Ap World History Ch. 5 Notes Essay

Question 1: What were the features of Roman society and politics during the Republic? | |Topic Sentence | |Agriculture was the central economic activity in Republic Rome which meant land was the basis of wealth. | |Social status, political privileges, and fundamental values were based off it. |Heads of wealthy families formed a Senate (Council of Elders) who dominated politics | |7 kings- Romulus, Tarquinais = dictator, Brutus a liberator, and Tarquinais Superbus made the res publica, or republic | |Republic wasn’t a democracy b/c only male citizens could vote, and wealthy people’s votes counted more than commoner votes | |Annual elections for each year for all officers and center of careers were focued on becoming one of 2 consuls who oversaw the Senate and lead| |military missions | |Senate= real power and became hereditary because Senators kept nominating their sons for office | |Served as council, but made increasingly more policy decisions. | |Conflict of Orders- Patricians vs.Plebeians became a fight between the rich wealthy class and the majority peasant class | |Rioted and boycotted city to force Patricians to make important political concessions and were forced to write 12 laws of stone tablets | |protecting the Plebeians from the wealthy class | |Patriarchal family structure- the paterfamilias had supreme power over everyone in the household | |Patron/client relationship mirrors the modern incumbency advantages because the wealthy protect the poor farmers to ensure their votes in the| |next election | |Conclusion | |The Republic of Rome served less as a Republic than an oligarchy of the Senate based on the social principles and political values. | |Question 2: How did society and politics change during the Roman Principate? | |Topic Sentence | |Roman society and politics came under the rule of Octavian Augustus who drastically reformatted Roman society and government. |Octavian (Julius Caesars grand nephew) decided to change the Roman government structure from a Republic | |Made it an empire, but never used the word king or emperor, but Princeps, which means “first among equals” | |Kept general Senate and lower offices to disguise government | |He allied himself with equites, or the wealthy merchants, and formed the well educated and self assured people in the community | |More strict laws to enforce new government | |Conclusion | |The Roman Principate turned Rome into a more precisely governed state.

| |Question 3: How did Christianity grow and spread during the Roman Principate? | |Topic Sentence | |Christianity grew and spread by missionaries and conquering. | |Paul documented and converted a lot of people to Christainity. | |Word spread through disciples such as Paul.Paul set up the doctrines that are the basis for Christianity | |Jesus was sent by God to redeem humanity from sins. | |By dying on the cross, Jesus made it possible for humans to be saved. | |Annual elections for each year for all officers and center of careers were focued on becoming one of 2 consuls who oversaw the Senate and lead| |military missions | |Senate= real power and became hereditary because Senators kept nominating their sons for office | |Served as council, but made increasingly more policy decisions. | |Conflict of Orders- Patricians vs.Plebeians became a fight between the rich wealthy class and the majority peasant class | |Rioted and boycotted city to force Patricians to make important political concessions and were forced to write 12 laws of stone tablets | |protecting the Plebeians from the wealthy class | |Patriarchal family structure- the paterfamilias had supreme power over everyone in the household | |Anyone could be saved through faith in God, and this was better for people.

| |Christianity spread because of its appeal to those who led hard lives. Christianity gave a sense of community and fellowship to the people. | |The people saw others who were willing to die for a religion. | |Conclusion | |The Greeks significantly developed from the Dark Ages to being the most sophisticated culture in the Classical World.

|Question 4: What changes did the Qin and Han dynasties bring to Chinese society and politics? | |Topic Sentence | |The Qin and Han dynasties revolutionized and militarily advanced Chinese society. | |Qin abolished primo genture which was the law which gave all money to eldest son | |Qin invoked legalism which united the region during the Warring States period. But it had extremely tough laws which gave the emperor supreme | |power and the ideology believed that unity came before personal freedom. | |Qin weakened nobles to give himself more power. | Established code of law which standardized punishment | |Coinage, system of writing | |Han denounced Qin harshness and laws and invoked Confucianism to replace Legalism | |Eastern part was given to close relatives which lead to fall of Han dynasty.

But it was good in early part of the era so the central | |government had less land to control. | |Empress got majority of the power because small children were becoming emperors and had pull over their children. | |Women had NO rights under Confucianism.

(Very similar to hindu society) | |Women had follow and obey 3 rules in live- they had to either follow their parents, husband, or sons at all times. |Couldn’t vote, do jobs outside their house, or anything not related to their homes | |Conclusion | |The Qin and Han dynasties were extremely different in the way they ruled, but they improved the infrastructure and united the region. | |Question 5: What were similarities between the falls of both the Han and Roman empires? | |Topic Sentence | |The Empires of Rome and Han faced similar problems which lead to the collapse of their empires. | |Similar problems of defense plagued them both because they had long lines of defense. | |Land very far from the administrative center which made it easier for nomads to conquer. |Aggressive neighbors who wanted their property | |Because they were imperial, they demanded a lot in taxes and labor from people, and their own people eventually got alienated | |The aggressive neighbors eventually closed the technology gap and learned how to fight and beat their well trained monogamous armies | |Eventually, both were weakened at their borders and overrun by nomadic or barbarian peoples and central governments collapsed | |Funnily, the newly dominant groups ended up keeping the culture because it was so well developed. | |Conclusion | |Both the Han and Roman empires collapsed because their borders were overrun by nomadic peoples.

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