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Classics 110 Early World History

Exam Study Suggestions

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I can't be too specific here, or I may as well tell you the questions. And what's wrong with that, you ask? A class average of 90% would be useless, and I'd soon be out of a job, that's what.

Anything I mentioned in class or anything in the assigned readings is fair game for an exam question.

The mid term exam will cover all material up to and including the last regular class before the exam, and the associated readings. Where we actually get to is the important thing - never mind the official lecture schedule.

The final exam covers the entire course and the associated readings, with greater emphasis on material after the mid term. The final exam format is identical to the mid term, just longer.

This probably looks more intimidating than it really is.

Remember that all dates are approximate.
No two texts for this course have identical dates.

    The Palaeolithic

  1. Oldowan
    1. Emergence of Homo Sapiens
    2. Basic Tools Types
    3. Fire
  2. Acheulian
    1. Better tools
    2. More complex tools
  3. Mousterian
    1. Neanderthals
    2. Many new tools
    3. Composite tools
    4. Specific tools
    5. Evidence of religion
    6. Artistic tradition
    7. Big game hunting = social org, language
The Neolithic
  1. Domestication of Plants and Animals, led to
    1. Sedentary lifestyle
    2. More efficient food production
    3. Food surplus
    4. New food storage techniques
    5. Pottery
    6. Heavy (non-portable) possessions
    7. New tools
    8. Land as property = laws, inheritance
    9. Attitude to environment
  2. Later Developments
    1. Cities, government, bureaucracy
    2. Trade
    3. Specialization
    4. Monumental architecture
    5. Class structure
    6. Writing
    7. Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, calendars

Mesopotamia
  1. Geography - don't go nuts
  2. Ubaid period - society, economy
  3. Uruk period - society, economy
  4. The Sumerians
    1. Sumerian King List (SKL)
    2. Nature and origin of kingship
    3. Sargon of Akkad c. 2350 BC
    4. Third Dynasty of Ur c. 2100 - 2000 BC
      1. Ur-Nammu
      2. Shulgi
      3. Ibbi-Sin the Elamites, Amorites
      4. Society and economy
      5. Religion
The Babylonian Empire
  1. Lipit-Ishtar
  2. Hammurabi
    1. Religion
    2. Learning, the Arts
    3. The Law Code
  3. The Kassites
  4. The Hurrians
The Hittites
  1. Hatusilas I c. 1650 BC and Hatusas
  2. Mursilas and the Hittite Empire
  3. Relations with Egypt - Treaty of Kadesh c. 1280 BC
Egypt
  1. Geography - don't go nuts
  2. Prehistory - Archaic - Early Dynastic
  3. The Old Kingdom c. 2700 - 2200 BC
    1. The Nile
    2. Unification - Menes/Narmer
    3. The Nature of Kingship and government
    4. Economy and society
    5. Religion
    6. Succession
  4. First Intermediate c. 2200 - 2000 BC
  5. The Middle Kingdom c. 2000 - 1650(?) BC
    1. Economy and society
    2. Reforms - co-regency, nomarchs
    3. Decline in prestige
  6. Second Intermediate c. 1650-1550(?) BC - The Hyksos
  7. The New Kingdom - The Empire
    1. Reformed army
    2. Amun
    3. Death and burial - The Book of the Dead, Valley of the Kings
    4. Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)
  8. Decline and Collapse
    1. The Third Intermediate
    2. Invaders: Assyrians, Libyans, Persians, Alexander, Romans
  9. The Sea Peoples
The Assyrians c. 1400 - 600 BC
  1. Assurbanipal I (founder of empire)
  2. His successors, Tiglath-pileser, Assurnasirpal, Shalmanaser
  3. Peace - Sennacherib
  4. Decline - defeat by Nebachudnezzar of Babylon et al. c. 612 BC
  5. Society, economy, achievements
Persia
  1. Politics - war
    1. Cyrus
    2. Darius (490)
    3. Xerxes (480)
    4. Darius (and Alex)
  2. Admin and Org of empire
  3. Zoroastrianism
India and the Indus Valley
  1. Geography - don't go nuts, as usual
  2. Early periods
    1. Harappan (=Pre-Aryan/Indo-European) Civilization
      1. Physical remains
      2. Religion (guess work)
      3. Society and economy, daily life
    2. The Aryans (Indo-Europeans)
      1. Broad outline
        1. Vedic age 1800 - 500 BC
        2. Brahmanic age 1000 - 500 BC
        3. Late period, after 500 BC
      2. Religion
        1. early religion
        2. Brahmanic religion
        3. Literature
          1. The Vedas
          2. The Upanishads
        4. Reaction to Brahmanic religion
          1. Asceticism
          2. Jainism
          3. Buddhism
  3. Later History
    1. The Mauryan Empire
      1. History, Politics, Admin
      2. Religion
      3. Arts, Literature, Learning
    2. The Kushan Empire - don't go nuts
    3. The Gupta Empire
      1. History, Politics, Admin
      2. Religion
      3. Arts, Literature, Learning
China
  1. Geography - the usual
  2. Historical outline
    1. Xia (Hsia) - to c. 1600 BC - not much to say
    2. Shang 1600 - 1027 BC
      1. History, politics
      2. Religion
      3. Daily life
    3. Zhou (Chou) 1027 - 221 BC
      1. Western Zhou 1027 - 771
      2. Eastern Zhou 771 - 256
        1. Spring and Autumn 722-480
        2. Warring States 403-333
        3. Confucius/Mencius
        4. Daoism (Taoism)
        5. Legalism
    4. Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty 221-206 BC
      1. History, politics
      2. Religion
      3. Daily life
    5. Han Dynasty 206 BC - 220 AD
      1. History, politics
      2. Religion
      3. Daily life
Minoans and Mycenaeans
  1. Minoans 2000 - 1200 BC - at the mercy of archaeology
    1. Physical remains
    2. Religion (guess work)
    3. Society and economy, daily life
  2. Mycenaeans 1600 - 1000 - mostly at the mercy of archaeology
    1. Physical remains
    2. Religion (guess work)
    3. Society and economy, daily life
Greece
  1. Geography - the usual
  2. History - Early
    1. The so-called Dark Age 1200-800 BC
      1. Physical remains
      2. Religion (guess work)
      3. Society and economy, daily life
    2. The Archaic Age 800-500 BC
      1. Political developments
        1. Kingship
        2. Aristocracy
        3. Tyranny
      2. Economic developments - trade, coinage
      3. Warfare
      4. Colonization
      5. Writing
    3. Details: Sparta
      1. Political developments
      2. Economic developments
      3. Warfare
    4. Details: Athens
      1. Political developments
      2. Economic developments
      3. Warfare
      4. Arts, Literature, Learning
  3. History - Classical Greece
    1. The Ionian Revolt, the first war with Persia (490)
    2. The second war with Persia (480)
    3. The Pentacontaetia (The Delian League becomes the Athenian Empire)
    4. The Peloponnesian War (431-403)
    5. The 4th century BC, the rise of Macedon under Philip
    6. Alexander the Great
    7. The Hellenistic Age (post 323 BC)
Rome
  1. Geography of Italy - the usual
  2. The Early period 753 - 509 BC
    1. Legends
    2. Kingship and government, magistrates, assemblies
    3. Etruscan influences
    4. Greek influences
  3. The Republic
    1. Government, magistrates, assemblies
    2. Conflict of the Orders - patrician concessions
    3. The Punic Wars (264-41, 218-02, 146-3) and their effects
    4. The struggle for control: optimates (patricians=republicans=conservatives) vs. populares (equites and plebeians=everyone else) 133-30 BC
      1. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
      2. Marius and Sulla
      3. The Social War, Spartacus' Revolt
      4. The First Triumvirate
      5. The Second Triumvirate
  4. The Empire 30 BC - 337 AD
    1. Augustus (Octavian) and his significance
    2. The Julio-Claudians
    3. The Flavians
    4. The Five Good Emperors
    5. The Long Slow Decline - inflation, barbarian hordes
    6. Diocletian, Constantine et al.
  5. Early Christianity




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Copyright © Michael Ward 1999 - 2009