Answer the following questions:

1. In what two areas did the first two forerunners of Western civilization appear? What factors contributed to the development of civilization in each? What did these two early civilizations have in common? In what ways did they differ?

2. .Briefly describe the geography of the region known as Greece in the ancient world. How was it different from the areas where most early civilizations developed? How did this geography affect the long-term development of Greek society? What type of economy did the Greeks develop in response to the geographic situation offered them?

3. What was the role of law codes in the development of ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian and Hebrew civilizations?

4. What were the Persian Wars? What were some of their underlying causes? How were they fought? How did they affect the development of Greek society in the decades that followed?

5. What was the Hellenistic world, and who founded it? In what ways did its culture reflect its founder's achievements? In what ways did it reflect his failures? In the long term, who gained the greatest advantages from this regional system?

6. Briefly describe the Roman military system. How did the Romans use it as a tool for expansion? In what era was this system most effective? What were one or two examples of it in action?

7. Who were the popes, and how did they come to assume the role of leadership in the former Western Empire? What were some of the assets they had to work with in this position? In what ways did the church preserve the Roman heritage?

8. How did the Carolingian family rise to power in Western Europe? What institutions, new and old, did the Carolingians ally with during their rise? How did Charlemagne hope to govern the empire he created? Did his plan succeed? What has been the most important legacy of his empire?

9. Do you think it is accurate to consider the Early Middle Ages a "dark age"? If our civilization fell, what would a corresponding "dark age" be like?

Answer the following questions: 1. In what two areas did the fir...