The Romans maintained a paid professional army. The soldiers had to put in a minimum of 25 years of service. The army was the largest single organized body in the empire. Its strength had become 600,000 by the fourth century. The army had the power to determine the fate of the emperors. The success of the emperor depended on his control of the army.

69 BCE was a tumultuous year. Four emperors mounted the throne in quick succession in that year. Other than that, the first two centuries were free from civil war and were relatively stable. Succession to the throne was based on family ascent. A natural or adopted heir could be made the next emperor. Even the army strongly followed this practice.

1. Arab's Contribution in the Field of Science :

(i) The Arabs produced great physicians like Al-Razi and Ibn-Sina who respectively discovered the true nature of smallpox and tuberculosis. They organised hospitals, for the treatment of the infectious diseases.

ii). In Mathematics the Arabs spread the knowledge of numbers and trigonometry in the other regions of the world Omar-Khayyam a great Mathematicians of Arab devised a calendar which is more accurate than the present Christian Calendar.

iii). The Arab astronomers believed that the earth revolves round the sun.

iv). In Chemistry, the Arbs discovered many new compounds like sodium carbonate, silver nitrate, Nitric and sulphuric acids.

2. Arab's Contribution in the Field of Culture :

i). In literature, the Arab classic "The Arabian Nights" a collection of 1001 stories "Rubaiyat" by Omar Khayyam, "Shahnama" by Al-Firdausi are famous all over the world.

ii). The buildings of the Arabs and bulb like domes, small minarets, horse shoe arches and twisted columns.

3. Arab's Contribution in other Fields :

i). The Arabs propounded the ideal of equality and brotherhood.

ii). Arab carpets, leather work, metal work, beautiful, swords and enamelled glass.

The Crisis of the Fourteenth Century

In Europe economic expansion slowed down. This was due to three factors:

1. In Northern Europe, by the end of the thirteenth century the warm summers of the previous 300 years had given way to bitterly cold summers. Seasons for growing crops were reduced by a month.
2. Trade was hit by a severe shortage of metal money because of a shortfall in the output of silver mines in Austria and Serbia. This forced government to reduce the silver content of the currency and to mix it with cheaper metals.
3. Ships carrying goods from distant countries had started arriving in European ports. The ships came with rats carrying deadly bubonic plague infection (the Black Death).

• Education spread in Italy by the 13th and 14th centuries.
• Humanism as a subject was first taught in Italian schools, colleges and universities. Italian people were made aware of humanist views and ideas.
• Universities were first of all developed here to spread education.
• A number of classical books were composed by Roman and Greek scholars.

The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal peoples: Indians (more commonly referred to as First Nations), Inuit and Métis. These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. They respected Native territories, their ways, and treated them as the human beings they were. The Natives, in turn, treated the French as trusted friends. More intermarriages took place between French settlers and Native Americans than with any other European group. ... The Natives did not appreciate any of this.

The term Third Order signifies, in general, lay members of religious orders, who do not necessarily live in community and yet can claim to wear the habit and participate in the good works of some great order. Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism all recognize Third Orders. The Third Order consists of religious and lay men and women who try to emulate St. Francis's spirit by performing works of teaching, charity, and social service.

In 380 CE, the emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which made Christianity, specifically Nicene Christianity, the official religion of the Roman Empire. Most other Christian sects were deemed heretical, lost their legal status, and had their properties confiscated by the Roman state. The ancient Romans have many lasting effects on the modern world, such as, but not limited to: Creation of law, language influences, art, literature, infrastructure, and city planning. Rome also had an impact on the spread of Christianity. A major influence on modern time was the Roman system of law.

Europeans developed the system of feudalism to help provide economic and social stability and safety. Feudalism​ The feudal system arose as a way of protecting property and creating stability. It was based on loyalty and personal relationships. Monarchs gave fiefs to lords, their most important vassals. The people of western Europe needed a source of protection from many invading threats with order. As a result, they invented a system in which people of higher classes provided protection for lower classes in return for their loyalty to them.

Late Antiquity, here defined as the period between the accession of Diocletian in 284 CE and the end of the Roman rule in the Mediterranean, is one of the most exciting periods of ancient history. Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome known as the Greco-Roman world.

Ancient Rome was made up of a structure called a social hierarchy, or division of people into differently-ranked groups depending on their jobs and family. The emperor was at the top of this structure, followed by the wealthy landowners, the common people, and the slaves (who were the lowest class). There are three main groups of the Roman republic. They are patricians, plebeians, and slaves. The patricians are the highest and wealthiest of the social classes.

Workers in the Roman Empire were the slaves, they were controlled and forced to work in the fields, mines, construction sites, household etc.. There were also Bond slaves in the society, they were kept in chains and branded so that they could not escape. Rome treated its conquered lands with justice. Conquered people had to acknowledge Roman leadership, pay taxes, and supply soldiers. Rome let them keep their own customs, money, and local government. A few conquered people even got full citizenship.

Ancient Rome was an agrarian and slave based economy whose main concern was feeding the vast number of citizens and legionaries who populated the Mediterranean region. Agriculture and trade dominated Roman economic fortunes, only supplemented by small scale industrial production. As such, Rome's economy remained focused on farming and trade. Agricultural free trade changed the Italian landscape, and by the 1st century BC, vast grape and olive estates had supplanted the yeoman farmers, who were unable to match the imported grain price.

Freeborn women in ancient Rome were citizens (cives), but could not vote or hold political office. Because of their limited public role, women are named less frequently than men by Roman historians. ... The one major public role reserved solely for women was in the sphere of religion: the priestly office of the Vestals. The exact role and status of women in the Roman world, and indeed in most ancient societies, has often been obscured by the biases of both ancient male writers and 19-20th century CE male scholars, a situation only relatively recently redressed by modern scholarship which has sought to more objectively assess women's status, rights, duties, representation in the arts, and daily lives; and all this from almost exclusively male source material dealing with a male-dominated Roman world.

The ancient Romans were great architects and builders. As they expanded their empire, they constructed many beautiful buildings and roads. ... They invented the technology for concrete, aqueducts, arches and roads. Ancient Rome was the capital of the Roman empire. At its peak, some of the advantages were: Homes were not subject to wars or invasion and provinces were free to prosper, produce and thrive, which most Roman provinces did. Very good roads and the Mediterranean Sea connected the Roman Empire, enhancing trade, commerce, learning, communication and governance.

By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists’ motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain.

Mesopotamian Writing:

• The first Mesopotamian tablets, written around 3200 BCE, contained picture-like signs and numbers.
• Writing began when society needed to keep records of transactions – because in city life transactions occurred at different times, and involved many people and a variety of goods
• Mesopotamians wrote on tablets of clay.

• This city was founded by Mesapnanda about 2670 BCE. It was a well-known commercial centre and a port was destroyed by Elemites around 2200 BCE.
• Ur was re-established under Ur-Nammu in 2100 BCE.
• It was first excavated by British excavator J.E. Taylor in 1854-55.
• This city was designed without planning as the excavation depicted.
• Excavation was carried out on a large scale during 1920’s and 1930’s, under the supervision of Sir Leonard Woollsey.

August 1856, workmen who were quarrying for limestone in the Neander valley a gorge near the German city of Dusseldorf, found a skull and some skeletal fragments.

Adrian is a painter from the south-western French city of Renne. After serving the lords for a long period, Adrian finally found a new job in the cathedral being constructed at Angers. He started his journey early morning for Angers. He seemed to be really happy, as he hoped that this work would help him end his life of exploitation by the lords.

Adrian was spellbound to see the enormous structure of the cathedral being built and the huge number of labourers working. Mr. Elodie, the head craftsman, explained the job to Adrian. He basically had to paint the church windows. In the evening, after a day’s hard work, Adrian received a gold coin as his wage.

Adrian is also a member of a guild. Every day, after his work is over, Adrian attends the guild’s meetings. Here, problems faced by the people of his profession are discussed. Adrian also gets the exposure of the job scenario in the town.