Period 2: 600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.

 Indo-European people in present-day Iran  Drew upon Babylonians and Assyrians  King ruled by the will of Ahura Mazda (Zoroastrianism)  23 Persian governors (satraps) with lower-level officials drawn from local authorities  General policy of tolerance for minorities empire’s many non-Persian cultures  Infrastructure: standardized coinage, predictable taxes, canal linking Nile and Red Sea, roads  Elaborate imperial centers (Susa, Persepolis) with monuments and palaces

 Small, competing city-states  Geography contributed to political independence, but common language and religion  Athenians had direct democracy  Greco-Persian Wars: Greek settlements on the Anatolian seacoast came under Persian control  rebellion  Greek victory (attributed to freedoms)  Golden Age  Peloponnesian Wars: Athens defeated by Peloponnesian League and Persia  decline

 338 B.C.: Macedonian takeover of Greece by Phillip II  Son Alexander created a Greek empire from Egypt to India  Defeated Persian Empire  Died in 323 B.C.E.  empire was divided into three parts, ruled by Macedonian generals.  Key significance: spread Hellenistic culture throughout Asia and beyond

 8th century B.C.E.: originally ruled by Etruscan kings  509 B.C.E.: Roman aristocrats overthrew monarchy and established a republic  2 Consuls advised by patrician Senate  Law – Twelve Tables  B.C.E.: Punic Wars with Carthage  Rome becomes empire with Octavian Caesar (Augustus)  Pax Romana: From 27 B.C. to 180, Roman Empire provided peace and prosperity for the Mediterranean world.  Expansion due to strong military  Conquered people given some self-rule; many granted citizenship

 Qin Shihuangdi (“First Emperor”) defeated other states  Expanded into parts of Vietnam and Korea  Used Legalism as governing philosophy: punished aristocrats  Beginnings of Great Wall  Standardized weights, coinage, written language  Encouraged silk manufacturing  New roads

 Less harsh; Confucianism replaces Legalism as governing philosophy  B.C.E.: Emperor Wudi establishes a Confucian Academy for training imperial bureaucrats: beginning of Chinese civil service system  Trade along Silk Roads increased  Government oversaw iron production, built canals and irrigation systems  Paper manufactured for first time

 Founded by Chandragupta  Expanded under grandson Ashoka ( B.C.E.)  Converted to Buddhism  spread  Encouraged trade and constructed roads

 Less centralized rule  Peace and prosperity of the Guptas enabled pursuit of science and art  Marked by inventions and discoveries  zero, decimal system, “Arabic numerals”  Extensive trade with Indochina, Sri Lanka, Burma

 Classical period from 250 to 900 CE  Cultural achievements  concept of zero  complex mathematical calculations  astronomy (predict eclipses)  art, writing, pyramids, plazas, temples  Politics: no unified empire, city-states ruled by divine rulers  Decline was sudden and mysterious

 Located in Valley of Mexico  Built c. 150 B.C.E.  200,000 people at peak  Street of the Dead: grand homes of elites  Temple of Feathered Serpent: remains of 200 sacrificial victims found  mysteriously collapsed in 650 C.E., 1000 years later Aztecs dub it “city of the gods”

 Administrative institutions  Centralized governments  Elaborate legal systems and bureaucracies  Economic: Promotion of trade and economic integration  building and maintaining roads  Issuing currencies  Military Techniques:  Diplomacy, developing supply lines, building fortifications, defensive walls, and roads  Drawing new groups of military officers and soldiers from the local populations or conquered people

 Cities served as centers of trade, public performance of religious rituals, and political administration for states and empires.  Persepolis (Persian Empire/Middle East)  Chang’an (Chinese Dynasties/East Asia)  Pataliputra (Indian Empires/Indian subcontinent)  Athens (Athenian Empire/Eastern Europe)  Carthage (Carthaginian Empire/North Africa)  Rome (Roman Empire/Western Europe)  Alexandria (Macedonian Empire/Middle East)  Constantinople (Roman Empire/Eastern Europe+Asia Minor)  Teotihuacan (Mayan Empire/Latin America)

PERSEPOLIS

 Roman, Han, and Gupta empires all declined and collapsed  1. Depopulation: declining urban populations  generated social tensions and economic difficulties by concentrating too much wealth in the hands of elites.  2. Invasions:  Xiongnu invaded Han China  White Huns invaded Gupta  Germanic tribes invaded Romans  3. Environmental  Excessive mobilization of resources caused environmental damage  Deforestation, Desertification, Soil erosion, Silted rivers

 Decline of urban life  Contracting population  Diminishing international trade  Insecurity for ordinary people  China v. Rome  While China was able to reassemble under the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties, Western Europe never again experienced a centralized, imperial authority.  Instead, it fragmented into kingdoms, city-states, and ultimately nation-states.  Urban decline most severe in Western Europe

 1. infrastructure  2. monumental architecture  3. bureaucracy  4. centralized government  5. Pax Romana  6. Greco-Persian Wars  7. Peloponnesian Wars  8. Twelve Tables  9. patricians/ plebeians  10. Augustus Caesar  11. Qin Shihuangdi  12. Han Wudi  13. Arabic numerals  14. Ashoka  15. Teotihuacan

 How did classical empires (Roman, Han) differ from earlier empires (Egyptian, Babylonian)?  Change?  How were they similar?  Continuity?

 The number and size of key states and empires grew dramatically by imposing political unity on areas where previously there had been competing states. Required examples of key states and empires  Southwest Asia: Persian Empires  Mediterranean region: Phoenicia & colonies, Greek city- states and colonies, and Hellenistic and Roman Empire  East Asia: Qin and Han Empire  South Asia: Maurya and Gupta Empires  Mesoamerica: Teotihuacan, Maya city-states  Andean South America: Moche

 Write a thesis answering the question:  Analyze similarities and differences between the imperial administration of the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire.

 While both the Roman and Han Empires used well-organized bureaucracies and infrastructure to administer their empires, they differed in the philosophies used to justify their rule.