Key Concept 2.2 : The Development of States & Empires

By: Mahagony Keen, Arion Simmons, & Eric Taylor Key Concept 2.2 :The Development of States & Empires

Key Concept • 6. The number and size of key states and empires grew dramatically by imposing political unity on areas where previously there had been competing states.

Persian Empires • The Persian Empire was founded in 550 B.C. by Cyrus II. Known as Cyrus the Great. His reign marked the beginning of the Achaemenid dynasty, which ruled the Persian Empire for more than 200 years. • The empire extended from the west coast of Asia Minor to the border of India. The empire ended in 330 B.C., when the last king of the Achaemenid dynasty was assassinated and the empire was taken over by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great.

Persian Empire’s location

Cyrus the Great • The Persians originated in central Asia before settling in the region of present day Iran. • Conquered the large empire of the Medes. • Conquered the ancient kingdom of Assyria. • Babylon, brought along the addition of Palenstine. • Expanded the empire eastward all the way to India. • The reign of Cyrus ended in 530 B.C., was succeeded by his son Cambyses, who added Egypt to the empire.

Darius the Great • Completed the system of government begun by Cyrus, a system in which the empire was organized into provinces called satrapies. • In 499 B.C., several of the Greek speaking cities of Asia Minor which were under Persian domination rebelled against Persia, marking the start of Persian Wars.

Achaemenid Empire • The Achaemenids allowed a certain amount of regional autonomy in the form of the satrapy system. • The twenty satrapies were linked by a 2,500 kilometer highway, known as the Royal Road, built by Darius. • Trade was extensive amongst this route • .The official language was Old Persian but most people spoke Aramaic. • Trade was one of the main sources of revenue, along with agriculture and tribute. Persepolis was the capital. • It is called the Achaemenid Dynasty because of the Achaemenes who created the state. • The most obvious reason for why the Achaemenid Empire fell is the invasion of Greece by Alexander the Great during the reign and death of Artaxerxes the III.

Fall of the Persian Empire • The Persian Empire fell because there were rebellions in its provinces and the Greeks attacked it when it was in a state of chaos trying to stop rebellions. Alexander the Macedonian also used new tactics and his army was composed of more calvalry than hoplites. Both of these factors threw Darius III off guard and his army was defeated.  

Qin Empire • The Qin was one of the warring states. Conquered its rivals and created China's first empire. • Located in west China, adopted Legalist ideas. • Agriculture produced the wealth and taxes that supported the economy. • The Qin may have been the 1st to take full advantage of iron technology. • Organized a powerful army with iron weapons.

Trade • An extensive network of roads connecting towns, cities, and frontier forts promoted rapid communication and facilitated trade. • The Silk Road carried China's most treasured product to Central, South, and West Asia and the Mediterranean lads.

The Silk Road

The First Emperor: Qin Shihuangdi • Established centralized imperial rule. • Completed the project of connecting and extending the Great Wall. • He ordered the burning of all works of philosophy that in any way contradicted his policies. He even had some 460 scholars executed, supposedly by burying them alive. • The Qin government's commitment to standardization helped create a unified Chinese civilization. • The Qin imposed standard weights, measures, laws, currencies, and standardization of scripts.

The fall of the Qin Dynasty • Large numbers of people were forced to donate their labor and often their lives to build the walls and roads. This generated tremendous ill among the people. His death in 210 B.C.E. triggered a number of revolts and civil wars that led to the rapid fall of the Qin Dynasty and the rise of the Han Dynasty.

Han Empire • Liu Bang restored order. • Han Centralization: • Built a large bureaucracy to rule the empire. • Continuation of the building of roads and canals. • Imposed taxes on agriculture, trade and crafts industries. • The Han ended the Qin policy of using non-hereditary governors and reverted to the older practice of using royal family members instead.

(continued) • The backbone of the Chinese bureaucracy was a class of scholars known as the civil gentry who would run Chinese government and administration until the early 1900's. • Instituted the civil service exams that determined applicants' potential as bureaucrats by testing their knowledge of Confucian teachings, now the official state philosophy. • Even after the demise of the civil service exam system, this emphasis on education has remained a powerful factor in East Asian societies, helping to account for their high literacy rates and rapid economic development in recent history.

Location

Han Imperial Expansion • Expanded its political and cultural influence southward into the rice growing regions of Southeast Asia, northward into the nomadic regions, and northeastward into Korea and Manchuria.

Prosperity and Productivity • Science and technology flourished, making China the leading culture in those fields for centuries. The invention of paper (made from rags), the sundial, water clocks, and surgery using acupuncture were some of the main accomplishments of this period. New forms of literature, especially, history, poetry, and diaries, were developed. • Iron metallurgy helped to form farming tools, utensils, and weapons. • Silk textiles spread all over China. • The production of paper replaced silk and bamboo as writing material. • Large population growth.

The Fall of the Han Empire • As powerful and prosperous as Han China was, it had an inherent weakness, namely that it was based on a huge army and bureaucracy that put a tremendous strain on the economy. This had two main results. First of all, the peasants, increasingly lost their lands to nobles whose power grew in opposition to the central government. This caused revolts both by oppressed peasants and powerful hungry nobles. Secondly, as the economy weakened under the strain of heavy taxes, nomadic raids became frequent, which hurt the economy even more, triggering more raids, and so on. Together, these raids and revolts weakened the Han Dynasty, forcing it to increase the army and taxes. Finally, in 220 C.E., the Han Dynasty fell, ushering in another period of turmoil.

South Asia: Maurya Empire • The Maurya empire, (c. 321-185 BCE.) was located in ancient India, a state centered at Pataliputra near the junction of the Son and Ganges rivers.

Chandragupta Maurya • The maurya empire was established by Chandragupta Maurya who gained control of the kingdom of Magadha and expanded it. • He was inspired by Alexander the Great and decided to run the empire in his ways. • Chandragupta strategy to conquer other land was to create alliances with people who didn’t like the same empire which would influenced them to fight and they became weakened & was easier to conquer.

Conquered Land • Conquered much of North India in a series of military exploits • Chandragupta overthrew the last of the Nanda kings. • Gained control of the Punjab and Sind & took his empire up to the Indus. • Ashoka conquered the coastal kingdom of Kalinga; united the northern India

Politically • Politically, the maurya kings and government was supported by a tax equivalent to one – fourth of the value of its harvest. • Chandragupta split the empire into four provinces for organizational and ruling purposes. • The maurya kings were the center of power while the priest were the chief. • The empire was the India’s first centralized.

Fall of the Maurya Empire • The Maurya empire prospered a while after Ashoka’s death. Then it became weakened by dynastic disputes. Soon, the empire collapsed from the pressure of attacks in the northwest in 184 B.C.E.

Gupta Empire • The Gupta Empire (320-550 C.E.) was located in the northern and central India. It grew out of the kingdom of Magadha on the Ganges Plain and had its capital at Pataliputra.

Conquered Land • Gupta Empire had three successors: Samudra Gupta, Chandra Gupta II, and Kumara Guapta. • It controlled their surrounding kingdoms. • Chandra Gupta extended the empire in the west beyond the Hindu Kush range into today’s Afghanistan & in the east to the western borders of today’s Assamandmynamar (Burma).

Fall of the Gupta Empire • The Gupta Empire was being pressured by the Huns. These nomadic invaders from the steppes of Central Asia poured into the northwest corridor. • Defending their empire from the Huns was getting too tough and eventually the empire collapsed by 550.

The Phoenicia & its colonies • The Phoenicians were located on the coast of Syria, in ancient times at the east end of the Mediterranean sea. • The Phoenicians colonized many areas along the Mediterranean sea. Their colonies were found in Sardinia, Cyprus, and Carthage. • They were known for their good trading skills. • The Phoenician moved westward and discovered the Atlantic ocean.

(continued) • Then, they rounded Africa, landed in England, and Ireland, & built many cities in Western Europe and on the Atlantic coast of Africa.

Hellenistic & Roman Empire • The Hellenistic period begin 323 B.C.E after Alexander’s death which led to his empire becoming separated. • During this period, it spread Greek ideas and culture from the Eastern Mediterranean to Asia. • While it spread, other cultures and ideas were being mixed in with Greeks. • It didn’t end until the Roman troops conquered the last of the territories that the Macedonian king had once ruled.

Mesoamerica: Teotihuacan • It is located in the far northeast section of the valley of Mexico about 25 miles northeast of the present day Mexico City

Cities Teotihuacan conquered • Cuicuilco was badly damaged by the eruption of a nearby volcano. Later Teotihuacán took over as the leading city in the valley. • Mexico • Guatemala • Belize • El Salvador • Honduras

Other conquered cities • Cholula, Tajin, and Xochicalco carried on Teotihuacan traditions after they collapsed. Therefore, Teotihuacán influenced these cities.

Andean South America:Moche • The Moche people lived in the Moche and Chicama River Valleys in the dry northern coastal plains between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean in present day Peru.

Cities Moche conquered • The Moche people expanded over time to control about 330 miles of the north coast of Peru, including the valleys from Lambayeque in the north to Nepena in the south. • Galindo • Pampa Grande

Key Concept 2.2 : The Development of States & Empires