1. Late Classical Age – 1 to 500 AD/CE
NOTE THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND OTHER EXAMPLES OF GLOBALIZATION AS YOU GO!

2. Emergence of world religions in place of local cults and beliefs
Roman Empire and Han Empire at their height in 1 AD/CE and had been divided by 500
Japan had begun to emerge as an organized state by the end of the period and only the Sassanian Empire in Persia was left as a true centralized state
Emergence of world religions in place of local cults and beliefs
Christianity in the west (official in Rome in 391AD)
Hinduism in India
Buddhism in central Asia and China

3. Decline of the Roman Empire

4. Decline of the Roman Empire
Rome is the first city to reach 1 million people in AD
At it peak under Trajan (98-117AD) – ruled 50 million people in 5000 administrative units
Began to break down 80 years later due to conflicts over the imperial succession that weakened central authority – lead to civil war, economic breakdown, and revolts by the army
Remaining resources used to increasingly fight incursions along huge frontiers

5. Why did Rome Collapse?
Social structure – excess for the few and oppression for the many (95%)
1/3 of people were slaves
child mortality rate 50%
Women oppresses in every way and were slaves of their fathers and husbands
Slaves and poor welcomed the barbarians when they came – liberated from the oppression of their own empire

6. Marcus Aurielius invaded Parthian Empire and his legions brought back the plague killing ¼ of the Empire’s population
Elites increasingly isolated from their duty to the regular people
Roads brought the plague an allowed for the easy transmission of ideas

8. Financial Problem -caused by increased military spending (caused by fear and instability)
Steady inflation for grain and army prices
Debasement of currency (silver pieces on 40% silver)
Taxation increased to compensate (especially the poor)
Civil war occurring more often than not
People starving
Empire becomes decentralized and bureaucratically unmanageable
Expansion ended in 106 ACE under Trajan – no more plunder

9. Religious diversity leads to chaos – people turn to cults (especially Christianity) and as a result begin to question their loyalty to the empire
Christians refused to respect the other Gods
Martyr cycle – Romans make Christians scapegoats or persecute them to regain control but creates martyrs and serves recruits new members instead
Increasing chaos of the empire leads people to seek equality of spirituality leads women (even aristocratic) to heavily support Christianity
Christianity anti-Roman in beliefs and practices

10. Political Problems
Unstable emperorship (civil wars) and crazy ones when no civil war
Empire becomes so big it becomes bureaucratically unmanageable
Provinces get little in return for tax money and being ignoring the government
The harder an emperor tried to assert totalitarian control the more the population resented them and the more who turned to Christianity and barbarian sympathies

12. Diocletian divided the empire into four divisions Constantine
moves political capital to Constantinople
converts to Christianity in 391AD and declared it the state religion – destroyed Rome’s culture and traditions in order to save and unify the empire
Religious capital kept in Rome (East-West divide)
Pagans upset with Christian’s lack of toleration causes infighting
Bible translated into Latin in 404AD

13. Military Problems
Rome able to conquer because of technological and tactical superiority
Lose their advantage over time because of the inclusion and training of barbarians in the Legions, adaptations of the barbarians tactics, and poor leadership on the battlefield (Romanizing leads to defeat)
476AD West Rome falls as a result of invasion by Germanic tribes (ex: Vandals and Goths)

14. Western Europe after Rome
East Rome continues on until 1453
Local Roman land lords assert local control as central control wanes – beginnings of feudalism
Christianity adopts and saves most Roman imperial traditions (ex: architecture, language, customs)
Dark Ages are the gap between Romans and the total assertion of the Roman Catholic Church over the local land lords and the completion of the feudal customs

15. China

16. China 105AD – paper invented
220AD - Han authority disintegrated quickly as a result of internal revolts and the inability to collect taxes to support their mercenary armies
Hun invasions threatened the stability of every major empire of the era, especially what was left of Han China
Invention of the stirrup in about 300 helped the Hun war machine even more
Broke into three successor kingdoms lead by local warlords

17. Emerging Empires
Gupta dynasty in India lead a “Golden Age” of arts and religious toleration
Mayan civilization emerges about 200AD and is estimated to be as many as people by 500 AD and the first to invent a writing system in the Americas – beans, chili, squash, turkey and dogs domesticated (separate from European dogs – chiwawa)

18. Globalization Lessons: