1. Chapter 13 – Early History of Europe
Section Notes
Video
Ancient Greece
The Roman World
The Middle Ages
Impact of Greek Scholars
Maps
Europe, 2000 BC-AD 1500
Greek City-States and Colonies, c. 600 BC
Alexander the Great’s Empire, c. 323 BC
Expansion of Rome, 100 BC-AD 117
Early Christianity in the Roman Empire
The First Crusade, 1096
Western Europe, 1000
Europe, AD 117
Close-up
The Parthenon
The Roman Forum
Life on a Manor
Images
Quick Facts
Greek Art
Roman Conquests
The Decline of Rome
Feudal Relationships
Chapter 13 Visual Summary

2. Ancient Greece The Big Idea
Through colonization, trade, and conquest, the Greeks spread their culture in Europe and Asia.
Main Ideas
Early Greek culture saw the rise of the city-state and the creation of colonies.
The golden age of Greece saw advances in government, art, and philosophy.
Alexander the Great formed a huge empire and spread Greek culture into new areas.

3. Main Idea 1: Early Greek culture saw the rise of the city-state and the creation of colonies.
City-States
City-states were political units made up of a city and all the surrounding lands.
Usually built around a hill called the acropolis that held a fortress, temples, and other public buildings
Most people thought of themselves as residents of a city-state, not as Greeks.
Colonies
Greeks established colonies around the Black and Mediterranean seas.
Trade between cities and colonies helped keep Greek culture strong all over Europe.

4. Main Idea 2: The golden age of Greece saw advances in government, art, and philosophy.
The period between 500 and 300 BC in Greece was a golden age, a period marked by great achievements.
The golden age began after the Greeks banded together to defeat the powerful Persian Empire.
Athens, the city-state that had led the fight against Persia, became the cultural center of Greece.
Famous politicians, artists, and thinkers lived in Athens.
Leaders like Pericles supported the arts.
Athens was the world’s first democracy. People elected their leaders and helped make government decisions.

5. Golden Age Achievements
Architecture
Greeks built magnificent marble structures all over Greece.
Most famous building is the Parthenon, a huge temple in Athens.
Greek buildings were symbols of the glory of the cities in which they were built.
Art
Greek art is still admired today.
Greeks are most famous for their statues and carvings.
They wanted their art to look realistic. Artists studied the human body to make their work as lifelike as possible.

6. Golden Age Achievements
Science
Greeks wanted to learn how the human body works.
Made advances in many fields:
Medicine
Biology
Math
Astronomy
Other sciences
Philosophy
Philosophers tried to figure out how people could be happy.
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were some of the most influential thinkers in world history.
Their ideas still shape how we think today.
Literature
Wrote timeless classics
Created stories about great heroes and adventures, poems about love and friendship, and fables meant to teach lessons
Created drama, or plays, as a form of popular entertainment

7. End of the Golden Age
The golden age ended due to conflict between Athens and its rival city-state, Sparta.
Sparta was a military city with a powerful army.
Jealous of the influence Athens had over other city-states, Sparta attacked Athens.
The war between Athens and Sparta ripped Greece apart. In the end, Sparta won.
After the war, Greece was in shambles. Thousands of people had been killed and whole cities had been destroyed.

8. Main Idea 3: Alexander the Great formed a huge empire and spread Greek culture into new areas.
Alexander the Great conquered Greece in the 330s BC.
From Greece, he set out to create an empire. At its height, the empire stretched from Greece to India and included all of Central Asia and Egypt.
Alexander worked to spread Greek culture through his empire. As a result, a new culture formed that blended Greek and other cultures. Historians call this culture Hellenistic, or Greek-like.

9. The Roman World The Big Idea
The Romans unified parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia in one of the ancient world’s greatest civilizations.
Main Ideas
The Roman Republic was governed by elected leaders.
The Roman Empire was a time of great achievements.
The spread of Christianity began during the empire.
Various factors helped bring about the decline of Rome.

10. Main Idea 1: The Roman Republic was governed by elected leaders.
Government
Rome was originally a monarchy.
In 509 BC the Romans overthrew their king and created a republic, a government in which people elect their leaders.
Rome’s leaders were advised by the Senate, a council of powerful Romans.
All Roman citizens were encouraged to vote and take part in the government.
Expansion
Under the republic, Rome grew. By 100 BC the Romans ruled much of the Mediterranean world.
The Romans conquered and took over many lands. For example, they fought and defeated Carthage in North Africa.

11. Main Idea 2: The Roman Empire was a time of great achievements.
The change from republic to empire began after the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC.
Caesar’s adopted son Octavian took over the Roman world. As ruler, he was renamed Augustus, which means “honored one.”
Augustus was respected for his many accomplishments:
Added territory to the empire
Built monuments and public buildings
Improved roads
Augustus’s rule was the beginning of the Pax Romana or Roman Peace, a period of peace and achievement that lasted for about 200 years.

12. Achievements of the Pax Romana
Building and Engineering
Great builders and engineers
Many Roman buildings are still standing today.
Romans also built durable roads, bridges, and aqueducts, or channels used to carry water over long distances.
Language and Law
Many modern languages based on Latin, the Roman language
Wrote great plays, poems, and stories
Roman law influenced many legal systems around the world, including that of the United States.

13. Main Idea 3: The spread of Christianity began during the empire.
Christianity is based on the life, actions, and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
Christianity began in Judea in southwest Asia but quickly spread through the rest of the Roman world.
Early Christians traveled from city to city, teaching people about their beliefs. As a result, large communities of Christians formed in many Roman cities.

14. Christianity in the Roman World
Some Roman leaders feared that Christians would rebel against the government.
To prevent rebellion, these leaders began to persecute, or punish, Christians.
Christians practiced their religion in secret to avoid persecution.
Persecution
In the 300s the emperor Constantine became a Christian.
Constantine ended persecution.
Acceptance
In the 380s all non-Christian religions were banned in Rome.
Christianity became a powerful influence in the Roman world.
Official Religion

15. Main Idea 4: Various factors helped bring about the decline of Rome.
By the late 300s, Roman society was weakening.
Crime rates rose.
Taxes and poverty increased.
The Roman education system broke down.
The government fell apart.
Many people no longer felt loyal to Rome.
Many factors contributed to the weakening.

16. Factors in Rome’s Decline
Government Problems
For years Rome was ruled by bad emperors who were more interested in their own happiness than in ruling well.
Ambitious military leaders tried to take over, but they were no better than the bad emperors.
Civil wars between rival leaders added to Rome’s problems.
Invasions
Barbarian invaders began to attack Roman territory in the 300s and 400s.
The powerful invaders defeated Roman armies and took land away from the Romans.
In 476 an invading group destroyed Rome and overthrew the last emperor. Most historians consider this event the end of the Roman Empire in western Europe.

17. The Middle Ages The Big Idea
Christianity and social systems influenced life in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Main Ideas
The Christian church influenced nearly every aspect of society in the Middle Ages.
Complicated political and economic systems governed life in the Middle Ages.
The period after 1000 was a time of great changes in medieval society.

18. Main Idea 1: The Christian church influenced nearly every aspect of society in the Middle Ages.
The Middle Ages in Europe lasted from about 500 to about 1500.
The Middle Ages are also known as the medieval period.
Nearly everyone in Europe in the Middle Ages was Christian. Europeans felt tied together by their beliefs.
Almost no part of life in Europe was unaffected by the Christian church and its teachings.

19. The Church’s Roles Politics
Church leaders were also political leaders.
The pope, the head of the church, was one of the most powerful people in Europe.
The pope even had the power to start wars, such as the Crusades.
Art
Most art in the Middle Ages was influenced by the church.
Art, literature, and music dealt with religious themes.
A new style of architecture called Gothic architecture was used for large churches.
Daily Life
People’s lives often centered around their local church.
Markets, festivals, and ceremonies were held in churches.
Priests advised people on how to live and kept written records for them.

20. Main Idea 2: Complicated political and economic systems governed life in the Middle Ages.
Feudal System
Political system based on exchange of land for military service
Nobles gave land to knights.
Knights promised to serve nobles loyally, especially in war.
Manor System
Economic system centered on large estates called manors
Nobles owned manors but needed workers.
Peasants and serfs lived on the manor and worked the fields. In exchange for a place to live, they gave the noble most of the harvest.

21. Towns and Trade
Not everyone in Europe lived on manors. Some lived in towns, which were usually small, dirty, and dark.
Many people who lived in towns worked as traders.
After the year 1000 trade increased dramatically.
As trade grew, more people moved to cities. As cities became larger, they became centers of culture and wealth.

22. Main Idea 3: The period after 1000 was a time of great changes in medieval society.
Document signed by King John of England in 1215
Stated that the king had to obey the law
Considered an early step toward democracy
Magna Carta
Swept through Europe after 1347
Killed up to a third of Europe’s population
Black Death
Fought between England and France
French victory inspired kings to increase their power, leading to the creation of a nation-state.
Hundred Years’ War

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