Key Concept 2.2: The Development of States and Empires Period 2: 600 BCE- 600 CE

Classical Empires The number and size of key states and empires grew dramatically by imposing political unity on areas where previously there had been competing states.

Imperial Administration New techniques based, in part, on the success of earlier political forms Rulers created administrative institutions in many regions to organize their subjects China Persia Rome South Asia

Examples of Administrative Institutions Centralized Governments Legal Systems & Bureaucracies China- Civil Service Exams, Scholar-Bureaucrats Rome- 12 Tables, Code of Justinian

Military Power Governments projected military power over large areas by using a variety of techniques: Diplomacy Supply lines Fortifications Roads Military Recruitment

Trade Much of the success of the empires rested on their promotion of trade economic integration by building and maintaining roads and issuing currencies

Trade First major trade centers developed Persepolis, Athens, Chang’an, Rome, Constantinople, Teotihuacan

Social Structures Social structures of empires displayed hierarchies that included cultivators, laborers, slaves, artisans, merchants, or caste groups Caste Systems

Production Imperial societies relied on a range of methods to maintain the production of food and provide rewards for the loyalty of the elites Corvee Slavery Rents & Tributes Peasant Communities Family & Household Production

Patriarchy Patriarchy continued to shape gender and family relations in all imperial societies of this period

Causes of Imperial Collapse: Environmental Damage Excessive mobilization of resources caused environmental damage and generated social tensions and economic difficulties by concentrating too much wealth in the hands of elites Deforestation, Desertification, Erosion

Causes of Imperial Collapse: External Problems Resulted from security issues along the frontiers, including the threat of invasions Han v. Xiongnu Gupta v. White Huns Romans v. Germans