Agenda: Wed & Thu Sept 14 and 15, 2011

SPQR!

Quote of the Day: "SPQR" - SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome")
Learning Targets:

·          To consider the nature of imperial systems in the classical era

·          To explore why empires developed in some regions but not in others

·          To show the important similarities and differences between imperial systems and the reasons behind them

·          To reflect on the significance that classical empires have for us today

• Caesar Augustus: The great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar who emerged as sole ruler of the Roman state at the end of an extended period of civil war (r. 31 B.C.E.–14 C.E.).
• Ashoka: The most famous ruler of the Mauryan empire (r. 268–232 B.C.E.), who converted to Buddhism and tried to rule peacefully and with tolerance. (pron. ah-SHOKE-uh)
• Han dynasty: Dynasty that ruled China from 206 B.C.E to 220 C.E., creating a durable state based on Shihuangdi’s state-building achievement. (pron. hahn)
• Mandate of Heaven: The ideological underpinning of Chinese emperors, this was the belief that a ruler held authority by command of divine force as long as he ruled morally and benevolently.
• Mauryan Empire: A major empire (322–185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India.
• patricians: Wealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society.
• pax Romana: The “Roman peace,” a term typically used to denote the stability and prosperity of the early Roman Empire, especially in the first and second centuries C.E. (pron. pox roh-MAHN-uh)
• plebeians: Poorer, less-privileged Romans who gradually won a role in Roman politics.
• Punic Wars: Three major wars between Rome and Carthage in North Africa, fought between 264 and 146 B.C.E, that culminated in Roman victory and control of the western Mediterranean.
• Wudi: Han emperor (r. 141–86 B.C.E.) who began the Chinese civil service system by establishing an academy to train imperial bureaucrats. (pron. woo-dee)
• Xiongnu: Nomadic peoples to the north of the Great Wall of China who were a frequent threat to the stability of the Chinese state. (pron. shong-noo)
• Yellow Turban Rebellion: A major Chinese peasant revolt that began in 184 C.E. and helped cause the fall of the Han dynasty.

Margin Review Questions

Q. How did Rome grow from a single city to the center of a huge empire?
Q. How and why did the making of the Chinese empire differ from that of the Roman Empire?
Q. In comparing the Roman and Chinese empires, which do you find more striking—their similarities or their differences?
Q. How did the collapse of empire play out differently in the Roman world and in China?
Q. Why were centralized empires so much less prominent in India than in China?Big Picture Questions  1. What common features can you identify in the empires described in this chapter?
Big Picture Questions
1. In what ways did these empires differ from one another? What accounts for those differences?
2. Are you more impressed with the “greatness” of empires or with their destructive and oppressive features? Why?
3. Do you think that the classical empires hold “lessons” for the present, or are contemporary circumstances sufficiently unique as to render the distant past irrelevant?

Agenda:

1. Do Now Question: What was the impact of Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia?

2. Notes & Discussion how the dream of the Roman Republic was replaced by the necessity of Roman Empire. Could the Romans have held onto their principled beginnings?

3. The Roman Soldier. Mr. Duez will show a video clip to explain how the Roman soldier built and maintained the Empire.

4. Engineering an Empire - Rome and China

We'll see video clips of both series and discuss their similarities and differences.

Link to Engineering an Empire Rome:

Link to Engineering an Empire China:

TEST IS FRIDAY! Mr. Duez's Tutoring time is Thursday after school if you want a review session.