War and Civil Conflict 600 BCE to 600 CE - AP World History

Roman military success was driven by the organization of the military. Organized into legions, Roman soldiers fought primarily as heavy infantry, were highly disciplined, and were able to fight effectively through a variety of terrain using tactically flexible formations.

Octavian, Julius Caesar's adopted nephew, would become Caesar Augustus. Under his leadership, he sought to make imperator an office and a title, effectively rendering the senate impotent and changing the republic into an empire. While all of the people mentioned in the answer options were involved in the assassination, only Octavian became imperator.

Once member of the First Triumvirate, and husband to Julius Caesar's daughter Julia, Pompey decided to ally with the Senate to oppose Caesar, leading to civil war. Pompey was ultimately defeated and the rebellion quelled, but Julius Caesar was still assassinated by senators loyal to the Republic.

Sparta was a society based around rigid military life. All young people trained to be in the army and as a result they were one of the strongest armies of the age. While Athens, Thebes, Argos, and Cyprus were all major players in Ancient Greece, Sparta is widely accepted as the most militant.

The Punic Wars were conflicts between Rome and Carthage. Carthage and its exceedingly powerful navy were expanding their empire to the east, as Rome secured the Italian peninsula and began greater expansion via land. In the second Punic War, Hannibal lead the Carthagian army over the alps to confront the Roman forces.

When Alexander the Great emerged victorious at the Battle of Gaugamela, the Persian emperor Darius fled the field and was slain by a bodyguard soon after.

Alexander the Great never invaded China, and Pu-Yi was an emperor who lived in the 20th century, long after Alexander's reign.

Persian culture survived Alexander's invasion, and was even adopted by Alexander himself.

After Persia, Alexander continued through Asia; going as far as modern day Pakistan.

The Hellenic League's support of Alexander remained strong until his invasion of the Indian subcontinent.

The Mandate of Heaven justified the divine right of emperors to rule, but it also required certain responsibilities. If a sovereign did not fulfill his obligations, he could be overthrown.

The Divine Right of Kings was a concept from Europe that justified a hereditary ruler's right to rule; it made no allowances for rebellion or revolution and it stressed no responsibilities on the part of the sovereign.

The Social Contract is a concept originating in the European Enlightenment that explores the legitimacy of a government's authority of its people.

Noblesse Oblige was a concept that required noble leaders to take on leadership roles in their community.

The Gospel of Wealth is an idea first espoused by the industrialist Andrew Carnegie extolling the virtues of philanthropy as a means of responsible, top-down redistribution.

Mark Antony was Julius Caesar's political protege, Cleopatra was his ally and lover, and Octavian was his lieutenant and cousin.

Aristotle, Phillip of Macedon, and Alexander the Great all lived centuries earlier than Caesar.

Marcus Aurelius was an emperor who lived during the Pax Romana and is considered one of the most beneficent emperors in human history because he fought few wars, did not expand the empire at the cost of millions of lives, and attempted to outlaw gladiatorial fights to the death; he is also well studied because his personal diary, "The Meditations" is largely intact, and he has been portrayed by various actors in major Hollywood movies. Commodus was his son.

Spartacus was a slave who led a revolt against Rome and was only defeated when his army attempted to fight a pitched battle, a kind of fight the Romans excelled at.

Trajan and Hadrian were other famous emperors of Rome. Trajan is often considered a beneficent emperor who oversaw rising living standards, fought few wars, and did not expand the empire's borders at the cost of millions of lives. Hadrian is famous for building a large wall in England to attempt to stop invasions of Britons who did not submit to Roman authority.

At the battle of Cynoscephalae, Rome's army defeated a Macedonian force by using war elephants.

The Roman army never used firearms nor observation balloons.

The Roman maniples did use throwing spears, called pilum, that were designed to break after initial contact so they couldn't be thrown back at the Romans.

Crassus, one of the richest men in Roman history, had little battlefield experience. He needed victories, rather than money, to assure he could contest Julius Caesar and Pompey for the rule of Rome. His invasion of Parthia ended in disaster, and he was killed.

The Romans never fought against the Mongols or the Zulu.

While the Romans did fight many battles against the Greeks and Carthaginians, Crassus wasn't involved, and certainly didn't die in any of them.

The Warring States Period (475 - 221 B.C.E.) was an era of Chinese history known for constant civil war and conflict between various Chinese kingdoms. It ended in 221 B.C.E. with the victory of the Qin and the establishment of the brief, but important, Qin Dynasty under Qin Shi Huangdi.

The Peloponnesian League was formed by Sparta in order to combat what they felt was a growing Athenian threat (Athens had formed the Delian League). The league played an important part in the Peloponnesian War. After the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans broke the power of the Delian League and The Peloponnesian League became the preeminent power in Greece.

After an appeal by Segesta for help against Syracuse, Athenian sent an military expedition to Sicily. Although the expedition had some initial successes, it quickly unraveled and became one of Athens' worst defeats of the Peloponnesian War. The expedition became stranded on the island and eventually was entirely lost to Athens.

After the Syracusans slow start, Sparta sent Gylippus to the city, kickstarting the war effort. While Lysander headed the conflict in Greece, Gylippus completely took over Syracuse's war effort and turned the tide of the conflict. Athens' failure to take the city was a disastrous defeat that changed the course of the war.

Lysander won the Battle of Aegospotami, forcing the Athenians to finally admit defeat. Lysander was the admiral of the Spartan fleet, built up over the course of the Peloponnesian conflict, eventually overwhelmed the traditionally stronger Athenian navy. While other Spartans, such as Brasidas and Gylippus, were pivotal to the Spartan war effort, it was Lysander who broke the Athenians.

During a war between Megara and Corinth, Athens forged an alliance with Megara, which was formerly a Spartan ally. This caused Sparta to enter on the Corinthian side, officially starting the Peloponnesian War. Aegina, Lesbos and Samos were other Greek powers that participated in the conflict.

The Athenian defeat resulted in the end of Argos and its Argive League, giving Sparta a renewed control over the Peloponnese. Argos had been one of Athens' most powerful allies, and arguably the second-most powerful city on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Its defeat was a major blow to the Delian League and the Athenian war effort.

The Persian Wars began in 499 BCE and lasted until 450 BCE. The conflict was fought between the Persian Empire and various Greek city-states and culminated in victory for the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon. The wars began when Ionian Greeks, living under Persian control, in modern-day Turkey, revolted against the Persian authorities. The Greek city-states offered their support and earned the ire of the Persian emperors who vowed to conquer all of Greece.

The Peloponnesian War was fought between the forces of Athens and Sparta from 431 BCE until 404 BCE The war began as the culmination of centuries of rivalry between Athens, Sparta, and the other Greek city-states for dominance in the Aegean. It ended in the annihilation of the Athenian army and fleet and the destruction of Athens.