspired because Roman was growing

The Rule of the Emperors:

• Octavian was given a new name called Augustus
• he wanted to reconstruct the failed government , keep the empire together
• Augustus settlement had emerged by 27 b.c.
• he started his plan to restore the Republic
• He refused to offer long dictator ship
• he called himself princeps
• Princeps: "First citizens" a traditional Roman name for prominent leaders who were considered indispensable to the Republic that came by Augustus and other emperors
• in 27 b.c. Augustus was confirmed the commander in chief of the armed forces
• He let the senate supervise Italy and the city of Rome
• Augustus put to death by his opponents in the Senate and replaced them with allies and friends
• there was no more peoples assembly
• the people didn't oppose of this
•   Augustus won supreme power, people in Greek cities started to build shrines and sacrificing "Rome and Augustus" worshipping Rome itself as divine and Augustus was a god-sent human being who embodied Rome's beneficent rule.
• This began being practiced in many places
• Augustus was given the title Father of the Fatherlands like Julius Caesar was a Divine Being like him to
• He made laws against adultery
• Romans believed that there was something divine about every paterfamilias and every matron
• the rule of one man was easier to except
• First, he brought the system of government appointments under his personal control
• second, he showed respect for local institutions and encouraged provincial leaders to fulfill their responsibility
• he reorganized the army to ensure loyalty of the rank-and-file soldiers.
• he brought about his single most dramatic form, all the soldiers became volunteers
• In this way he broke with the Roman tradition of citizen-solders to create the worlds first professional army.
• in his army he was the Praetorian Guard
• Egypt the lands stretching from Italy to Greece, and much of Germany was taken under Augustus rule
• As his successor, he picked Tiberius, Livia's son from her first marriage
• he was experienced with the government.
• he adopted Tiberius as his own son 
• when Augustus died on a.d. 14, Tiberius took over without a challenge
• he was fighting with Caesar decedents
•  Vespasian founded another dynasty, the Flavian.
• Nerva was a respected highly general, he had no sons and was unknown to the army, he adopted another son who is Trajan
• he took over in A.d. 98
• Caesar: the imperial title given to the designated successor of a reigning emperor.
• Trajan was called the best of the rulers
• Augustus: the imperial title given to a reigning emperor.
• Roman Peace: A term used to refer to the relative stability and prosperty that Roman rule brought to the Medditerranean world and much of western Europe during the first and second centuries a.d.