HIST 2060 (World Civilization I) Exam 1 Study Guide

Exam Structure: This exam an essay exam that you will take on eLearn under the Assessments tab. You will write two essays, each worth 50%. 

Grading Criteria:  Essays should be in standard short essay form - 1) Introduction and thesis; 2) Supporting evidence; 3) Conclusion. This will ordinarily take five to eight paragraphs. You will be graded on form, completeness, accuracy, and how well you support your thesis.

Topics covered: This exam covers all material from the beginning of class to the Axial Age.

Topics covered: This exam covers all material from the expansion period the rise of Persia through the early rise of Islamic culture.

Readings: 

• WH: p. 82, map page 83 (Persia - WH is weak on Persia)
• WH: 5.10-5.11 (Greco-Persian Wars)
• WH: 6.1-6.8 (Roman Empire)
• WH: 4.8-4.9 (Qin and Han China)
• BWH: The Persian Empire
• BWH: Macedonian Conquest
• BWH: The Roman World

• • The Etruscans; Early Rome; The Roman Republic; The Roman Empire; The Flavian Dynasty; Nerva-Antonine Dynasty

• BWH: The Qin Dynasty
• BWH: The Han Dynasty
• WH: p. 236; 6.10.4 and 6.11.12 (Christianity in the Roman Empire)
• BWH: Christianity and the late Roman Empire (Start with "The Rise of Christianity." Continue through the "Constantine" section. In the "Constantine" section, focus on the religion parts)
• WH: 4.10-4-12 (China); 6.11 (Rome); 7.5-7.7 (Europe after Rome); 8.1-8.10 (Islam and Arabic Empire)
• BWH: Christianty and the Late Roman Empire ;Byzantium The New Rome; The Germanic Tribes
• BWH The Tang Dynasty
• BWH: The Rise and Spread of Islam
  • Pre-Islamic Arabia; Muhammad and the Rise of Islam; The Umayyad and Abbasid Empires
• WH: 7.14 and 12.10 (Medieval Christianity); 11.7 (Spred of Islam in Central Asia)
• BWH: The Maurya Empire (Read the section "Ashoka's Conversion" and the following part sabout Buddhism)
• BWH: The Catholic Church
• Khan Academy: The rise and spreadof Islamic culture
• (None of these readings are ideal for the topic. Skim around.)

Lectures covered:

• Persia, Rome, and China
• Religious Life in the Roman Empire - Rise of Christianity
• After Empire
• Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam

Essay Questions and Identification Terms: Below are the terms and essays. Each essay is associated with a set of terms. In many cases, the terms themselves will be useful in answering the essay as well. Some terms are useful for more than one essay!

Readings: Textbook: Felipe Fernandez-Armesto: The World: A Brief History: Volume 1: to 1500, Chapters 7-11

Essay 1:

Compare how Persia, Rome, and China worked to meld large regions with diverse populations into cohesive empires. What techniques did they use in common, how did they diverge, and how successful were they?
Terms: Cyrus the Great, Peloponnesian Wars, Phillip of Macedon, Hellenistic Kingdoms, patricians, Carthage, Liu Bang, Han Wudi, Shi Huangdi, scholar-gentry

Essay 2:  

Discuss the role of trade in the Persian, Roman, and Chinese empires. What was the importance of trade in both building and maintaining empires?
Terms: Monsoonal system, Silk Road, concrete, Great Canal

Essay 3:

• How did the nature of the collapse of Roman and Han power shape the future of China and the Mediterranean? In what ways did their legacies contribute to or inhibit the emergence of new empires?
  Terms: stepplanders, Visigoths, Axum, Justinian, Sui Dynasty, Mohammed, Shi'ia, Five Pillars of Islam, Koran, Mecca

Essay 4:

• Compare the spread of Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. How did these religions gain converts and expand in to new territories? Factors you should consider include: 1) Theological - what is the message and what is the appeal of the religion?; 2) Political and military; 3) Economic, social, and cultural.
  Terms: Abbasid Dynasty, caliph, Charlemagne, Edict of Milan, Kaaba, Council of Nicaea, Ashoka, Trisong Detsen

Essay 5:

• Discuss the following source, based on the questions below. Cornelius Nepos (c.99-c.24 BCE): Hannibal, from De Viribus Illustris, trans. J. Thomas, 1995. faculty.tnstate.edu/tcorse/h1220revised/cornelius_nepos.html

1. Cornelius Nepos was an ancient Roman writer, writing in the First Century BCE. This description of Hannibal comes from a collection of biographies he wrote. Describe in a general way what was going in on in Rome and the Roman Empire at the time (Such as, what kind of government existed, if it was a time of war or peace, and anything that seems relevant to the source).

2. What can we learn about Hannibal and about Rome and Carthage from the source itself? 

3. What can you say about the author's point of view, in terms of his perspective or biases? The author is Roman, writing about a great enemy of Rome. Does that seem to impact the way Nepos wrote about him?