Essential Facts of Ancient and Medieval History

Prehistory and Early Civilizations

Prehistoric Connections and Art

• The *Homo sapiens sapiens*-Neanderthalensis connection.
• The **Bering Land Bridge**.
• Paleolithic Art:
  • ***Venus*** figurines (representing the feminine).
  • Cave paintings at **Altamira** (Spain) and **Lascaux** (France).

Mesopotamia: Cradle of Civilization

• The ancient city of **Damascus**.
• **Sargon I** (c. 2330 BC): Conquered the Sumerian city-states.
• **The Code of Hammurabi**: Considered the first comprehensive written legal code.
• Mesopotamia (335–300 BC): Fell under the control of **Alexander the Great**.
• Architectural Elements (General): Arch, fresco, relief, and vault.

Ancient Egypt: Pharaohs and Empires

• **Unification**: c. 3100 BC, Egypt was united into a single kingdom by Pharaoh **Menes**.
• **Imperial Reach**: The Egyptian Empire extended to Syria and Sudan.
• **The Battle of Megiddo**: Referenced as the source for "Armageddon" in the *Book of Revelation*.
• **Akhenaten's Reforms**: Religious shift toward the monotheistic worship of the sun god Aten.
• Fourth Dynasty Pharaohs and Monuments:
  • **Djoser**: Initiated funerary monuments (pyramids).
  • **Khufu** (Cheops), **Khafre** (Giza and the Sphinx), and **Menkaure**.

Classical Civilizations of Asia

Ancient India: Empires and Philosophy

• **Dravidians**: Considered descendants of the Indus Valley people.
• **Mauryan Empire**:
  • **Asoka**: Grandson of the founder, known for spreading Buddhism.
• **Gupta Empire**: Recognized as the **Golden Age of India**.
• Religious and Cultural Terms:
  • **Siddhartha Gautama**: The founder of Buddhism.
  • **Suttee** (*Sati*): A ritual requiring a wife to throw herself onto her deceased husband's funeral pyre.
  • **Sanskrit**: An Indo-European written language.
  • **The Vedas**: Early sacred Indian writings.

Ancient China: Dynasties and Thought

• **Philosophies of the Warring States Period**: Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism.
• **Qin Shi Huangdi**: Initiated the building of the **Wall of Ten Thousand Li** (the Great Wall).
• **Mandate of Heaven**: The divine authority used to justify imperial rule in China.

The Greco-Roman World

Ancient Greece: Democracy and Conflict

• **Athenian Democracy**: Established by the reforms of **Cleisthenes**, moving Athens away from oligarchy.
• **Herodotus**: Authored *The History of the Persian Wars*.
• **The Peloponnesian War** (431–404 BC): Conflict between the Athenians and the Spartans.
• **Hellenistic Culture**: Spread to Southeast Asia following the conquests of **Alexander the Great**.
• **The Parthenon**: The famous temple located on the Acropolis.
• **The Seven Liberal Arts**: Their prominence increased following Alexander's conquests.

The Roman Republic and Empire

• Legal Foundations:
  • **The Twelve Tables** (450 BC): Rome's first written code of laws.
  • **Law of Nations** (*Jus Gentium*): Established standards of justice applicable across different peoples.
• Key Events and Figures:
  • **The Punic Wars** (ending 146 BC): Conflicts between Rome and Carthage.
  • Crassus' death (53 BC).
  • **Julius Caesar**: Declared Dictator for Life (47 BC).
  • **Octavian Caesar Augustus**: Became Rome's first emperor (27 BC).
• **The Pax Romana**: A long period of relative peace and stability.
• **Literature**: **Virgil**, author of the epic poem *The Aeneid*.

The Transition to the Middle Ages

Late Antiquity and the Rise of Christianity

• **Imperial Division**: **Diocletian** divided the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern halves.
• Christianity's Status:
  • **The Edict of Milan** (313 AD): Proclaimed official tolerance for Christianity.
  • **Theodosius the Great**: Made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.
• **Legal Legacy**: **Justinian I** codified Roman law (*Corpus Juris Civilis*).
• **Clovis I**: Converted to Christianity during a battle (c. 500 AD).
• **Fall of the Western Roman Empire** (476 AD).
• **Early Medieval Law**: **Trial by Ordeal**, a physical trial used to determine guilt or innocence.

Medieval Europe: Society and Culture

• **Economic Structure**: **Manorialism**, the primary economic system during the Middle Ages.
• **Social Organization**: **Guilds**, organizations of people who practiced the same economic activity.
• Religion and Philosophy:
  • **The Dominicans**: Primarily controlled the Inquisition.
  • **Scholasticism**: A philosophical movement emphasizing the use of pure reason to reconcile faith and logic.
• **Architecture**: **Romanesque**, a prominent style during the High Middle Ages.
• Literature:
  • ***The Song of Roland***: A 10th-century French epic poem.
  • ***The Song of the Cid***: An epic poem centered on the figure of **Ruy Díaz de Vivar**.