Final Test Timeline: Political

Mesopotamia Forms First Urban Cities

3000 BCE

Mesopotamia forming its first urban cities shows one of the largest changes in the political world. This is because without cities there is no politics. The existence of urban cities is even more important than the formation of the first towns because the more people you have in one area, the more you need a political system. The political leaders in Mesopotamia were usually warriors or priests.

Old Kingdom of Egypt Begins

2680 BCE

The beginning of the Old Kingdom is the start of one of the most famous political powers in the ancient world, Ancient Egypt. During the Old Kingdom, Egypt was ruled by a king, whom they saw as a god. This introduced a new type of government, the theocratic monarchy, to Western Civilization. Ancient Egypt was a very powerful and stable kingdom that contributed a lot to politics during its time in power.

Roman Republic Begins

509 BCE

The start of the Roman Republic is important to the politics of the Western world because it was the beginning of Rome, even if it was not yet in its most powerful form, the Roman Empire. Without the Roman Republic, there would have been no chance of making an empire as strong as the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic was integral to the structure and power of the Roman Empire.

Athens is Made a Democracy

508 BCE

Athens being made a democracy is important to the politics of Western Civilization because it was the first successful democracy the world had ever seen. Democracy has been used at many points in the history of the West and is one of the main forms of government in today's world. The Greeks paved the way for more civilizations to give the choice in politics to the people, and without that, the world would be very different today.

Alexander the Great Has Full Control Over Greece

334 BCE

Alexander the Great gaining full control over Greece is important to the politics of Western Civilization because he was one of the most powerful and influential political leaders. Alexander conquered everywhere from Greece to Persia and Egypt and made it into the Hellenistic Empire. The Hellenistic Empire fell apart a little without him, but he created such a politically sound empire that even faulty emperors were able to keep it going for another 300 years.

Octavian Begins Creation of Roman Empire

31 BCE

Octavian/Augustus creating the Roman Empire is important to the politics of the West because the Roman Empire was one of the largest and most powerful empires in all of Ancient Western civilization. The Roman Empire eliminated the Representative Democracy that was used in the Roman Republic and replaced it with Imperial Authority, an emperor. This allowed Rome to have a lot of power but took away representation from the plebeians.

Constantine Makes Rome Christian

312

Constantine making Christianity the official religion of the Romans is important to the politics of Western civilization because it signals the rise of Christianity. Without Rome adopting the religion, the Christians would have continued to be persecuted and killed for their religion and would have had little political influence. Now because Christianity was popular, the Church can be used to exert political power over subjects.

Charlemagne is Crowned Holy Roman Emperor

800

Charlemagne made the Holy Roman Empire by combining all the Germanic Tribes into a new Roman Empire. While the empire was under Charlemagne's control it was quite powerful, but after he died it lost power due to a long line of faulty emperors. The Holy Roman Empire is important to the politics of the West because it was a powerful empire that lasted about nine centuries.

Pope Urban II Starts First Crusade

1095

The start of the First Crusade is important to the politics of Western Civilization because it shows the rise in the political power of the papacy. The Crusades were used to bring in money for both the papacy and the kings. The Papacy would order crusaders to go reclaim the Holy Land, which would then bring them more riches and power upon their return.

The Decline of Feudalism and Rise of Capitalism

1200

In Italy, in the year 1200 CE, the political power was in the hands of the Popoli Grossi, the rich people, instead of the kings and vassals. This shows that the power left from the kings and vassals, the leaders of the feudal system, and went into the hands of the wealthy. This is important to Western politics because capitalism is the main political system used to control trade today.

Columbus "Discovers" the Americas

1492

Columbus' discovery of the Americas is vital to the politics of the West because the Europeans would put a lot of money and effort into colonizing the Americas in the following centuries. The discovery of the Americas is also important to politics because through British colonization of the Atlantic Coast of North America and subsequent revolution, the United States of America was brought into existence. The U.S. remains a significant political power in today's world.