1. Second-Wave Empires Cont.
Period II – 600 BCE to 600 CE

2. Hellenistic Empire

3. Hellenistic Period (323 – 31 BCE)
After uniting Greece and conquering Persia, Central Asia, and the Punjab region,
Alexander setup a lasting Greek influence
He and his predecessors setup great cities inspired by
Greek culture and architecture, and populated with libraries
Greek became the educated language of the elites,
and most knowledge was recorded and housed in Greek
Greek philosophies and culture were adopted by conquered
peoples, lasting far beyond the Hellenistic Empire’s duration

4. Roman Republic (500s-31 BCE)
Getting its beginnings as a city-state in modern-day Italy, Rome began to
blossom as a military powerhouse as it conquered local Latin cities in the 500s BCE
It then turned its gaze to modern-day Spain, and Gaul
(France), before beginning its conquest of Greek colonies
After defeating several Greek armies, Macedonia
and Carthage began to take notice of Rome
After a series of wars with Carthage, and many back-and-forth victories,
the Romans were able to eradicate Carthage and focus on Macedonia
In a long, multi-decade campaign, the Romans slowly took
Macedonian territory, and ended the Hellenistic empires by 31 BCE

5. Roman Empire (27 BCE to 476 CE)
Rome expanded and maintained itself as a military-based empire
Poor soldiers were rewarded with looting, as well as the
promise of land from conquered areas upon retirement
Large estates and political positions were given to elites
Additionally, they offered Roman Citizenship to
the conquered or more independent status as allies
Also setup local governors, roads, and currency, and ran the central gov. through Rome
Forts and supply-lines established to protect and feed / fund armies

6. Pax Romana (1st and 2nd centuries CE)

7. Roman Roads

8. Western and Eastern Roman Empires

10. Warring States Period – China (475-221 BCE)
Centuries of Chinese unity and relative peace were shattered in the 5th-century BCE
When the Zhou Dynasty began to weaken, other
states in China began to exert more individual power
Some of the larger states began to gain power, land,
and resources at the expense of other, smaller states
During this era, many rulers began to claim the Zhou had lost
the Mandate, and used it to justify their conquest of other states
For more than two centuries, the Chinese dealt
with constant war, death, famine, and instability

11. Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BCE)
Out of the Warring States period, Shihuangdi of Qin unified China
He setup an effective bureaucracy, roads, currency, and a written language
Moved aristocrats (elites) of other states directly
to the centralized imperial city of Chang’an
He pushed back the pastoralist Xiongnu of the steppes,
and mobilized peasants to erect the Great Wall of China
Setup the Legalism system, which had clear written rules
and harsh punishments to enhance state authority

12. Xiongnu and Qin/Han