World History 1Mr. Pawlowski2010 - 2011

Founder:◦ Cyrus the Great (550 – 530 BCE)

Conquered all of Mesopotamia and most of Anatolia Wise/Tolerant Ruler and Military Genius

Successors:◦ Cambyses (530 – 523 BCE)

Conquered Eypt◦ Darius I ‘the Great’ (521 – 486 BCE)

Conquered Western India, Scythia, Thrace Invaded Greece

Battle of Marathon Established a uniformed monetary system

◦ Xerxes I (485 – 465 BCE) Failed to conquer Greece

Battle of Thermopylae & Plataea Decline:

◦ Persian Kings became greedy and ruthless Assassinations were common and the Empire weakened

◦ Alexander the Great defeated the Empire Conquered Persepolis in 330 BCE

Pasargadae Persepolis

Provinces & Satraps:◦ 20 provinces

Each province maintained their religion, language, etc

◦ ‘satrap’ Collected taxes, raised men for

the army, provided justice and security Satrap’s were monitored by

inspectors◦ ‘Royal Road’:

Susa (Persia) to Sardis (Anatolia) Courier stations were set-up along

the 1,677 mile road Persian Military:

◦ Contained members from every conquered nationality ‘Immortals’:

Elite Imperial Guard never allowed to fall under 10,000

Zoroastrianism:◦ Original religion of the Persian

Empire Monotheistic: One universal, all-

powerful god◦ Zoroaster:

Founder and Prophet◦ Sacred Texts:

Avesta◦ Good vs. Evil

Ahura Mazda: God of truth and light

Ahriman: God of Evil

◦ Beliefs: People have free will to

decide their fate Follow path of good (heaven)

Or Follow path of evil (hell)

‘Warring States Period’:◦ Qin State conquered

remaining 6 ‘Warring States’ 230 BCE (1st – Han) – 221 BCE

(Last – Qi) 1st Emperor:

◦ Qin Shihuang Di: ‘First Emperor of the Qin’

Ruling Philosophy:◦ Legalism

Centralized power to avoid another civil war

◦ Opposition was punished/executed Books of contrary ideas were

burned◦ Established an ‘autocracy’:

Reforms:◦ Unified laws◦ Unified written language

Xiao Zhuan Ti (‘small seal script’)

◦ Single currency◦ Improved transportation

Increase in roads, Grand Canal (Yangtze to Central China)

◦ Created a strong central bureaucracy

Construction Projects:◦ Great Wall of China:

Connected previous state walls (Completing the 1st stage of the ‘Great Wall of China’)

◦ Mausoleum: Terra Cotta Army

Decline:◦ Peasants rebelled and the Han

Dynasty emerged (206 BCE)

Emperor

CountiesProvinces

CensorateCivil Division Political/Military Division

Answered to the Censorate

Dealt with issues

affecting the people

Dealt with government & defense

issues

Inspectors who checked

on government

officials

Confucianism

Daoism (Taoism)

Legalism

Founder:◦ Confucius (551 BCE – 479

BCE) ‘Master K’ung’

5 Basic Relationships:◦ Ruler and subject◦ Father and son◦ Husband and wife◦ Older brother and younger

brother◦ Friend and friend

Code of conduct regulated each relationship

‘Filial Piety’:◦ Respect for ones parents and

elders

The Analects:◦ Collected teachings of

Confucius Beliefs:

◦ People were born good and bad behavior was a learned behavior Education could transform

anyone into a gentleman◦ Benevolence (Main Personal

Principle): Excellent character in ritual,

duty, reciprocity (‘Golden Rule’) and ‘filail piety’

◦ Government Leaders: Need to practice self-control,

morality and lead by merit◦ Goal:

Social order of family and government

Founder:◦ Laozi (‘Old Master’)

Main Text:◦ Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching)

‘Dao’: ◦ ‘The Way’: flow of the universe that guides all things

Beliefs:◦ Human action should be governed by instinct and

conscience Key to truth and freedom is simplicity

People should live in harmony with nature Learn and understand the laws of nature

Government is viewed as unnatural

Founder:◦ Han Feizi

State of Men:◦ Humans are evil and need to be controlled by laws

State is more important than the individual Rule:

◦ Reward for obedience harsh punishment for disobedience Absolute Rule

◦ Equal laws with harsh punishment maintained state control Three tools for governing:

◦ ‘Fa’ (law/principle) Clear law code made public

◦ ‘Shu’ (method/tactic) Utilize special tactics and secrets to maintain control

◦ ‘Shi’ (legitimacy) Position of the ruler holds the power

Yin/Yang Yin (Darker Element)

◦ Passive, dark, feminine Symbolized by water/earth

◦ Corresponds to night Yang (Brighter Element)

◦ Active, light, masculine Symbolized by fire/wind

◦ Corresponds to day Interconnected and

interdependent contrary forces◦ Can transform into each other◦ Can consume/support each

other◦ Part of yin is in yang and vice

versa

I Ching

‘Book of Changes’◦ Aid to make decisions,

predict the future, etc. Use:

◦ Readers would throw coins, interpret the results, and read the appropriate oracle

Provided good advice and common sense