Good day to you Please get a chapter 5 study guide Open your notebooks to your current journal page and have a pen

Journal 9/6 Which empire from chapter 4 seemed the most impressive to you? Why?

The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire Achaemenid Empire 550 BCE to 330 BCE (conquered by Alexander) Parthian Empire 247 BCE to 224 CE (conquered by Ardashir I) Sassanid Empire 224 CE to 651 CE (conquered by Islamic Caliphates)

Cyrus the Great 580 – 529 B. C. E. A tolerant ruler  he allowed different cultures within his empire to keep their own institutions. The Greeks called him a “Law-Giver.” The Jews called him “the anointed of the Lord.” (In 537, he allowed over 40,000 to return to Palestine).

Darius the Great (526 – 485 B. C. E.) Built Persepolis. He extended the Persian Empire to the Indus River in northern India. (2 mil. s.q. mi.) Built a canal in Egypt.

Darius the Great (526 – 485 B. C. E.) Established a tax-collecting system. Divided the empire into districts called SATRAPIES. Built the great Royal Road system. Established a complex postal system. Created a network of spies called “the King’s eyes and ears.”

Persian “Royal Road”

Ancient Persepolis

Ancient Persepolis

The People of Persepolis

TeotihuacÁn: A Classical city case-study Largest Meso-American City of the Classical Era Pop ≈ 150,000

Classical cities were economic centers for trade

Classical cities were centers for public religious ceremonies

Had pyramids and temples where human sacrifice was carried out.

pyramid of the moon

View from the pyramid of the moon Pyramid of the sun

Classical cities were centers of political administrations for states and empires.

Forced relocation of farm families Agri. innovation such as irrigation and chinampas.

- Apartment-like stone buildings housed commoners - Elites lived in separate residential compounds and controlled the bureaucracy, taxes, and commerce. - Ruled by alliances of wealthy families. Commoners apartments 50-100 people lived here Priests’ houses by Pyramid of the Sun

Imperial Administration

As an empire grows, it needs new methods of administration and defense.

Provincial system: ruled by a governor, backed up by troops

How did Rome defend its empire? Diplomacy (ex: treaties with Germanic Tribes) Fortifications (ex: fortresses, Hadrian’s Wall, etc) Roads and Supply lines Drafting new soldiers (ex: from Germanic tribes)

Obituary of Empires

Persian Empire (Achaemenid) lived 550 BCE – c.330 BCE Cause of death: Conquered by Alexander the Great Survived by: Centralized imperial bureaucracy, eventually the Parthian dynasty, Zoroastrianism

Alexander the Great’s Empire Cause of death: Alexander died = empire split among 3 generals Survived by: spread of Greek culture (Hellenism)

Split of Alexander’s Empire

Hellenistic era: 330 BCE – 30BCE Greek and Buddhist art

Western Roman Empire lived c.500 BCE - 476 CE Cause of death: Barbarian invasions (Germanic tribes) Weakened by political Instability (26 emperors, 235-284 CE) Empire was Overextended and Expensive Weakened by social Inequality (large landowning families + peasants became tenant farmers = less gov’t authority) Weakened by epidemic disease (population fell by 25% after 250CE) = economic decline Weakened by cultural decline Survived by: Christianity, Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, decentralized Western European kingdoms

External problems along their frontiers

Han China lived c.200BCE – 220CE Cause of death: Weakened by nomadic invasions (Xiongnu) Weakened by rivalries(eunuchs v. Confucian scholars) Decline of peasantry = Yellow Turban Rebellion (emperor lost real control, generals gained control) Survived by: 350 years of disorder & war, eventual reunified empire under the Sui, Confucianism, Buddhism, civil service system

External problems along their frontiers

Environmental Damage, ex: silted rivers

Teotihuacan lived c.200 CE – c.800 CE Cause of death: Fire? Possibly caused by an uprising? Nomadic people to the north? Survived by: cultural legacy to other Mesoamerican cultures