Big Era Four Expanding Networks of Exchange and Encounter 1200 BCE – 500 CE Landscape Teaching Unit 4.4 An Age of Greek and Persian Power 600 – 200 BCE Table of Contents Why this unit?.................................................................................................................. 2 Unit objectives…………………………………………………………………………. 3 Time and materials……………………………………………………………………... 3 Author(s)………………………………………………………………………………..4 The historical context…………………………………………………………………... 4 This unit in the Big Era time line………………………………………………………. 5 Lesson 1: Empire—Rule of awe…….…………………………………………………..6 Lesson 2: Emperors speak for themselves………….…………………………………29 Lesson 3: Global trade roots…………………………..……………………………….33 This unit and the Three Essential Questions………………………………...………....44 This unit and the Seven Key Themes…………………………………………………..44 This unit and the Standards in Historical Thinking………………………….…………44 Resources…………………………………………………………………………….....45 Correlations to National and State Standards and to Textbooks……………………......46 Conceptual links to other lessons………………………………………………….……47 World History for Us All A project of San Diego State University In collaboration with the National Center for History in the Schools (UCLA) http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 Why this unit? The 400 years from 600 to 200 BCE is the period that included the flowering of Greek civilization and the Golden Age of Athens. Those developments took place, however, on a much larger stage than just the area that is today Greece. We will explore Greek civilization here but also several other important developments that occurred about the same time. In much the same way that we can conceive of a history of North America that includes the interlocking experiences of three countries (Canada, the United States, and Mexico), we can also see ancient history as unfolding not just country by country or kingdom by kingdom but within a large, intercommunicating region. In this unit we will introduce the concept of “Indo-Mediterranea” as a single zone of human interaction that ran from the Bay of Bengal to the Strait of Gibraltar. That is, Indo-Mediterranea is a belt of land and sea stretching from the northern Indian subcontinent (thus “Indo”) westward across the Mediterranean Sea basin (thus “Mediterranea”). Although before 600 BCE, the societies within this region had many commercial and cultural links, the number and complexity of those links expanded enormously by 200 BCE. In other words, the history of Greek civilization makes most sense within the frame of Indo-Mediterranea that includes other places and developments as well. A succession of empires contributed greatly to Indo-Mediterranea’s integration. At its height in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, the Persian, or Achaemenid empire stretched from the eastern Mediterranean to northwestern India. In the fourth century came the huge, though short-lived empire of the Greek-speaking Macedonian general Alexander the Great. His conquests contributed to the introduction of Greek ideas and customs far east of the Aegean Sea. Greeks had been colonizing and trading along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea for several hundred years before the fourth century. Many more Greeks traveled in the entourage of Alexander. They came as mercenaries, scientists, philosophers, doctors, artisans, adventurers, and courtiers. Alexander built Greek-style cities as far east as the Indus Valley. After Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, three successor empires emerged. Their rulers were all Greek-speakers, and they eagerly promoted Greek culture and settlement in their realms. The expansion of Greek language and culture proved to be a tie that facilitated interaction among disparate societies and increased ties between the Mediterranean region and the lands that are today Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and several of the post-Soviet republics of Inner Eurasia. In northern India, the Maurya empire emerged. It developed strong commercial and diplomatic ties with the Greek kingdoms. Trade was a major force in this integration. As the number of cities grew, demand for goods expanded. The well-to-do in all parts of the region cried out for exotic products—silk, lapis lazuli, wool rugs, fine pottery, linen, and ivory. Governments needed gold and silver, papyrus and parchment, horses, and timber. In response to these demands, land and sea trade routes expanded. http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 2 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 Because of the integration of the region, ideas flowed rapidly and freely. As cities and their populations grew, more and more people and their ideas rubbed shoulders. Collective learning expanded exponentially. The 600-200 BCE period witnessed an explosion of scientific, political, and religious ideas. This was the era of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Herodotus, Euclid, and Pericles. The Parthenon was built in Athens in this period, and Siddhartha Gautama taught the principles of Buddhism. Jews built their second temple in Jerusalem, and innumerable sects such as the cult of Mithras arose and spread. It was a time of unprecedented intellectual ferment. By the end of the period, the Indo-Mediterranean region was not only interconnected by an expanding network of trade routes but had tentacles that reached to the northwest to Britain, to the south into sub-Saharan Africa, to the east as far as China, and to the southeast across India to southeast Asia. Goods and ideas were circulating on an ever-expanding scale. Life in the region was more interconnected and complex in every way. Unit objectives Upon completing this unit, students will be able to: 1. Locate geographical features on a map: a. Land features: the Anatolian Peninsula, the Iberian Peninsula. b. Regions: Indo-Mediterranea, the Levant, Macedonia, Syria, Bactria. c. Cities: Athens, Alexandria, Sardis, Susa, Babylon, Jerusalem, Antioch, Pataliputra. d. Rivers: the Ganges, the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Nile, the Indus, the Amu Darya. e. Bodies of water: the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf. f. Mountains: the Hindu Kush, the Khyber Pass. 2. Describe and explain the factors that helped integrate the Indo-Mediterranean region. 3. Define and explain the concept of “empire”. Locate the major empires of the period and analyze their relative importance. Analyze major differences and similarities between these empires. 4. Describe the basic teachings of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. 5. Analyze the importance of trade expansion in this period. Time and materials Materials: This unit could take up to four 45-minute class periods for students reading on grade level. The unit includes, however, a Fast Track version of Lesson One that can be done in one 30-45 minute class period. To this can be added the Student Handouts in Lesson Two, which might take another 20 minutes. The amount of time needed will depend on the reading level of the students and the time it takes to set up groups. • Lesson One: The short version requires only a way to display or distribute relevant maps, blackboard, paper, and pencil. The longer version requires everything that the fast version does, plus the Student Handouts. • Lesson Two requires only the Student Handout, paper, and pencil. http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 3 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 • Lesson Three requires blank maps of the world or, preferably, the Eastern Hemisphere with latitude and longitude markings; an overhead projector with a transparency of a blank map like those given to the students; at least one student atlas for each group of students; and pencils. Author Felicia Eppley taught history at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. She received a Fulbright- Hays Fellowship for summer study in India, and she has traveled widely in Europe, Africa, and Asia. She contributed to Teaching World History: A Resource Book edited by Heidi Roupp (M.E. Sharpe, 1997). The historical context The concept of Indo-Mediterranea The region that we call in this unit Indo-Mediterranea is defined by several unifying geographical and environmental characteristics. It refers to a belt of land and sea stretching from the northern Indian subcontinent (thus “Indo”) westward across the Mediterranean Sea basin (thus “Mediterranea”). The region cuts across (and its whole central part lies within) the Great Arid Zone, the expanse of arid or semi-arid land that runs from southwest to northeast across Afroeurasia. Indo-Mediterranea encompasses a fairly narrow range of latitude. The lands within it all share about the same lengths of day, night, and seasons throughout the solar year. This means that they also share, generally speaking, similar temperature ranges, plants, animals, and disease organisms. Though there are wide local variations, rainfall in Indo-Mediterranea as a whole has in recent ages averaged less than twenty inches per year. No lofty mountain ranges or other natural obstacles impede communication and travel across the region. Four large bodies of water may be conceived as lying “inside” Indo-Mediterranea. These are the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf. Indo-Mediterranea as an intercommunicating zone Before 600 BCE, the lands from the eastern Mediterranean to Persia were a major center of civilization in Afroeurasia. Empires rose and fell in the region, several of them extending longer reaches than their predecessors. At its height about 650 BCE, the Assyrian Empire was the http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 4 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 largest and most powerful that had ever existed anywhere in Afroeurasia. By 612, it collapsed and fragmented, but a series of ever larger, more powerful empires came into existence. Under these states—the Achaemenid Persian empire, the empire of Alexander the Great, the Maurya empire in India, and the three great Greek kingdoms (Seleucid, Ptolemaic, and Antigonid), a much more intensive commercial and cultural exchange took place across the eastern two thirds of Indo-Mediterranea. By 200 BCE, Greek influence was waning in the eastern parts of the region, but by the third century, the Romans added large areas of the Mediterranean basin and Europe to this expanding network of exchange. This unit in the Big Era time line Big Era Four 1200 BCE-500CE 600-200 BCE http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 5 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 Lesson 1 Empire—Rule of Awe Teacher background An empire is a multi-ethnic or multi-linguistic state usually created and held together by force. An empire may be contrasted with a federation, a multi-ethnic or multi-linguistic state based on rule by mutual consent. Although we are working with the above definition, the term “empire” (from the Latin, imperium), has exceedingly fuzzy edges. No two empires are exactly alike. For example, while most empires in this lesson were ruled by emperors, the Athenian empire was run by a democratically elected Athenian ruler. Furthermore, the Athenian empire was populated by Greek-speaking people, that is by folks just like Athenians. It was mono-ethnic and mono- linguistic. There are also issues about the modern use of the term. Almost all modern nations have had some element of imperialism in their pasts. The United States forcibly took North America from its native population. In the nineteenth century, the United States used military pressure to help Hawaiians decide that they wanted to become part of the United States. Then there was Alaska. In that case Americans bought the land, but from Russia, not from the native people who lived there. In the twenty-first century, the term “imperial” is a pejorative, that is, negative one. No nation wants to be seen as an empire-builder. Yet, countries like Spain and Russia are confronting their imperialistic pasts. In Chechnya, an ethnic region that has been an unwilling part of Russia since it was conquered at the end of the nineteenth century, is waging war for independence from the modern nation of Russia. In Spain, it is the Basques, a people who have lived in their mountains since long before the Romans arrived and who are fighting for an independent state. Do efforts to suppress these ethnic minority movements for independence in either or both of these cases equal imperialism? The American Civil War was fought to prevent southern states from seceding from the Union. Was that an imperialistic war? In a recent book, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic, Chalmers Johnson contends that the U. S. is building a new kind of empire. Rather than a colonial empire, he sees an empire of military bases. By Johnson’s count, the U.S. currently has 725 official military bases outside of the country and 969 within the 50 states. He says that this doesn’t include “secret” bases. Clearly, a word that is so fraught with contradictions and elasticity is difficult to deal with. This lesson approaches the idea of “empire” from a relatively narrow definition. It will attempt to help students develop a framework for discussing empires in this and later teaching units. By the end of the lesson, they should be in a better position to discuss the meaning of empire in all of its many guises. http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 6 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 The Student Handouts in this lesson have been designed to present parallel information about each empire discussed. This will enable students to make comparisons. Six categories of information are provided about each empire: background, founding, organization, religion, trade and the decline/fall of the empire. The amount of information in any one category will vary from empire to empire. Procedure 1) Ask students to write down their definition of “empire.” Have students share their definitions. Try to come to a consensus on the blackboard. Ask them to write the agreed upon definition on a piece of paper. 2) Write the dictionary definition (the one given above or your own) on the board. Ask students to compare the two. Then, have them add the dictionary definition to their paper. They can reconsider the definition after they have completed the lesson. 3) Explain the difference between “denotation” and “connotation.” Ask students what “empire” connotes to them? Is the connotation positive? Is it negative? Have students make a note of their answer on their paper. 4) Divide students into six groups. Assign an empire to each group. Distribute the relevant Student Handout to each group (a copy for each student). Assign a student to each section of the reading or have everyone in the group read the entire reading. See the maps on pages 24-28. 5) Have a scribe go to the board and list each of the six categories: Background, Founding, Organization, Religion, Trade, and Decline/Fall. Now have the scribe make six columns alongside, one for each empire. Have students do the same on a piece of notebook paper. (They will keep the chart that they are going to produce.) 6) Ask each group to read about its empire and make notes in the appropriate columns on its papers, leaving room for notes on the other five empires. This will require that students digest the information in the Student Handouts and make notes in each of the columns under their empire. 7) Ask students from each group come forward to help fill in the blanks for their empire on the chart. You can do this by empire, one category at a time, or by category, one empire at a time. Have all the students reproduce the chart on the board on their paper. (This chart can be used as the basis for essays, syllogisms, and comparisons with later empires. It can also be used as an assessment.) 8) When the chart is complete, have students discuss the similarities and differences in each category between the empires. Is there any common thread in the founding of these empires? How did the rule of empires vary? What part, if any, did religion play in the rule of empires? http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 7 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 9) Ask students to revisit their definitions of empire. Have they changed their minds about the accuracy of either their definition or the dictionary definition? Have them make a final choice as to a reasonably accurate definition. (This activity will help students understand that sometime the definition of a word is not always precise.) Extension: Have students discuss the following questions: a. What are the advantages/disadvantages of living in an empire? b. Sources for this period: Some of the information we have about this period of history comes from writers like Plutarch, who wrote about the life of Alexander the Great. Alexander died in 323 BCE. Plutarch’s biography was written in 74 CE, that is, 250 years later. What is a primary source? Why is Plutarch considered a primary source? How should a historian assess Plutarch’s information? c. Is the U.S. becoming an empire? Is it already an empire? Has it been an empire in the past? Assessment Ask students to: 1. Turn in their completed chart of empires. 2. Write a recipe for a successful empire. (See Big Era Four, Landscape Teaching Unit 4.1 for guidance.) 3. Make a Venn diagram using the information about any two of the empires. 4. Write an essay comparing any three aspects of two of the empires. 5. Write syllogisms based on any two of the empires. 6. Create a time line showing the dates of the six empires relative to one another. http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 8 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 Lesson 1 Student Handout 1.1—The Persian (Achaemenid) Empire, 550-330 BCE (Map 1) Background The Persians, a group of Indo-European speaking tribes from Inner Eurasia, arrived on the Iranian plateau sometime between 1500 and 1000 BCE. About 550 BCE, Cyrus II, the leader of the Achaemenids, which was one of these Persian clans, successfully revolted against the Medes, the Persians’ overlords, who controlled upper Mesopotamia. Formation It took Cyrus less than a decade to conquer the Medes. He then moved on to seize control of the Anatolian Peninsula and the Greek city-states nestled along the peninsula’s western edge. Syria was next and in 539 Babylon fell as well. When conquering Babylon, Cyrus had promised to treat it fairly and not to destroy either its institutions or its culture. At the same time, he returned to various groups the goods which the Babylonians had taken from them as a sign of conquest. Cyrus also freed the Hebrews, who had been enslaved in Babylon. He allowed them to return home. Later he helped them rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. This policy of local cultural independence won for him a reputation as a fair ruler. Meanwhile, other Persian forces moved northeast into the rich lands of Bactria-Sogdiana where they captured most of the trade centers on the Silk Routes that led to Inner Eurasia. After Cyrus’ death, his son, Cambyses, added Egypt to the empire‘s holdings. In 322 BCE, Cambyses died. Darius (522-486 BCE), a strong military leader, seized control. He soon pushed the Persian borders to the Indus River valley in the east. The Persians now controlled the largest empire the world had ever seen. Administration The vast Persian Empire was the most culturally diverse empire that had ever existed. It linked the east with the west and ruled cities where people of every class and culture rubbed shoulders and ideas. It was a huge crucible of cultural and social cross-fertilization. To rule it, the Persians had to invent new administrative tools. It was Darius I who, building on the administrative systems inherited from the Assyrians and Babylonians, reorganized the empire. He established twenty provinces (called satrapies), each with its governor, military commander, and treasurer, who reported separately to the king. In addition, there was a separate system of inspectors known as the King’s Eyes or the Kings Ears. These inspectors had their own armies and could move against even a military commander if necessary. The system was so effective in preventing rebellion, corruption, and harsh rule that it was copied again and again, even in modern times. http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 9 World History for Us All Big Era 4 Landscape 4 Darius also introduced the Babylonian calendar, known for its accuracy, and set up granaries to assure a constant supply of food for his troops. He built elaborate underground irrigation systems as well. In the far reaches of what is now Iran, these irrigation systems turned deserts into gardens. Religion The Persian ruling class followed the religion of Zoroastrianism. This religion taught that there were two deities, Ahura Mazda, the god of light and truth and Ahriman, the god of darkness and evil. These two gods were in constant struggle, a struggle that Ahura Mazda would eventually win. Zoroastrians believed that after the final battle, there would be a Judgment Day and everyone who had ever lived would be judged and sent either to heaven or hell. These ideas are believed to have influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Today, there are Zoroastrians communities in Iran and India, where they are called Parsis or Parsees. Communities also exist in other parts of the world including the United States. The Achaemeinds did not force Zoroastrianism on their subjects. As rulers of an empire that embraced more cultural communities than had any other before them, they wisely allowed their subjects much cultural freedom. Persian kings saw themselves as ruling by the will of the god Ahura Mazda who cared for the well-being of all. In an inscription on a rock in Behistun, written in 519 BCE, Darius proclaims that “by the favor of Ahura Mazda I am King; Ahura Mazda bestowed the kingdom upon me.” Trade Darius encouraged trade and economic development in a number of ways. He standardized weights and measures and established a coinage system based on gold and silver. He also built banking houses. (The word “check” is derived from a Persian word.) When Darius came to power, a network of roads connecting the urban centers in Southwest Asia already existed. Darius added a royal road from Susa in the Persian homeland to Sardis in the western part of Anatolia, a distance of some 1500 miles. A system of relay stations made it possible for a rider carrying mail to ride the distance in six to nine days rather than the usual three months. Officials and merchants traveling on the imperial roads to do the emperor’s business carried passports entitling them to free food and lodging along the way. Perhaps Darius’ most ambitious undertaking was the building of a canal, 140 km long and 50 meters wide, from the Nile to the Red Sea. Completed in 500 BCE, it connected Memphis, then the capital of Egypt, to Babylon by sea. Decline/Fall During Darius’ reign, the Greek city-states at the western edge of the Anatolian Peninsula rebelled. They were encouraged by Athens. Darius successfully squashed the rebellion, and two years later he sent an expedition to discipline Athens and the other unruly Greek city states. The Persian army was defeated at the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE. Darius died before he could launch another attack; but his son Xerxes advanced on Greece with a huge expeditionary force. Xerxes managed to burn Athens. He was defeated, however, when the Athenian general http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/ Page 10