Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1) On the map provided note the empires indicated under #1 f Key Concept 2.2.
Persian Empire
Qin and Han Empire
Mauryan and Gupta Empires
Mediterranean Region (Phoenicia, Greek city-states, Hellenistic and Roman Empires)
Mayan civilization
Moche
2) Who divided the Roman Empire? Which empire developed from the eastern portion of the
Roman Empire?
Diocletian; The Byzantine Empire
3) Name the first Persian Empire and the dates in which it existed? Who defeated this empire
and why?
The Achaemenid Empire; Alexander the Great defeated this empire in the conquest of Persia.
4) Identify the Parthian Empire and the dates in which it existed? Who defeated this Persian
Empire?
The Parthian Empire was the successor to the Achaemenid Empire and lasted from 247 BCE to
224 CE; The Romans
5) Identify the Sassanid Empire and the dates in which it existed? Who defeated this Persian
Empire?
The Sassanid Empire was the last of the Persian Empires and lasted from 224 CE to 651 CE;
Arab Conquests
6) What was the religion of the Persian empires?
Zoroastrianism
7) What was one of the most difficult challenges of expanding empires?
Ruling them after their expansion
8) What two types of governments did empires employ to control their empires?
Centralized Governments and Decentralized Governments
9) Identify examples of centralized states: Decentralized states.
Centralized
o Han China
o Mauryan India
o Byzantine Empire
Decentralized
o Gupta India
o Zhou Dynasty
10) Name strengths and weaknesses of each type of government.
Centralized
o Strengths
Efficient
o Weaknesses
Requires an apparatus to project power and connect distance provinces
together
Target of blame for unhappy citizens
Decentralized
o Strengths
Increased connection and touch between the people and the government
o Weaknesses
Difficulty to unit for the common good during times of crises
11) In China, which state emerged as power?
Qin
12) How did the creation of a bureaucracy help to centralize China under Qin
leadership?
Bureaucrats were employees of the state and were given power by the emperor. They also gained
their wealth and status from their position in the government. Aristocrats, however, gained their
power, status, and wealth from existing estates and personal fortunes. This leads to them
influencing the government in their personal favor. Instead, the Qin governed through those
whose position depended on their obedience to the state.
13) How did the practice of Legalism help to centralize China under Qin leadership?
It reinforced the bonds of obligation between bureaucrat and their superior.
14) Name other projects the Qin implemented to help centralize the provinces under Qin
leadership.
Built roads and bridges
Constructed defensive walls
Standardized units of weight and measurement
Standard currency
Made one common form of Chinese writing
15) When did the Han come to power? What were the circumstances and how long did
the dynasty last?
The Han came to power in roughly 200 BCE during the Qin Revolution and ruled China for
about 400 years.
16) What philosophy dominated the Han dynasty? What role did the civil service
examination play in developing an efficient state?
Confucianism; They were used to certify that new government recruits were educated well.
17) Which two dynasties ruled India during the classical age? What were the dates in
which they ruled?
Mauryan Dynasty: 327 BCE - 185 BCE
Gupta Dynasty: 320 CE - 550 CE
18) What tactics did Chandragupta use to unify the South Asian subcontinent?
Spying
Brutality
Intimidation
19) Identify the factors which made Ashoka the most significant ruler of the Mauryan
dynasty.
The Edicts of Ashoka
Central organizations to enforce his edicts
Conversion to Buddhism
20) How did Ashoka’s rule impact the development of Buddhism as a major belief
system?
He caused the spread of it as a religion and furthered the reach of its ideologies.
21) List the ways in which the Mauryan and the Gupta empires were different. How did
these differences impact the stability of the Gupta empire?
Mauryan Gupta