Instructions Each of two essays you answer will be worth 20…
Instructions Each of two essays you answer will be worth 20 points for a total of 40 points. Answer your first choice here. Describe the rise of the Roman Empire from the founding of Rome until the end of the Punic Wars. How did the Romans manage to expand from a city-state to an Empire controlling the Mediterranean world? What were their most significant challenges? What aspects of their governmental system and culture promoted expansion? Discuss the collapse of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Principate. What social and political factors led to the Civil Wars of the First Century BC? What was the role of individuals such as Julius Caesar in instigating and waging these conflicts? What events brought the era of civil unrest to an end and led to the establishment of Imperial rule? Was the collapse of the Republic inevitable? How did Imperial Rome outlast the Republic, and what ultimately caused the Roman Empire’s decline? Why did the Byzantine Empire survive for 1000 years after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire? How did it differ from its Western predecessor in terms of government military power and religion? What were the principle reasons for the West’s collapse? What were the Eastern Empire’s primary strengths? What ultimately caused the Byzantine Empire to fall, and what role did the West play in trying to preserve it? How did the emergence of Islam change the history of the Middle East, between the 7th and 8th centuries? What were the central aspects of the faith that made it so popular? What reasons (or leaders) could be cited for the rapid advance of Islam throughout Eurasia and Africa during the Medieval Period? How did conflicts between European Christendom and the Caliphates arise, leading to the Crusades and the Reconquista? What kinds of economic and intellectual legacies did the rise of Medieval Islam have to the world at large, between 700 and 1200 CE? Be sure to cite specific persons, places, or events in your answer. What are the political, social and economic changes that came to Western Europe with the Crusades (1087-1291) and the Black Plague (1347-1351)? How did those changes cause, and eventually propel Europe into, the Renaissance (1350-1600). How did the political, social and economic order of the Renaissance differ from that of the late Medieval Period? Throughout the course we’ve studied human civilization from its earliest beginnings to the dawn of the Roman period. We’ve studied civilizations of the East like China, India, and Mongolia as well as those of the West like Egypt, Greece, Rome, and England. Which of the societies we studied do you think has had the greatest impact on world civilization as a whole? Use three ancient events, leaders, religions, philosophies, innovations, or religions to illustrate your arguments. Mix and match if you see fit! From the Paleo and Neolithic Periods through the rise of civilizations like Mesopotamia, Greece, India and Rome, and into the Middle Ages and Renaissance, how has human religion evolved alongside human politics, culture and daily life? Throughout the centuries, has religion become more “sophisticated,” or has it been simplified? How have human questions about life and death been “answered” by religious practice, from the time of Venus cults to the time of Christ? Did different philosophies from different cultures play a role in the evolution of religion? If so, how? Cite specific examples to frame your answer.