Reflection On Rome and Christianity

Questions:
1. Describe how you prepared/studied for the unity test.
a) Do you think your studying strategies were effective-why/not?
b) How will you prepare next time?
2. What was the most surprising thing you learned about during this unit?
3. If we had more time to spend on Rome+ Christianity- what would you want to learn more about?
Answers:
1. I prepared and studied for the test by making organizers, re reading, quizzing myself and then quizzing others during break and at home.
a) I think my strategies were effective but I think I could have put more information in my organizers along with dates and details.
b) I will prepare next time by adding more details and dates, start studying like five or four days in advance and quizzing myself and friends more.
2. The surprising thing I learned about during this unit was how Rome formed and fell. I wasn't aware why it fell because I thought it lasted much longer. The truth it was inevitable and not as strong as I thought it was.
3. If we spent more time on Rome and Christianity I would go like to learn about the different rituals the Romans practiced and for which god or occasion.

Fall of the Roman Empire

The reason why the Roman Empire started to fall apart was mainly because it weakened. The major contributors were the geography, economic decline, growth of government, decline in work, lack of technology and military defeat. Geography because the empire was like a donut making attacks easy and the resources along with many soldiers had to be produced to keep attacks away. The growth of government because the rich started to get greedy, they wasted valuable resources, the fight for being leader was making a disturbance and the civil war broke out leaving the people in need of money. The decline in work because the large amounts of death made less slaves and less work! Lack of technology because no goods were made to be used for trade and the human labor was not improved which made less people work. The most important one which is military was because they just weren't strong enough. I think it was inevitable because everything good must come to an end and the Roman Empire was too big. When you can't find a leader nor control the people, you have a serious problem. The empire was too vast to be controlled and there wasn't a strong enough leader to lead it through the hard period. Alas, this all contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire and I think it's a pity that it did. It could have lasted longer with some guidance.

The Roman people did not want a dictator or a king. Do you think Augustus and the emperors that followed him were any different?

It is true that the Roman people did not want a dictator or king. They had formed a republic and were unwilling to change that, but Caesar changed that. He appointed himself dictator and fortunately the people accepted. Alas, the Senate did not and that cost him his life. His adopted son Augusts's (which he got his name later for being called the "respected one") and the emperors who followed in fact broke the republic. Most of them improved the way the people lived and ruled alongside the Senate so they wouldn't end up like Caesar. They improved the people's lives, lowered taxes and most importantly started the Pax Romana. Pax Romana was the peak of Roman history. People could pass on land and citizenship both plebeians and patricians, people could run businesses, own land and people in a province could gain citizenship. The leaders started to make boarder forces, police forces, fire brigades and provinces. Provinces were divided up into 40 territories and people could  gain citizenship. The only down fall was that some emperors caused rebellions. In the end the last emperor died and a civil war arose. The Romans struggled for power but somehow kept in tact. Augusts and many others were different because they had a lot of power, more power than the Senate or anyone else. They were inferior, but they had to play by the rules of the Senate. If there had not been kings or dictators, there wouldn't be the Pax Romana and everything would have probably collapsed. Augusts and many others made the peak in Roman history because they stood up and made a change, appointed themselves and also created a dictators or kings.

Roman Genius

The Romans were a group of highly intelligent people. From military officials to everyday people, they brought ideas and concepts which we use today. Thanks to them we have benefited. The first way we have benefited is by law. Romans developed the Greek democracy by making a judge. Instead of people presenting the problem and voting, a judge would rule on common sense, evidence and not biased. The second way would be military. Many places around the world have a small army. The Romans taught us that quantity is definitely not better than quality. The Roman soldiers were successful and disciplined and that traveled on to present day. They also made allies. Allies are used in different countries to help them when they are weak. Thanks to the Romans figuring that out we can now make allies. The third way would be architecture. The Romans created aquifers, sewer systems, arches, coliseums, parliaments, spas, markets and various other structures. These have all been passed down to present day but only a little bit more advanced. The sewer system Cloaca Maxima is even still used today! The last way would be language. Romans spoke Latin, which is now a dead language. On the other hand many English words come from Latin ones. In addition to that many medicines, flora and fauna all have a Latin name. In conclusion, Romans benefited to us by giving us law, military, architecture, allies and language. Without them who knows what would be of present day...

Reflection On Ancient Greece

Whilst studying about ancient Greece I learned three important things that made ancient Greece a time period to remember. Firstly, the way the people were split. The Spartans were more of the physical people. They would go to military school at early ages and even the women were made to be physically well brought up. On the other hand, Athenians were the intellectual types. They focused more on democracy, feelings and literature. They  gave us the first glimpse of drama, government and writing. Secondly, the culture made it very important. The ancient Greeks developed a very sophisticated culture. They included all sorts of gods and were very religious people. They sacrificed things and held huge events such as the Olympics which are still held today! With their culture they made themselves remembered. Thirdly, the leaders that led ancient Greece. From Pericles to Alexander the Great, all these leaders made Athens stronger. They enforced either democracy, art or military which made the ancient Greeks very strong people. In conclusion, I enjoyed studying ancient Greece because I learned about how their people were split, how their culture arose and who led them. Thanks to those three things, ancient Greece will always be remembered.