this section covers from the first persian empire to the birth of the prophet mohammed.
- discuss the rise and significance of the achaemenid empire.
- what is the importance of the defeat of lydia under croesus?
- explore the timeline leading to and resulting from the declaration of democracy in athens.
- discuss the major events of the warring states period and their impact on china of the time and today.
- who was socrates and what was his importance for the development of culture then and since? how much of his impact was/is a result of his death?
- what is the importance of euclid’s elements?
- discuss the major events of the peloponnesian war and its impact on the states of the time and modern culture through its retelling.
- what is the importance of monte albán?
- what is the significance of the number zero for the development of mathematics and engineering?
- why were the conquests of alexander the great different from the spread of other empires at the time?
- discuss the founding and timeline of the qin dynasty and its lasting impact on chinese history. what elements of qin rule are still visible in modern china?
- what was the impact of the death of emperor ashoka?
- what led to the development of paper? what did this allow chinese society to do that other cultures of the time couldn’t?
- discuss the maccabean revolt, its origins, timeline and lasting results using specific examples.
- discuss the roman conquest of greece and gaul.
- to what extent is christianity a roman cult with jesus as figurehead and what is the significance of its rise on the first-millennium world?
- explore the relationship between rome and the jews leading to and resulting from the destruction of the second temple.
- compare the historical julius caesar and his accomplishments to today’s popular-culture version.
- map the trajectory leading to and resulting from the three kingdoms period in korea. are there echoes of this history in modern korea?
- * who was jesus and what impact did his life have on history? compare this to the impact of his legacy as created by the early church.
- what happened during the year of the four emperors? why was that significant for the empire and its surroundings?
- * what is the significance of hadrian’s wall? is this dividing line still relevant?
- why was the chinese three kingdoms period so destructive? what was its result?
- discuss the first council of nicea and its impact on history both at the time and today.
- what does the sack of rome tell us about the romans, the visigoths and the stability of language?
- discuss the timeline and significance of the division of the roman empire.
- why was the translation of the christian bible into latin significant at the time? what are its still-visible results today?
- discuss the impact of augustine of hippo using specific historical examples.
- what was the significance of the cities of tik’al and teotihuacán? is there a lasting impact of their existence?
- discuss the legal code of justinian i and its impact on later history.
- what was the lasting result of the founding of the iona monastery and rise of christianity in the british isles?
- discuss the historical place of the jews in roman society compared to its portrayal in the torah.
