History 161 Summer 2011

Assignment #2

Kathleen Addison

Define 20 of the following terms in approximately one paragraph each.  It should be handwritten or typed in your own words.  Work downloaded from other sources will not be accepted.

Athens Sparta

Persian Wars                                       Peloponnesian Wars

Solon                                                   Cleisthenes

Darius the Great                                  Xerxes

The Phillipics                                       Rule of 30

Themosticles                                       Sicilian Expedition

Thucydides                                         Darius III

Spartan League                                   Delian League

Leage of Corinth                                 Ionian revolt

Alexander the Great                           Allegory of the Caves

Archons                                               Herotodus

Seleucid dynasty Ashoka

Mandate of Heaven Oracle Bones

Qin Empire                                          Buddhism

Legalism                                              Han Wu Ti

Confucius Taosim

Rig Vedas Varna/Caste system

Brahmans Upanishads

Karma Moksha

Han Dynasty                                       Silk Road

Part II:  Study Questions

1. Think about the development of empires, and why they form and last in certain patterns.  What contributes to their success or downfall?  Use as your examples the Qin Empire, Alexandrian Empire and the Persian Empire.  Discuss the political structures, social elements and integration of new populations as factors.

2. The simple definition of the transition from the Hellenic (Greek) to Hellenistic (Alexandrian) is that the “whole picture comes together” and these countries function interactively rather than independently.  But what specific effects does this have, and what does it mean for the classical world?

3. Why do Classical Rome and Greece take center-stage in the perspective of traditional Western Civilization?  Although the eastern world is incorporated into the Roman empire, for example, the Egyptian heritage gets largely sidelined as less important?  Why?  Is this perspective relevant? 

4. What were the main features of the Qin rule, and how did this fall to the Han Dynasty? 

5. In what ways do you see the resemblance of the monotheistic religions of the West to the branching off of Hinduism (Classical era) in the East? Why does philosophy emerge in both areas in approximately the 6^th c. bce as “alternative explanations” for the world?