Lecture 3: The Rise and Fall of the Ancient European EmpiresI. Review of the Effects of Settled AgricultureII. Basic Characteristics of Greek and Roman empires.III. Phoenicians: the first merchants and colonists.IV. Ancient GreeceVI. The Question of Technological StagnationV. The Fall of the Roman EmpireLecture 3: The Rise and Fall of the Ancient European EmpiresI. Review of the Effects of Settled AgricultureA. Food Surpluses and Storage support craftsmen.B. Specializationtrade.C. More permanent settlement, housing.D. Formation of villages, then cities.E. CivilizationGovernment and Bureaucracy Military (again supportedby agricultural output).II. Basic Characteristics of Greek and Roman empires.A. Hierarchical structure with priests, later warrior classes extracting wealth from labor of peasants.B. Predatory and successive.C. Diffusion of existing technology and institutions (law and order) throughout the known world.D. Growth of trade and specialization.E. Classical society was culturally advanced; Western arts, drama, and philosophy still dominated by classical forms and ideas.F. But, very little technological innovation (More on this later).III. Phoenicians: the first merchants and colonists.A. Phoenicians (from 3,000 B.C.), then Greeks and Romans built their empires along the Mediterranean.B. Greeks and Romans adopted Phoenician alphabet and other commercial techniques.IV. Ancient GreeceA. Some Dates1600 - 1100 BCE Mycenaean civilization(c. 1225 The Trojan War)1100 - 800 BCE Dark Ages – rural settlements750 - 650 BCE Rise of Greek city states476 - 431 BCE Athenian Imperialism356 -323 BCE Alexander the Great – conquered Peloponnesian peninsula, conquered vast empire; established AlexandriaAfter his death, his generals fought over empire146 BCE Rome conquers Greece and Macedon146 - 30 BCE Rome completes conquest of Hellenistic WorldB. Greek city-states extensively colonized AsiaMinor and the Italian peninsula, prime source of economic gains.1. Motivations.a. To deal with excessive population.b. To deal with shortages of foodstuffs in founding cities; to obtain a supply of grain and other agricultural products for the founding cityc. To develop trading relationships and extend markets.2. Founding cities did not try to maintain political control over colonies; instead maintained ties of kinship and commercial interaction.3. Consequencesa. Extension of trade.b. Expansion of production—colonization increased resources (land, labor, materials)c. Diffusion of technology –spread of agricultural techniques, writing, and literacy.C. Greeks introduced coinage around 600 B.C.to facilitate trade.1. Standard of account.2. Medium of exchange.—eliminates the problem of “double coincidence of wants” in barter economy. 3. Easily transported store of value. D. Minor Greek Technological Developments1. Smelting of iron ore c. 1400-1200 BCE –but iron used for weapons not tools2. Some improvements in agriculture, but minimal compared to later periods.3. Important innovations related to war and public building – shipping technology, public buildings (Parthenon)V. The Roman EmpireA. Some dates753 BCE Founding of city-state of Rome (probably too early; mostly “legendary” accounts)509-264 BC Rome expands control over Italian peninsula264-133 BCE External expansion3rd century CE Rome in decline476 CE Traditional date of end of Roman empire [German mercenary leaderOdoacer deposed Roman usurper Romulus Augustulus and sentimperial paraphernalia to Constantinople.]B. Basic economic structure similar to Greece – again predominance of slaveryC. Social/political structure military focus, not trade. Interestingly, however, the military focus and prowess of Rome contributed to commercial growth during the Roman Empire.1. Conquest leads to spread of Roman law.Establishment of Roman law throughout the Mediterranean fostered the expansion of trade—enforcement of contracts over long distances, standardization of weights and measures, etc.2. pax Romana (31 BCE - 181 CE).The longperiod of peace during the peak of Roman empire also contributed to the extension of trade (as well as the cultivation of the arts). This peace included a practical elimination of piracy on the Mediterranean Sea. Peace reduced the riskiness of long distance trade.3. Military infrastructure facilitated commerce. Shipping technology and the construction of roads (could be used to move goods, as well as troops) Some developments for military purposes had positive impact oncommerce as well—shipping technology, roads, ect.D. Technological development in the Roman Empire.1. Technological development in Roman Empire was oriented to public works – aqueducts and Roman architecture -- and art of warfare.2. But like Greece, little technological development in the private sector. Little advancement of technology in agriculture or manufactures.VI. The Question of Technological StagnationA. What is meant by stagnation?1. Short list of new products in the 1,500 years of Greek and Roman rule.2. Not too impressive refinements to existing technology.3. Surprisingly little application of water-mill power using aqueducts. Mostly in France and in the latter days of the empire.B. The slavery explanation1. Under slavery labor was relatively cheap, no incentive for the elites to replace human power with machinepower (labor and capital as substitutes).2. Slaves themselves had no incentive to make labor-saving devices, since their labor would be elsewhere directed.3. A puzzle that the elites would not want to increase the output of each slave (labor and capital as complements).4. Proponents of this theory attribute the fall of the Roman Empire to the labor shortage as parasitical classes swelled.C. The case against the slavery explanation.1. Slavery not all that prevalent until the Roman conquests.2. Slavery used for massive projects (temples, fleet building, etc.) not widely in agriculture in which most of the labor force was engaged.D. Alternatives explanations for technological stagnation.1. The value system of the great philosopher-scientist-mathematicians which favored theory over practice.2. A great disconnect between the thinkers and the producers in a stratified society.3. The practical applications of the new scientific discoveries were mostly in weaponry in response to duress.V. The Fall of the Roman EmpireA. By the 4th Century, the crushing tax burdens had forced small farmers to cede their land to