ABC’s Of World Studies

Schoettlin Block 2
Jocelyn Rieker
A is for…
Augustus Caesar
Augustus Caesar was the first leader of the Roman empire. His
name was originally Octavius, but later changed to Caesar to
honor his relative, Julius Caesar. Augustus brought great
prosperity to the Roman empire and restored peace.

Augustus showed admirable leadership, after changing

the Roman Republic to an empire, bringing Rome to
grow in power, and allowing it to thrive under his reign.
His rule is extremely impressive, and his leadership is
even more of a marvel.
B is for…
Black sea
The Black Sea is located Northeast of the Aegean sea,
mainly used by the Byzantine empire to trade along the
Baltic Sea, primarily with the Russians.

The Black Sea was greatly involved in economics,

since it was connected to the center of trade,
Constantinople. This body of water connected
many areas and helped improve economics for
the civilizations trading among it.
C is for…
Charlemagne
Charlemagne, or King Charles the Great, was the king
of the Franks and also a roman emperor after being
crowned by Pope Leo III. Charlemagne worked
throughout his rule to spread christianity, and put people
to death if they did not convert.

Charlemagne displayed great perseverance during his rule,

by not giving up his defense on christianity. While killing
people for not converting is a little extreme, you have to
admire his determination and ability to persevere.
D is for…
Da Vinci
A painter, inventor and mathematician, Da Vinci was a
focal point of the Renaissance era. His art showed many
of the ideals of humanism, and his inventions served as
blueprints for modern machines

Da vinci was a famous innovator of his time,

and regarded as one of the most important
figures of the Renaissance. His ideas are often
looked up to by modern innovators and
entrepreneurs.
E is for…
Erasmus
Erasmus was a northern italian writer who was very
well known during the Renaissance. Erasmus wrote The
Praise of Folly, a satirical work which both offended
and amused many during the Renaissance.

I’m going to have to connect this to Excellence,

because supposedly he wrote his most famous
piece in about a week, and for a work of literature
made purely as a joke, it had such a large impact
on the era, which is quite frankly really
impressive.
F is for…
Feudalism
Feudalism was a system formed during the Middle ages
in Europe to supposedly ensure the safety and
protection of the government system. The church held
the most power in this system, with laborers at the
bottom, paying knights for protection against the
different invaders and assailants.

From a business mindset, the financial

dependence of the peasants on those higher on the
feudalism scale then them is a good tactic to keep
the church in power, and to keep them providing
for the economy.
 G is for…
(The) Great Schism
The splitting between the East and West churches in ancient
Rome. The split was mainly caused by various religious
differences and ideals, such as the marriage of the pope, and
even if it was acceptable to use unleavened bread as sacrament.
This event permanently split the two churches, forming the
Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

This topic closely relates leadership, one of the core

values of the EBA. Both sides and churches had leaders
involved in the Schism, making extremely important
decisions for their followers.
H is for…
Hippocrates
Hippocrates was a Greek physician and doctor, making
various advancements and impacts in the medical field,
many of which have contributed towards modern medicine
and are still referenced to this day. One example is the
Hippocratic oath, an oath that is taken by physicians, all
because of Hippocrates’ impact.
Hippocrates was a great innovator of his time,
publishing many books, inventing new surgery
techniques and researching various illnesses. His
determination and skill makes him a great role model,
and example for modern innovators.
I is for…
Inca
Widely known for being the location of Machu Picchu,
the Andes mountains of South America used to be home
to the ancient civilization of the Incas. Agriculturally
advanced, they used terrace farming to adapt to the
geography of their homeland. They were incredibly wellEconomically, the incas were
incredibly advanced, as their system
known for their complex system of roads, similarly to
of agriculture was perfectly adapted
the Romans. for their geography. Their ability to
trade with other civilizations, using
their farming techniques set them
apart from others, allowing their
economy to flourish.
J is for…
Justinian code
A law code written by Justinian I, it was the foundation
of the Byzantine empire for nearly 900 years, and even
after Byzantine fell to the Ottomans, the law code was
still influencing others, making it present in modern day
law codes.

Emperor Justinian was a great leader, who

excelled in many areas. His ability to write a law
code that continues to have lasting effects, is a
wonderful example of this such excellence.
K is for...
Karma
Karma is a concept heavily present in a few religions,
such as Hinduism and Buddhism. This concept presents
the idea that all of your actions, good and bad, will
accumulate and be “paid” back to you.
Karma is an example of integrity. To be either
hindu of a buddhist, you have to use integrity to
live an honest life, or your karma will come back
and damage you later.
L is for…
Legalism
Legalism was a philosophical belief formed in ancient
China, that essentially stated that humans are more
inclined to serve themselves, then to do good deeds for
the sake of others. This belief heavily influenced the
rule of many emperors and dynasties.

The fundamental values of legalism show an

individual's self perseverance and preservation to
benefit themselves, which, while it may seem harsh, is
optimal in some settings.
M is for…
Magna Carta
Document signed by King John, rather unwillingly. The
magna carta was an important legal document, forcing
the leader (king) to fall under the same jurisdiction as
the common people. This helped balance the power in
the Middle Ages, which was severely out of balance,
ever since Feudalism was around.
The Magna Carta limited the power of the monarchy in
europe, providing a necessary check and balance to the
kings. This limitation was super important at the time,
and set a precedent for other groups of leaders, that
would form in the future.
N is for…
Nile River
The birthplace of the Egyptian civilization, it cradled life,
learning and cultural advancements. The Nile River was an
incredibly important body of water, allowing for easy trade
from the mediterranean to different African kingdoms and
civilizations. The Nile River also supported the progress of the
Ancient Egyptians, allowing them to improve medicine,
agriculture, architecture and even literature.

The prime location of the Nile River, where the egyptians

decided to settle, gave them major technological advantages,
that the egyptians used to the fullest. While the ancient
egyptians thrived here, the technology they made continued to
advance.
O is for
Oligarchy
A common form of government, similar to an
Aristocracy, an oligarchy is when a small group of
people hold the ruling power of the nation, all are not
necessarily super wealthy, like in an aristocracy, but
typically decided by power and status.
Leadership is a big part of any form of government, to
be a respected government leader it takes a lot of
charisma and skill. This charisma and skill is useful for
other jobs too, not just governmental jobs.
P is for…
Pax Romana
Two words meaning “Roman Peace”, the Pax Romana was an
era that brought peace, prosperity and economic success
throughout all of Rome. During this period, Rome expanded
exponentially, with the population growing to over 70 million
people. Also, one of the biggest impacts was the spread of a
common currency, which made economic affairs many times
easier to handle and navigate.
The pax romana had many economical advances, such
as the introduction of a common currency, which made
trade many times more effective, and even contributes
to how modern currency is dealt with.
Q is for…
Qin Dynasty
The Qin dynasty was one of the most well known dynasties of
all of Ancient China, mainly due to one emperor, Qin Shi
Huang Di. During his rule, he ordered the Great wall of China
to be built, in order to protect against the Mongols. After his
death, he was buried, surrounded by 8,000 terracotta soldiers in
his tomb, to protect him after his death.

Despite his questionable requests for his burial, Qin Shi

Huang Di was a pretty responsible leader, to request a
giant wall, that has lasted generations, to be built to
defend his people against the Mongols.
R is for…
Republic
A widely popular form of government in ancient times, seen in
Rome, Athens and even france. The first form of a Republic was
witnessed in ancient rome, after the monarchy was overthrown,
and citizens decided to vote for who they wanted to rule over
them(Direct democracy). This later evolved into a representative
democracy.

There was a lot of innovation involved in the installation of the

very first republic, as it was a new concept that had never been
used until the Romans overthrew the monarchy. The idea of
citizens voting for themselves was still new at the time, so the fact
it was able to be executed rather easily was certainly surprising.
S is for…
Sparta
One of the multiple city states, Sparta was apart of ancient greece, known for being
extremely powerful and war oriented, training their warriors from a young age with
(nowadays) cruel tactics. Sparta fought on the Peloponnesian League against Athens, or the
Delian League during the Peloponnesian war, which they ultimately won after Athens was
forced to surrender

I feel like Sparta is a good example of integrity,

not just for the city state, but for the citizens.
Many of the soldiers were trained from a young
age, and had to be able to keep up with the
training if they didn't want to disappoint their
nation, or their family.
Flag of Sparta
 T is for…
Trade Routes
Trade routes were arguably the most important aspect of all ancient civilizations. Not only did
they allow them to expand and obtain resources that would benefit their civilization, it aided in
cultural diffusion and the spread of different ideals and beliefs. Examples of such are the
Byzantine empire trading with the tribes in the Baltics, or the different African kingdoms
trading with each other.

Economically, the formation of trade routes was

beneficial for the whole globe, even when many of
the trade routes have been expanded or changed in
some other way, they hold some of their original
structure and function.
U is for…
Utopia
Utopia was a work of literature written by humanist
icon and renaissance author Sir Thomas More,
describing his idea of a perfect world, government and
life. Ultimately, it was a satirical work, criticizing the
political corruption during this time period.

I feel as though, by publishing this book, More did a

great service to the public, by allowing them to see
what exactly was wrong with the current
government system. While writing this may have
made a few enemies for him, he did a great public
service by publishing it.
V is for…
Venus
Venus was one of the many Roman gods “borrowed” from the ancient greek gods. The
goddess of love and fertility, her Greek counterpart is Aphrodite. These gods, for all
religions, are used to explain natural events, personality traits and other occurrences.The
similarities among the two cultures’ gods shows how closely linked the Greek and Roman
empires were.

The romans and greeks ability to continue to make stories

for a religious figure, to explain natural events that they
couldn't explain with the science they currently had, is in a
way admirable, showing their integrity and desire to
understand the world around them.
W is for…
War
While war by itself is a pretty broad topic, war was a
heavily present topic during this course, and throughout
the course of world history. Many economic, social,
political and religious changes happened due to war.
The persian wars, the crusades, the 100 year war, the
peloponnesian war and so on.
A lot of perseverance has to go into battling in a war. Keeping
morale of your soldiers up, making sure to balance the
economics, having the proper strategy to face your enemy, all
of it was extremely difficult, but the perseverance of the
leaders led many of these groups to victory.
X is for…
(E)xodus
Exodus was the liberation of the israeli people, led by Moses, an important christian
religious figure. During exodus, Moses was supposedly directed by the israeli god Yahweh,
to free the muslims from slavery in egypt. This is also where the tradition Passover
originates.

During this event in the bible, Moses

shows exemplary leadership, being
able to lead hundreds of slaves to
freedom is no easy task, yet he still
was able to.
Y is for…
Yellow River
The Yellow River, or the Huang He
river is located in china, and is the
birthplace of ancient chinese
civilizations. The Yellow River was
a perfect spot for a new civilization
to rise, with the abundant arable The Yellow River was and is
farmland, which would later incredibley important for business in
china, with much of the land around it
support the Chinese economy.
still being used for agriculture and
business.
Z is for…
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism was the religion practiced in the Persian Empire, where there is one, all
good, universal creator, called Ahura Mazda. One unique trait of the Persians, is that they
never forced those they conquered to convert to Zoroastrianism, and instead let them
continue to practice the religion they wanted to.

The innovation that came with the

Persian religion is admirable, a “new”
idea of letting people continue
practicing whatever religion they
pleased allowed for them to stay in
power much longer with less
complications.
 Overview
1. 1. While this project was not traditionally “easy” I enjoyed formatting and displaying the info I learned during this
course. It was really interesting to have to lay out all the topics from different units next to each other, and see how
they fit in together.
2. 2. I wouldn’t say this project was challenging, per say, rather time consuming, but the final product is something I
can say that I am proud of.
3. 3. I would quite honestly give myself a 5. I am extremely happy with the way this came out, even if it is one day
overdue, I would rather submit a fully finished, well done project late, than a rushed, sloppy project on time.
4. 4. In a way, the subject I remembered the most about during this project was the geography of different locations,
and how it playing into the global economy and business in their general area. I had a bit of a difficult time with the
different social and governmental structures, like feudalism and republics, but after some review it was pretty easy.
5. 5. While I am torn between integrity and excellence, I feel as though integrity fits better, especially with my belief
that good late work is better than sloppy on time work. Even when I could have given up, and done a super simple
project to get it done on time, I wanted to make the end product unique to me, and I wanted it to feel like my
project. When someone looks at my work, I want it to be obvious that it is mine, and I think there is something truly
special about having my work stand out.