Thursday's Blog 5/22/14

Germanic Kingdoms

Setting The Stage !

Middle Ages = Medieval Period

476 - 1453 AD

Medieval Europe is fragmented

(from the end of the Roman Empire to the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks)

This is a new society has roots in:

Classical heritage of Rome

Beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church

Customs of various Germanic tribes

5th Century Germanic invaders

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

Wednesday's Class 5/21/14

D. A European Empire Evolves
   1. Franks control  largest European kingdom
      a. The Roman province formerly known as Gaul
      b. Ruled by Clovis - the Merovingian Dynasty
   2. Major domo - mayor of the palace - ruled the kingdom
   3. Charles Martel - Charles the Hammer
      a. Extended the Frank's reign to the north, south, and east
      b. Defeated a Muslim army from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732 - historic battle
   4. Charles the Hammer's son -
      a. Possibly named for his unusual short haircut
      b. Working for and with the Pope, Pepin fought the Lombards
      c. Pope Stephen II named Pepin "king by the grace of God" - beginning the Carolingian Dynasty 751 -987 AD
      d. Pepin the Short had two sons: Carolman and Charles
      e. Carolman died leaving...
E. Charlemagne takes center stage
   1. Charlemagne - aka CHARLES THE GREAT
     a. Six foot four
     b. Built the greatest empire since Rome
     c. Fought the Muslims in Spain
    d. Fought Germanic tribes
    e. Spread Christianity
    f. Reunited Western Europe
    g. Became the most powerful king in western Europe
    h. Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in 800 AD after he defended him from an unruly Roman mob
    i. This signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire

Tuesday's Class 5/20/14

Germanic Kingdoms Unite Under Charlemagne
Main Idea !
Many Germanic kingdoms that succeeded the Roman Empire were reunited under Charlemagne's empire.

Why It Matters Now !
Charlemagne spread Christian civilization throughout northern Europe, which is where many of us came from.

Setting The Stage !
Middle Ages = medieval period
500 - 1500 AD
medieval Europe is fragmented

A. Invasions trigger changes in western Europe
   1. Invasions and constant warfare spark new trends
      a. Disruption of trade
        i. Europe's cities are no longer economic centers
       ii. Money is scarce
      b. Downfall of cities
        i. Cities are no longer centers of administration
      c. Population shifts
        i. Nobles retreat to the rural areas
       ii. Cities don't have strong leadership


A. Invasions trigger changes in western Europe (cont'd)
   2. Decline of learning
     a. Germanic invaders are illiterate, but they communicate through oral tradition
     b. Only priests and church officials could read and write
     c. Knowledge of Greek (and literature, science, philosophy) is almost lost
   3. Loss of a common language
     a. Dialects develope in different regions
     b. By the 800's, French, Spanish, other Roman-based languages are evolving

B. Germanic kingdoms emerge
   1. The concept of government changes
      a. Roman society: loyal to public gov't
      b. Germanic society: loyal to family
        i. Germanic chief led warriors
       ii. During peace, he provided food, weapons, treasure, a place to live (the lord's hall)
      iii. During wartime, warriors fought for the lord

Papacy = The Pope's office
Secular power = worldly power

Friday's Class 5/16/14

The term for Christianity was Christendom.  Taxes/tithing for the church were 10% of what you made yearly.  They are now speaking more Greek than Latin in the start of the middle ages.  Education is much less important, they didn't read much of anything.  The only people in the village who would know how to read was the priest and a small handful of people.  You learned how to do your job from a young age instead of going to school.  In the middle ages the Romans were finally after about 1,000 years second to everyone else.  Living in Europe in the middle ages was disgusting disease filled life.  They had issues such as the black plague, and small pox.

- Feudalism - A political, military and economic system based on landholding and protective alliances.
In other words: the system is based on personal loyalty to people who can help you

RICH DUDE (LORD) - "I own land; I need people to help me work it and defend it."
TOUGH DUDE (VASSALS) - "There are alot of us, we can help the rich dudes hold on to their land."

The Feudal Pyramid goes:
King
Vassals, Nobles, and Bishops
Knights
Peasants, and Serfs

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

Peasants are poor and pay high taxes
- Tax on grain
- Tax on marriage
- Church tax (tithe = 10% of their income)
-They live in crowded cottages
- Live with animals and insects (ewww...)
- Eat very simply
- But don't worry - The Church says this is your lot in life
- God determines your place in society - so chill

Thursday's Class 5/15/14

      Today in class we got our Rome big tests back.  I didn't do so well to say the least.  Mr. Schick gave us class time today to get some homework done.  I did all of my math homework and some of Spanish.

Wednesday's Blog

       The end of the Rome was a very long and horrible ending.  This was not the end for western civilization though.  The renewal of western civilization is called the Middle Ages.  This all happened because Rome eventually became to big for its time and everything slowly and painfully fell apart.  But Missionary - Monks brought Christianity and Roman traditions to people who weren't apart of the empire.

The Baptism of Clovis - An ivory plaque made about A.D. 900 depicts the founding event of the Kingdom of the Franks four centuries earlier.  The conquering chieftain Clovis is humbly naked and up to his waist in water.  The Roman aristocrat Remigius, bishop of Reims, touches Clovis's head as he speaks the words of baptism.  Clotilde, Clovis's already Christian queen, looks on; the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, brings holy oil in token of God's blessing upon the fusion of Frank, Roman, and Christian.

Chronology

Fifth Century - Angles and Saxons invade Britain

486 - Clovis leads Frankish confederacy against Romans and rival Germanic invaders in Gaul

527 - 565 - Reign of Emperor Justinian in the Eastern Empire

542 - Plague hits Egypt, then spreads throughout the Mediterranean area and much of western Europe

568 - Lombards conquer most of northern Italy

570 - 632 - Life of Muhammad

595 - Missionaries sent by the pope began to convert the pagans of England

711 - Muslim invasion of Spain

800 - Slavs occupy almost all of eastern Europe

Tuesday's Class 5/13/14

Two Emperors

Diocletian
Diocletian was an emperor who ruled during 284 - 303
It's 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
It's cool to BE a Christian
Conversion to Christianity via a cross in the sky
313 - His Edict of Milan proclaims freedom of worship
Built a new capital in the East
Built a new capital in the East
Byzantium, soon to be known as Constantinople

The Struggle of the Peasants

Life in the Fourth Century
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 off debts and being "allowed" to live 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

Romes Power Decreasing
Rome's power is decreasing, while nomadic barbarians gain power
Western empire is too poor, begins to be neglected
Huns migrate from China to eastern Europe
Visigoths take over Spain, and actually capture and loot Rome itself in 410
Vandals control Carthage and the Western Mediterranean

End of an Era

From the beginnings...
500 B.C. - The monarchy is abolished
450 B.C. - The Twelve Tables are established

...through the glory days...
44 B.C. - End of the line for Julius Caesar
27 B.C. - 180 A.D. - The Roman Peace (Pax Romana)

to the bitter end...
constant fifth century invasions by barbarians tribes left the western Roman Empire shattered and crumbling
the last emperor was a teenage boy installed in 475 by  his father
barbarians deposed Romulus Augustalus without bothering to kill him

Friday's Class 5/9/14

Rise of Christianity

Jesus spends three years preaching, is killed by Roman leaders

Jesus' followers believe he is the Messiah and Savior who had risen from the dead

This religion conflicted with Roman beliefs

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 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 to 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)

AD 324 - Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire

Moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), 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 empires frontiers

That's it for the Roman Empire (476 AD)

Thursdays Blog 5/8/14

Christ Victorious - This mosaic in a chapel in the Italian city of Ravenna dates from about A.D. 500, when Rome was beset by invaders and Christians were bitterly divided our belief.  Christ is shown as a youthful and steadfast Roman soldier, wearing the purple cloak of an emperor, and carrying his cross like a shouldered weapon.  His open Bible proclaims: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Gentiles - A term for non-Jews; Christians used it to refer to worshipers of the gods and goddesses

Chronology

63 B.C. - Jewish kingdom comes under Roman rule

CA. A.D. 30 - Death of Jesus

A.D. 50-60 - Paul's letters to Christian communities

A.D. 70 - Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by Romans

A.D. 235-284 - Series of short-reigning Roman emperors

A.D. 285 - Diocletian takes control, begins reforms

A.D. 313 - Edict of Milan formally ends persecution of Christians

A.D. 370 - Huns enter eastern Europe; barbarians forced from frontier into empire

A.D. 378 - Visigoths defeat Romans at the Battle of Adrianople

A.D. 410 - Alaric and the Visigoths loot Rome

A.D. 476 - Last Western Roman emperor deposed

Pre Test Notes

Rome Test Answers

1.) C, Latins

2.) D, Greek

3.) C, res publica 

4.) A, Washington, D.C.

5.) B, Tiber

6.) D, last King

7.) A, raping a respectable matron named Lucretia

8.) C, patricians

9.) A, plebeians

10.) C, consuls

11.) A, senators

12.) B, tribunes

13.) A, dictator

14.) B, one year

15.) C, three hundred

16.) C, president

17.) D, centuries

18.) B, Twelve Tables

19.) C, forum

20.) D, Sicily

21.) A, Hannibal

22.) C, Carthage

23.) B, latifundia

24.) A, Africa

25.) D, Chi Cago

- Caligula fought with the senate

- He claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed of himself in Jewish temples

- He was Assassinated by his own aides, AD 41(at age 28)

- The next emperor in line was Claudius

- Claudias had a bad limp and a speech impediment (His own family often made fun of him)

- He rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and adequates; he renovated the Circus Maximus

- Messalina, his wife often had affairs (and Messed around)

- She tried to kill Claudias and have her lover become emperor

- Claudias heard about this and killed Messalina and her lover

- Christianity was on the Rise in AD 66

- This conflicted with the Romans because the Romans (just like the Greeks) were Polytheistic and believed in many gods

- The western wall today is the holiest of all Jewish shrines

- When the Jews tried to rebel against the Romans about a half a million Jews died in the rebellion

- 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 Colosseum (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

- Octavian - AKA Caesar Augustus

- August - Means to be honored

- He took over at the age of 18

- Augustus is the first to change it from a Republic to an Empire

- Built roads, aqueducts (brought water to the cities)

- Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grain supply, even a postal service

- Augustus dies at age 76 in A.D. 14, and passes power to...

- Jesus was a Roman citizen and a practicing Jew

- At 30, he began his ministry (A.D. 31-33), preaching to the poor (and there were lots of 'em) in the empire, and reaching out to outsiders

- Statements like "My kingdom is not of this world" made the Romans (and the Jews) nervous, and they began to plan his execution

- The governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate (prompted by Jewish high priests), sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion

Friday's Blog 5/2/14

    Caesar apperared in the senate house, unarmed and unguarded, according to his custom, and a crowd of senators struck him down with their daggers.  Caesar's murder did not restore the republic; instead, his death produced yet another crop of warlords and yet more bouts of civil war

The main contenders were Mark Antony, once a commander under Caesar and now a consul; the leadinf assassins, Brutus and Cassuis; and Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son, the youthful Octavian Caesar

Mark and Octavian were rival loyalists of Caesar, and each managed to attract some of caesar's legions, which they used to fight a brutal war against eachother in Italy.  The triumvirs declared that they intended to "restore the Republic", but they also had the Senate proclaim Julius Caesar a "Divine Being"- not quite a god like Jupiter, but far above any ordinary mortal.  The partners then divided the Roman world Octavian in rome, Lepidus in North africa, and mark in Alexndria.  Antony was one of the last descendants  to the Greeks for his love affair with Cleopatra.  Finally in 31 B.C. the rulers of the 2 halves of rome went to war, Octavians forces defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra in a decisive naval battle near Actium off the Western Coast.  

 ·        Augustus began a whole series of large-scale reforms 

·        brought the system of government appointments under his personal control

·        avoided breaking with tradition

·        showed respect for local institutions and encouraged provincial leaders to fulfill their responsibilities

·        reorganized the army to ensure the loyalty of the rank-and-file soldiers 

·        gradually brought that all soldiers were volunteers

This caused Augustus and his S uccessors to break with the Roman Tradition of citizen soldiers to create the world's 1st professional army 

 Augustus wanted his successor to come from his family 

- Augustus had no sons so he chose Tiberius 

- Augustus adopted Tiberius to give him hereditary standings

- Augustus dies in 14 A.D.

- Tiberius took over without a challenge

- Caesars last decedent was Nero

- Nero was overthrown after a tyrannical reign 

- No one thought to restore the government to a Republic  

Caeser - The imperial title given to the designated successor of a reigning emperor.

Augustus - The imperial title given to a reigning emperor.

Roman Peace - (Pax Roman) A term used to refer to the relative stability and prosperity that Roman rule brought to the Mediterranean world and much of the western Europe during the first and second centuries A.D.

Most of the earliest Latin literary works no longer exist, but many comedies staged in the third and second centuries B.C. by Platus and Terence are still performed today.  Their works  were based on Greek comedies of the Hellenistic era, adapted to the rough and tumble tastes of Roman Auidiences.