Islamic Civilization

Today we are going to learn about Islam and how it has raisin in the middle east in early times. We are also going to learn how it began and how it had spread across the Mediterranean.

People who live in the desert of Arabia are called Bedouins. They lived in the desert which had scare amounts of water and food. They live in tents and eat dried fruits and nuts. They also drank the milk of their animals. Their animals were much to valuable too eat.

Muhammad was a prophet who started Islam and convinced people that they should destroy idols and believe in the one true God. They had a bible like the other religions and it is called the Quran or holy book of Islam. The Quran also had rules written in them for things like marriage, Divorce, family life, property rights.

A Dog's Life (Money Due)

The money for the book we are going to read in March, A Dog's Life, is due Monday March 1. The book costs $5.oo. Remember to bring it in.

Early Rome

Now we are learning about early Rome. Italy is the most important part of the Mediterranean region. They were important because they had good military skills.

The Romans, A Latin-speaking people,settled on the region of Rome on the west side of Italy. The regions geography, as well as Etruscan and Greek ideas, helped Rome grow.

In 509 B.C. the Romans overthrew Etruscan rule and established a republic. By 275 B.C. Romans legions had conquered most of Italy.

A Republic is a form of government in which a leader is not a King or Queen but someone put in office by citizens with the right to vote.

Early Romans were separated into 2 classes

• Patricians
• Plebeians

They were a very strong empire and government. They were on of the best empires in ancient history.

Roman art was more realistic and Greek art was made more nice. They made alot of discovery's and even advanced with science and acrhitechture. They made a Colosseum for gladiator fights. Gladiators were normally slaves that fought animals and even each other. One gladiator Spartacus was a person who rebelled ageist the empire. He had 70,000 enslaved people to fight. In 2 years his army lost and 6,00 of his followers were crucified.

The fall of Rome was the worst thing that ever happened to Rome. They had violence and wide spread plagues. They also had heavy inflation in their ecnomy. They were so poor that they had to bater which means to exchange goods without useing money.

The first christian emperor was Constantine. He was a great leader and also had a hard time in life. His wife Fausta accused his son of crimes and had him killed. Constantine later discoverd Fausta lieing and he had her killed. She lied becuase she wanted her own son to be in line for throne.

Rome was invaded by many invaders from the north such as the Huns,Franks,Vandels,visigoths,Angles/Saxons, and Ostrogoths. In A.D 550 the whole western roman empire had faden away. It was later knowen as the Byzantine empire for more than 1000 years.

The Roman empire had maney influences on our culture today such as government. We still reconize them for being one of the biggest empires in Ancient history.

Early China

Now we are learning about ancient China. We learned so far that the 2 main rivers of Chine are the Huang He river also known as the Yellow river. The other river is the Chang Jiang river also known as the Yangtze river. The Chang Jiang river also has rich fertile soil for farming.

Little is known about the early Chinese civilization. we believe that the first dynasty was the Xia dynasty. We know more about the next dynasty called the Shang Dynasty. The people of the Shang dynasty were divided into groups.The most powerful was the king and his family.

Under the kings rule, the warlords and other royal officers made up the upper class. They were Aristocrats, nobles whose wealth came from the land they owned. few people were traders and artisans. Most Chinese however were farmers.

Chinese used pictograph and Ideographs. Chinese also had a king who was a mandate. The king had to rule with goodness and wisdom.

Social class had a big effect on the Chinese people. It shapes the Chinese society and made it organized. Most Chinese people were farmers. It was hard to0 grow food because their was so little fertile soil to farm on.

Confucius was a great teacher and thinker because he was wise and smart. he made his own philosophy called Confucianism. Their was 3 philosophers called Confucius, Laozi, and Hanfeizi.

There were many things that were made during that period of time because they were one of the most important civilizations in ancient history.

The next 2 dynasty's are the most important dynasty's or the most known dynasty's. They were the Qin and Han dynasty's. The reason that they are important is because they built the great wall of China and the Han dynasty is the dynasty that complete the great wall of China. The Qin dynasty practiced the philosophy of legalism. The king of the Qin dyansty was Qin Shihuangedi. He had anyone who opposed him punished or even killed. Books that's were opposed him were burned publicly.

The people who were cruel to the Chinese people were the Xiongnu. They were bad people and were enemy's of the Chinese that's why they built the great wall of China. The Chinese made many inventions such as gunpowder,paper, iron drills, waterwheels.

They made a network of trade routes called the Silk Road. They manly traded

• Silk
• Tea
• Spices

They traded many more goods also. They also invented accupunture which is still used today. It is when people stick needles into your body. It is supposed to cure and prevent illnesses.

Social Studies Mid-term Review

Midterm Review

1.What are the seven continents?

2. What are the 4 oceans?

3.What is a peninsula?

4.What is chronology?

5.Define the following terms-

• Latitude
• longitude
• archaeologist
• anthropologist
• nomad

6.What are 3 types of maps?

7.What was the role of women in the paleolithic age?

8.Where was Mesopatomia located?

9.What does Mesopatomia mean? What are the 2 rivers located in Mesopatomia?

10.What are the gifts of the Nile river?

11.What direction does the Nile flow?

12.Name the longest river in the world?

13.Where did the Israelites record their history in religious beliefs?

14.What happened when the Israelites were conquered?

15.how did the geography of Greece influence where people settle and how they made a living?

16.How did the Greek colonist help industry grow?

17.In what field did Hellenistic scientist make advances?

18.Who are the 3 ancient Greek philosophers?

19.What gifts did we receive from our Greek heritage?

Early India

Happy New Year! Now in January we are learning about Early India. India is a subcontinent. The biggest mountains in India are the Himalaya mountains. The biggest mountain Mount Everest is located in the Himalaya mountains. The 2 famous river in India are the Indus river and the Ganges river.

Monsoons are important to Indian climate. They help grow the crops to be good. If the rains are delayed there will be a drought. If the rains last to long the crops will die and the people will starve.

Two major city's in early India are Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daro. They were large city's with lots of people living there. They are large walls surrounding the city to protect it.

India social classes are called a caste. They are sepertad into 4 classes

• Brahmin's-Priest
• Kshatriya's-Warriors,rulers
• Vaisya's-Common people
• Sudra's-Unskilled laborers,servants

The help shape India's social society.