Western Civilization Final Test

Code of Hammurabi

1792 BCE

This code of Law was written in 1792 BCE. The purpose of the written laws was to allow the people to know what the laws were and so that they could have justice. Hammurabi was a political man and he wanted to install justice, so he created these written laws which changed Western Civilization politics forever.

Israel Monarchy

1020 BCE

The creation of a Monarchy in Israel proved that different empires could be successful with different types of government. Israel grew politically and economically in a substantial amount with the creation of a Monarchy. Many others followed the Monarchy government type after they saw how well Israel benefitted politically.

Roman Republic Begins

753 BCE

Rome changed from a Monarchy to a Republic was very important as it shifted the power in Rome. Now, the people had a vote and they had a say in what should be done inside of Rome. This was very important because Rome was growing larger and larger and they wanted their people to be involved within the politics of Rome.

Cleisthenes' Reforms

508 BCE

The goal of Cleisthenes' Reforms was to gain the Aristocrat's political power. He was successful in doing so as he weakened the power of traditional localities. This made it so that the people had more power than the government politically, which was a new concept in Western Civilization and it changed how politics were viewed among the people.

Alexander the Great

356 BCE

Once Alexander the Great, an amazing military mind, took control of his empire, it grew fast. He was able to conquer many new lands with fewer troops due to his incredible strategies. He was also able to spread his political thoughts to the new territories and in many cases, he was able to get the new people to follow him. He is one of the greatest leaders in Western Civilization history and changed how politics were performed and shared.

Creation of the Roman Empire

27 BCE

The Roman Republic was changed to the Roman Empire to allow for the ever-expanding area of Rome to be ruled efficiently under one government. However, this caused the people to lose their representative democracy power within the government. The emperor now held almost all of the power. The empire was a change politically in Western Civilization as nobody was able to sustain an empire that large in size for as long as Rome was able to.

Rise of Christianity

30

Christianity became very popular among the people very quickly as it changed the way that religion was originally taught to be. It got rid of things such as human sacrifice, slavery, and it helped women. Governments and empires were also adopting Christianity as their nation's religion as a way to bring the people together politically. They used Christianity as a way to gain power over their people.

5 Good Emperors of Rome

96

In the middle years of the Roman Empire, they had a string of 5 "good" emperors in a row who helped the empire grow and become the best the world had ever seen. They were able to create a great economy and politically nobody could challenge how great they were or how great Rome was. They were making great decisions and worked with and for the people to make Rome the best it could be.

Fall of the Roman Empire

395

The fall of the Roman Empire caused trade and commerce to halt. The roads that the Romans had created were not maintained anymore, so they became useless. Also, the people who helped to set up trades were no longer there as the empire had fallen. Rome fell because they became too large for one government to handle and they were not sharing the wealth of the empire out to everyone equally, so many were angry.

Charlemagne Crowned Holy Roman Emperor

800

Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III. He used this power to grow his kingdom by performing many military attacks on nearby kingdoms. Charlemagne was very brave and wanted to make changes in Rome to make it better because it was in tough shape after the fall in 395 CE. However, he was not always favored in Rome, so he had to overcome political challenges to execute the plans he had created.

Crusades

1096

The Crusades were a series of battles that happened for around 200 years. The Crusades were a series of battles between the Christians and the Muslims which helped them gain power, territory, and wealth. There was no clear winner of the Crusades, but each side benefited and lost during these battles. Political stances changed due to the Crusade as small towns were able to expand and gain political stability.

Creation of Parliament

1295

After many wars and empires fell, structure is what most nations were looking for in order to keep their nations moving as smoothly as possible. Parliament is a form of representational government as it had a body of people, who are elected by the people, that talk over and vote on problems within the nation. This new political way was good because it didn't let one man have too much power and it allowed the people to be involved in the politics of their nation.

Black Death

1342

The Black Death ruined the economy of Western Civilization. This caused people to get nervous and then once they didn't agree with the political stance of another person, an altercation occurred. The Black Death also killed many leaders and left the governments in chaos and disorder. The Black Death was not political, but it affected many different political things such as government, economy, and it left many jobs open as many died.

Christopher Columbus Discovers the New World

1492

Christopher Columbus discovered the "New World" on his voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. These voyages played a huge role in economics as well as power because he was able to bring back many precious metals and valuables. It also allowed people to move to the "New World" which grew the territory that some of the European nations had. Columbus's voyages created political changes that are still important in our world today.