FACTS ABOUT HISTORY

TIME LINE
____________________________________B.C.____________________/___A.D.____
B.C. = Before Christ

A.D. = after Christ or Anno Domino

Prehistory is period of time before writing was invented.

After writing invented = history
IF ALL OF HISTORY WERE
A CLOCK, 11 HOURS AND 46 MINUTES
WOULD BE PREHISTORY AND ONLY
14 MINUTES WOULD BE HISTORY
AFTER WRITING.
1.5 Million years ago known as the STONE AGE
Paleolithic Age

Neolithic Age

Old Stone Age

New Stone Age

1.5 Mil yrs - 8,000 B.C.

8,000 B.C. - 3,000 B.C.

Hunters & Gatherers

Sedentary Farmers

Population Explosion
________________________________________________________________________
Darwin - Evolutionary Theory
1. Homo Erectus - Man Upright - 1.5 mil. Yrs to 300,000 ago
2. Neanderthals - Home Sapiens or Thinking Man- 150,000 to 35,000 years ago.
3. Cro-Magnons - 35,000 B.C.
Paleolithic People invented speech.
Cro-Magnon buried the dead and had belief in afterlife.
Neolithic People begin what we today call civilization.
CULTURE: a way of life of a people. It includes their language, traditions, customs,
beliefs and it takes thousands of years to develop.

SOCIETY: is how people live together in a society. We can only know for sure up to
5,000 years ago when written records exist. Prior to that, we have to take the opinions
of archeologists and geologists.
CIVILIZATION: A much higher level than a culture. A civilization must have at
least the following characteristics:
1. Cities - urban centers
2. Government & religion - usually closely linked until modern day
3. Job Specialization - people freed up by technology and can do different jobs,
rather than just farm.
4. Technology - better tools and inventions (after 3,000 B.C. -Bronze Age)
5. Writing System - to pass information on and to keep records, especially for
government and taxes.
CULTURAL DIFFUSION: the sharing and blending of ideas with other groups. This
usually happened through trade.
CULTURAL ASSIMILATION: When one group blends in with an already existing
group and is no longer different from the main group.
EARLIEST CIVILIZATIONS
MIDDLE EAST: the crossroads of three continents: Europe, Africa, and Asia. Two
major and great river systems exist here; the Nile River in Egypt which originated in
central Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea, and the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers
which originate in Turkey and empty into the Persian Gulf. This area is often called
Mesopotamia or "the land between two rivers." It also is referred to as the Fertile
Crescent and the cradle of civilization. HERE THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS
BEGAN.
India and China are also early civilizations. We will study them after the AP EXAM.
WHAT IS HISTORY?
History is mankinds effort to reconstruct the past. It is a uniquely human endeavor that
involves the study and analysis of primary sources. Historians piece together sources of
primary information to create a believable picture of the past. The study of history has
led almost inevitably to the study of civilizations. What is a civilization? What is a
Citizen? The study of history provides students with answers to these and other
questions.

WHAT IS HISTORY?
History is mankind's effort to reconstruct the past. It is a uniquely human endeavor that
involves the study and analysis of primary sources. Historians piece together sources of
primary information to create a believable picture of the past. The study of history has
led almost inevitably to the study of civilization: What is a civilization? What is a
citizen? The study of history provides students with answers to these and other questions.
The First Human Beings
Since the 19th c., scholars have been influenced by the idea that mankind evolved from
some lower order. Historians, as well as other scholars, have worked in the wake of the
Darwinian Revolution. More recently, anthropologists have pointed to the need to study
the broadest possible array of prehistoric remains in an effort to understand the origins of
mankind. Although considerable uncertainty exists about the origins of mankind, a
somewhat clear picture can be painted of two early periods: the Paleolithic or Old Stone
Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age.
The Paleolithic Era
Lasting from about 400,000 to 7,000 B.C., the age takes its name from the primitive stone
tools and weapons produced by the people. The epoch was characterized by huntergatherer societies, typically organizing themselves into family units.
The Neolithic Age
Around 7,000 B.C., an obvious transformation began: some hunter-gatherer societies
began to rely chiefly on agriculture for their subsistence. Neolithic peoples contributed
greatly to the development of human society: systematic agriculture, writing, sedentary
living, and improved tools and weapons.
Mesopotamian Civilization
Most historians trace civilization back to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers. Geography provided irrigation for surplus food supplies and Sumerians and
Babylonians built cities along these rivers. These cities became independent political
states that shared a common civilization.
A. Sumerian Society
The demanding environment of Sumer fostered a grim people who sought to please
the pantheon of gods and goddesses. The temple, or ziggurat, was the center of
Sumerian life and religion. The temple priests oversaw the agricultural work and the
distribution of the agricultural yield. The lugal (king) exercised political power over
the landowning populace. Sumerian society was organized into four classes of peole:
nobles, free clients of the nobility, commoners, and slaves.

B. Assimilation of Sumerian Culture

The third millennium witnessed the growth and spread of Sumerian culture, by the
Sumerians themselves and by the Semites. Sargon I's "world empire", although
lasting only a few generations, spread Sumerian civilization to the Mediterranean
area. The Ebla find is evidence of the Semitic-Sumerian assimilation process.
The Babylonian Phase
Several reason, such as war, migration, and drought, have been given for the demise
of the Akkadian civilization in the late third and early second millennia. The
Babylonians, a Semitic people, were geographically suited to dominate Mesopotamia.
Babylon's best known king, Hammurabi (ca. 1792-1750) set out to insure Babylon's
leadership in Mesopotamia. Through conquest and assimilation Hammurabi forged a
vibrant Sumero-Babylonian culture.
Writing and Education
Writing (as well as history) appears to have begun at Sumer. The Sumerian
pictographic form evolved by the fourth millennium into cuneiform ("wedgeshaped") writing. The signs in the cuneiform system later became ideograms and an
intricate system of communication. The writing system was so complicated that only
professional scribes mastered it. Scribal schools flourished throughout Sumer.
Although practical, scribal schools were also centers of culture and learning. These
schools set the standard for all of Mesopotamia.
Thought and Religion
Mesopotamians made great strides in mathematics, medicine, and religion.
Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic. Gods and goddesses existed to represent almost
everything in the cosmos. The gods were much like human beings, only with
supernatural powers. In Mesopotamian religion, we find attempts to explain the origins
of mankind. There are numerous myths woven into the Mesopotamian religious tapestry.
Additionally, there is the Sumerian epic of creation, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Its hero,
Gilgamesh, is a wandering king who discovers many of the meanings of life and life after
death.
The Rule of Law
One of the greatest accomplishments of Sumero-Babylonian Civilization was
Hammurabi's Code. Not only is this a giant step forward from earlier Sumerian legal
codes, it is a mine of information for the social and legal history fo Sumero-Babylonian
society.
Egypt
A. Egyptian Society
Egyptian society revolved around the life-giving waters of the Nile River. By ca. 3100
B.C., there were some forty agricultural communities along the Nile. Geography isolated
Egypt: the Nile, deserts, and the Mediterranean Sea. This isolation afforded centuries of
peace for Egypt. During this pacific period, Egypt developed a vital civilization.

B. Egyptian Religion and Government

Pharaoh (king) was perceived as god on earth. This was the central feature of Egyptian
life. Many Egyptians believed that a mythic king, Menes, unified Egypt around 3100
B.C. Subsequently, Egyptian history was divided into dynasties or families of kings.
Egyptian religion was a complex polytheism rooted in the environment. Central to the
religion was pharaoh's place in the pantheon of gods and goddesses-his presence asured
the people that the gods cared for them. The pharaoh's ostentation reflected his power.
The famous pyramids attest to the power and prestige of the pharaoh.
The Hittite Empire
The Hittites, according to recent Anatolian archeological evidence, entered peacefully
around 2700 B.C. There they assimilated with the native populace.
A. Hittite Society
Although the Hittites were ruled by petty kings, a group of local officials called "Elders"
handled local and regional affairs.
1. The aristocrats were the most powerful group in Hittite society.
2. Below the aristocrats were the warriors who met in an assembly called the "pankus".
3. The king was the supreme commander of the army, chief judge, and supreme priest.
4. Hittite kings created Law codes.
B. Hittite Greatness
1. From 1475 to 1200 B.C., the Hittites reached their zenith.
2. The Hittites formed alliances with the Egyptians and Babylonians.
The Fall of Empires
The so-called Sea peoples destroyed both Egyptian and Hittite empires.
GREECE AND ROME
The civilizations of Greece and Rome are known as classical civilizations. The reason
that they are called classical is because they have lived on until the present in the legacies
that they left behind, especially for the western world. Although the West has embraced
the Greek and Roman legacies, it would be a misnomer to think that these two classical
civilizations did not influence the East as well. The Greek civilization began in 1700 B.C.
and continued until 323 B.C. with the death of Alexander the Great. The Roman
civilization began in 509 B.C. and ended in 476 A.D.
The Greeks and Romans differed from the early civilizations of the Near East in scope
and belief. The Hebrew conception of ethical monotheism, with its stress on human
dignity, is one source of Western tradition. The other source derives from the ancient
Greeks. Both Hebrews and Greeks absorbed the achievements of Near East civilizations,
but they also developed their own distinctive viewpoints and styles of thought, which set
them apart from the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The great achievements of the

Hebrews lay in the sphere of religious-ethical thought; those of the Greeks lay in the
development of rational thought.
The Greeks conceived of nature as following general rules, not acting according to the
whims of gods or demons. They saw human beings as having a capacity for rational
thought, a need for freedom, and a worth as individuals. Although the Greeks never
dispensed with the gods, they increasingly stressed the impportance of human reason and
human decisions; they came to assert that reason is the avenue to knowledge and that
people - not the gods - are responsible for their own behavior. In this shift of attention
from the gods to human beings, the Greeks broke with the myth-making orientation of
the Near East and created rational humanist outlook that is a distinctive feature of
Western civilization.
The Greeks developed the concept of inner, or ethical, freedom. People were free to
choose between shame and honor, cowardice and duty, moderation and excess. The idea
of ethical freedom reached its highest point with Socrates. During the Hellenistic Age,
Greeks, like Hebrews earlier, arrived at the idea of universalism, the oneness of humanity.
All people, by their ability to think are alike and should be governed by the same laws.
This idea is at the root of the modern principle of natural, or human, rights, which are the
birthmark of each individual.
Underlying everything accomplished by the Greeks was a humanist attitude toward life.
The Greeks expressed a belief in the worth, significance, and dignity of the individual.
They called for the maximum cultivation of human talent, the full development of human
personality, and the deliberate pursuit of excellence. Fundamental to the Greek humanist
outlook was the belief that man could master himself. Although people could not alter
the course of nature, for there was order in the universe over which neither they nor the
gods had control, the humanist believed that people could control their own lives.
By discovering theoretical reason, by defining political freedom, and by affirming the
worth and potential of human personality, the Greeks broke with the past and founded the
rational and humanist tradition of the West.
Rome's great achievement was to transcend the narrow political orientation of the citystate and to create a world-stage, which unified the different nations of the Mediterranean
world. Regarding the polis as the only means to the good life, the Greeks had not desired
a larger political unit and had almost totally excluded foreigners from citizenship.
Although Hellenistic philosophers had conceived the possibility of a world community,
Hellenistic politics could not shape one. But Rome overcame the limitations of the citystate mentality and developed an empirewide system of law and citizenship. The
Hebrews were distinguished by their prophets, and the Greeks by the philosophers;
Rome's genius found expression in law and government.
Historians divide Roman history into two broad periods. The period of the Republic
began in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of the Etruscan monarchy; that of the Empire
started in 27 B.C., when Octavian Augustus became in effect the first Roman Emperor,

ending almost five hundred years of republican self-government. By conquering the

Mediterranean world and extending its law and, in some instances, citizenship to different
nationalities, the Roman Republic transcended the parochialism typical of the city-state.
The Republic initiated the trend toward political and legal universalism, which reached
fruition in the second phase of Roman history, the Empire.
Rome left the West a rich heritage, which has endured for centuries. The idea of a world
empire united by a common law and effective government never died. In the centuries
following the collapse of Rome, people continued to be attracted to the idea of a unified
and peaceful world-state. By preserving and adding to the philosophy, literature, science,
and art of ancient Greece, Rome strengthened the foundations of the Western cultural
tradition. Latin, the language of Rome, lived on long after Rome perished. The Western
Church fathers wrote in Latin, and during the Middle Ages, Latin was the language of
learning, literature and law. From Latin came Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and
Romanian. Roman law, the quintessential expression of Roman genius, influenced
church law and formed the basis of the legal codes of modern European states. Finally,
Christianity, the core religion of the West, was born within the Roman Empire and was
greatly influenced by Roman culture and organization.
All of the Greco-Roman accomplishments were driven by one fundamental idea confidence in the ability of human beings to shape their own destiny by utilizing powers
inherent in their own nature; reason and knowledge. Greco-Roman achievements in
literature, art, philosophy, and science provide evidence that there was order in the
universe, that men and women could know themselves, and that they could define and
live by ethical standards capable of producing a good and full life.
THE MIDDLE AGES
The first civilizations of Europe were those of ancient Greece and Rome. This
classical world centered on the Mediterranean Sea and was characterized by advancement
in knowledge. But, it declined in the 3rd and 4th centuries. By the end of the 5th century,
the Western Roman Empire no longer existed. (The Eastern Roman Empire, established
by Emperor Constantine, with its capital in Constantinople, still existed until 1453 or
approximately 1000 years after the fall of Rome.) This period in Western history is
known as the Middle Ages, or the medieval period, and also sometimes called the Dark
Ages.
This thousand year period was given its name because of its placement between
the classical period and early modern times. It is seen as a time of little progress in the
sciences, arts, and philosophy. People focused their lives around the Church. They
turned toward a religious goal - one of preparation for the afterlilfe. The Church was the
great leader of human destiny in the Middle Ages, and strengthened this attitude. Finally,
the authority of the Church, stemming from the Pope in Rome and filtering down through
a hierarchy of archbishops, bishops, and other functionaries to the humble parish priest,
provided the nearest approach to effective centralized government in the Middle Ages.

This period's characterization as the Dark Ages comes from the lack of unity and
order that existed. People saw this as a period of widespread ignorance and lack of
progress. We now know that this era was not as "dark" as we once thought. The cultural
level of society declined, but life was more difficult than it had been when the Romans
flourished. During most of the Middle Ages, Europe suffered from almost constant
warfare. Since rulers could no longer protect the inhabitants from raids or invasions,
people moved to rural areas. There was little trade or travel because authorities could no
longer keep roads and bridges in good repair, and bandits roamed the countryside. Few
people were willing to venture beyond the settlements in which they lived. To cope with
all of these problems, medieval society developed important new institutions.
After the fall of Rome, Germanic tribes invaded most of Europe. Slowly, the
nomadic tribes settled down and mixed with other people who lived in the area and their
cultures assimilated. After 476, Germanic rulers ruled previously Roman territory. In the
British Isles, the Anglo and Saxons settled taking land away from the native Celts. In
Gaul (France), the Franks settled creating powerful kingdoms. In the Iberian peninsula
(Spain & Portugal) the Visigoths ruled and in Italy, the Ostrogoths.
After the mighty Roman Empire fell, cities shrank in size and population.
Workers stopped maintaining the infrastructure and bridges, roads, and water/sewage
systems eroded. Roman trade vanished. As a consequence, most families and
communities had to be self-sufficient. They resorted to subsistence farming and small
scale agriculture. Consequently, the Germanic invasions resulted in a new order in
Europe which relied on local rule by Germanic chiefs without any higher authority. In
other words, a decentralized governmental structure.
As with all cultures and civilizations, the Germanic invaders loaned and borrowed
from the people they conquered. Eventually, Clovis, a German leader converted to
Christianity and the Church began its long and tight hold on the lives of Western
Europeans. The Church served as a unifying force within a politically decentralized
sphere. The Roman Catholic Church became the most important force holding the
medieval world together. In essence, Christian belief and the Church were the glue that
held Europe together and united social and cultural ties between people. The Church was
the only institution in Medieval society that held the keys to literacy and education. The
Church hierarchy became the only learned institution around. When the emperors could
no longer rule, the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, became the most powerful ruler in Italy
and eventually throughout Europe.
The Roman Catholic Church tried to separate itself from the Eastern Orthodox
Church. It tried to define its beliefs and put some distance between the two. In its effort
to do so, the Roman Catholic Church became the largest landowner in Europe. In all, the
Church owned 1/3 of all the lands of Europe. This made the Church the most powerful
institution with greater power than any monarch. In addition to lands and riches, the
Church was also the holder of all the knowledge left behind by the classical civilizations
of Greece and Rome. Monasteries, which were established during the late Roman times,
grew in power and influence. They became centers of learning. Priests and Monks were

the only people who were literate and the Church made sure it kept its monopoly. These
monks spread Christianity throughout Northern Europe and influenced basic European
values.
Christians argued that loyalty to God and their faith was more important than
loyalty to government and ruler. This conflict over loyalty affected European civilization
from the early Middle Ages to today. This form of rivalry between Church and State
caused many wars and conflicts. Another development that was an outgrowth of this
rivalry was a growing intolerance of other religions. Christians attacked Jews and
Muslims as infidels. They believed that Christianity was the only true faith and that
justified violence. Because of all of these conflicts and the spreading of Christianity by
the missionaries, Europe became a new civilization. Europe developed new ways of life
and intermixed only those elements of classical civilizations they needed which led to the
building of a new civilization.
Classical Civilizations + Christianity + Germanic influences = Western Civilization
FEUDAL SOCIETY
Arising during a period of collapsing central authority, invasion, scanty public revenues,
and declining commerce and town life, feudalism attempted to provide some order and
security. Feudalism was not a planned system derived logically from general principles,
but rather an improvised response to the challenge posed by ineffectual central authority.
Feudal practices were not uniform; they differed from locality to locality, and in some
regions barely took root. Although it was only a stopgap means of governing, feudalism
did bring order, justice, and law during an era of breakdown, localism, and transition. It
remained the predominant political arrangement until kings reasserted their authority in
the High and Late Middle Ages.
THE CHURCH: SHAPER OF MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
Christianity was the integrating principle and the Church was the dominant institution of
the Middle Ages. During the Late Roman Empire, as the Roman State and its institutions
decayed, the Church gained power and importance. Its organization grew stronger, and
its membership increased. Unlike the Roman State, the Church was a healthy and vital
organism. The elite of the Roman Empire had severed its commitment to the values of
classical civilization, whereas the Church leaders were intensely devoted to their faith.
When the Empire collapsed, the Church retained the Roman administrative system and
preserved elements of Greco-Roman civilization. A unifying and civilizing agent, the
Church provided people with an intelligible and purposeful conception of life and death.
In a dying world, the Church was the only institution capable of reconstructing civilized
life. Thus, the Christian outlook, rather than the traditions of the German tribes, formed
the foundations of medieval civilization. During the course of the Middle Ages, people
came to see themselves as participants in a great drama of salvation. There was only one

truth: God's revelation to humanity. There was only one avenue to heaven, and it passed
through the Church. Membership in a universal Church replaced citizenship in a
universal empire. Across Europe, from Italy to Ireland, a new society centered on
Christianity was taking shape.
Monks helped build the foundation of medieval civilization. During the seventh century,
intellectual life on the Continent continued its steady decline. In the monasteries of
Ireland and England, however, a tradition of learning persisted. Early in the fifth century,
Saint Patrick began the conversion of the Irish to Christianity. In Ireland, Latin became
firmly entrenched as the language of both the Church and scholars at a time when it was
in danger of disappearing in many parts of the Continent. Irish monks preserved and
cultivated Latin and even preserved some knowledge of Greek: they revived the use of
Latin during their missionary activities on the Continent. In England, the Anglo-Saxons,
both men and women, who converted to Christianity mainly in the seventh century, also
established monasteries that kept learning alive. In the sixth and seventh centuries, Irish
and Anglo-Saxon monks became the chief agents in converting people in northern
Europe. Thus, monks and nuns made possible a unitary European civilization, based on a
Christian foundation. By copying and preserving ancient texts, they also kept alive
elements of ancient civilizations.
During the Early Middle Ages, when cities were in decay, monasteries were the principal
cultural centers; they would remain so until the rebirth of towns in the High Middle Ages.
Monasteries also offered succor to the sick and the destitute and served as places of
refuge for travelers. To the medieval mind, the monk's and nun's selfless devotion to
God, adoption of apostolic poverty, and dedication to prayer and contemplation
represented the highest expression of the Christian way of life; it was the finest and most
certain path to salvation.
The Early Middle Ages were a formative period for the papacy, as well as for society in
general. A decisive figure in the strengthening of the papacy was Gregory I, known as
the Great (590-604). One of the ablest of the medieval popes, Gregory used Roman
methods of administration to organize effectively papal authority in Italy, Sicily, Sardinia,
Gaul, and other regions. He strengthened his authority over bishops and monks,
dispatched missionaries to England to win over the Anglo-Saxons.