Download Empires - Prentice Hall Bridge page

Name
Class
Date
Concept Connector Study Guide
Empires
Essential Question: What factors allow empires to rise and what factors
cause them to fall?
A.
Define empire.
B.
Record information about the topics listed in the Cumulative Review or your answers to
the questions in the Cumulative Review below. Use the Concept Connector Handbooks at the
end of your textbook, as well as chapter information, to complete this worksheet.
1. Characteristics of Successful Rulers
To maintain control over a vast empire, it was vital that a ruler be well respected.
Many characteristics or abilities make a successful ruler. These include spiritual
leadership, law-giving, just punishment for crime, military power, and treatment of
subjects. For example, about 1790 B.C., Hammurabi, king of Babylon, brought much
of Mesopotamia under the control of his empire. Hammurabi is famous for publishing a set of laws known as Hammurabi’s Code. This law code established civil law
and defined crime and punishments. Hammurabi also improved the irrigation system, organized a well-trained army, and ordered repairs to temples. To encourage
religious unity, he encouraged the worship of a particular Babylonian god.
2. Empire-Building in India, China, Egypt, and the Middle East
Eventually empires weaken, and power changes hands. In some cases, the civilization continues. The history of ancient Egypt illustrates this. Scholars have
divided Egypt’s history into three main periods: the Old Kingdom (2575 B.C.–
2130 B.C.), the Middle Kingdom (1938 B.C.–1630 B.C.), and the New Kingdom
(1539 B.C.–1075 B.C.). Although power passed from one dynasty to another, Egypt
remained united and the civilization continued. In China, various dynasties ruled
from 1766 B.C. to A.D. 1911. Even as dynasties changed hands, China generally
remained unified. In ancient India, however, the Maurya dynasty ruled, beginning in 321 B.C. Then in 185 B.C., battles for power destroyed the unity of the
empire. It was not until 500 years later that a new empire, the Gupta, re-unified
India. In the ancient Middle East, power passed from the Babylonians to the
Assyrians, back to the Babylonians again, and then to the Persians. The culture
changed under each ruling group.
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
204
Name
Class
Date
Concept Connector Study Guide
EMPIRES (continued)
3. Methods of Control in the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty
The Roman empire (A.D. 27–A.D. 476) and the Han dynasty (202 B.C.–A.D. 220) in
China each exerted control over a wide area and a variety of people. Roman
legions maintained and protected roads, and Roman fleets chased pirates from the
seas. Trade flowed freely to and from distant lands. Egyptian farmers supplied
grain. Roman soldiers swiftly put down revolts. Roman officials provided spectacular entertainment for the public. Similarly, Han rulers improved roads and canals.
They set up places to store grain so they could buy grain at low prices and sell it
when grain was scarce. Han soldiers drove nomadic peoples out of the empire.
Under the Han, trade routes to the West were opened. Both governments relied on
a well-established bureaucracy to handle the details of governing a large empire.
4. Aztec and Inca
The Aztec (A.D. 1325–A.D. 1521) and the Inca (A.D. 1438–A.D. 1535) were two
impressive civilizations of the Americas. Both civilizations could be described as
empires. Through a combination of fierce conquests and shrewd alliances, the
Aztec spread their rule across most of Mexico. The Aztec empire had a single
ruler. A council of nobles, priests, and military leaders elected the emperor,
whose primary function was to lead in war. Nobles served as officials, judges, and
governors of conquered provinces. The Inca similarly used conquest and alliances
to subdue neighboring groups. They used military and diplomatic skills to create
their empire and established a chain of command that reached down to the family
level. The Inca also imposed their language on conquered peoples. They created a
network of roads across the empire, all connected to the capital. The roads aided
communication. They also made it possible for the Inca to send armies to every
corner of their empire.
5. Was Charlemagne Really King of the Romans?
The Roman empire ceased to exist in the West in A.D. 476. Germanic tribes, including the Goths, Vandals, Saxons and Franks, had conquered, or went on to conquer,
parts of it. Between 400 and 700, they carved Western Europe into small kingdoms.
In 768, Charlemagne became king of the Franks. He briefly united Western Europe
when he built an empire reaching across what is now France,
Germany, and part of Italy. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne the
emperor of the Romans. By doing so, he proclaimed that Charlemagne was the
successor to the Roman emperors.
6. The Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire
The name of the Holy Roman Empire was supposed to make people think of the
greatness and power of the ancient Roman empire. There were, however, significant differences between the two empires. The Roman empire lasted about 450
years. Charlemagne’s empire ended with his death. However, just as Charlemagne
looked to the Roman empire as an example of greatness and power, later medieval
leaders considered Charlemagne’s rule to be their model.
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
205
Name
Class
Date
Concept Connector Study Guide
EMPIRES (continued)
7. The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine empire (330–1453) was a powerful and influential empire. As the
cities of the western Roman empire crumbled, the Byzantine empire, with its capital at Constantinople, remained secure and prospered. The Byzantine empire was
the source of several important developments, such as Justinian’s Code and the
spread of Christianity in Eastern Europe and Russia. For centuries, the Byzantine
empire withstood attacks by Persians, Slavs, Vikings, Mongols, and Turks. The
empire served as a buffer for Western Europe, preventing the spread of Muslim
conquest. The Fourth Crusade in 1204 severely weakened the empire. In 1453,
Constantinople fell to the Turks.
8. The Abbasid Empire
The Abbasid dynasty began in 750 when a Muslim leader named Abu al-Abbas
captured Damascus and defeated the Umayyads. The Abbasids tried to create an
empire based on the equality of all Muslims. The new rulers halted large military
conquests, ending the dominance of the Arab military class. Discrimination
against non-Arab Muslims largely ended. Under the early Abbasids, Muslim civilization flourished. The Abbasids moved the capital to Baghdad. Poets, scholars,
and philosophers came there from all over the Muslim world. Baghdad exceeded
Constantinople in size and wealth. However, around 850 the empire began to
fragment.
9. The Mughal Empire
The Mughal dynasty (1526–1857) was the second Muslim dynasty to rule the
Indian subcontinent. The Mughal dynasty was set up by Babur, who claimed
descent from the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. The chief builder of the Mughal
empire was Babur’s grandson Akbar. During his long reign, from 1556 to 1605, he
created a strong central government, earning the title Akbar the Great. He modernized the army, encouraged international trade, standardized weights and measures, and introduced land reforms. Although a Muslim, he won the support of
his Hindu subjects through his policy of toleration. He opened government jobs to
Hindus of all castes.
10. Suleiman the Magnificent
The Ottomans were a Turkish-speaking people whose Muslim empire ruled the
Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe. In 1453, the Ottomans captured
Constantinople, renamed it Istanbul, and ruled from there for the next 200 years.
The Ottoman empire enjoyed a golden age under Suleiman, who ruled from 1520
to 1566. Europeans called him Suleiman the Magnificent. A brilliant general,
Suleiman modernized the army and conquered many new lands. He extended
Ottoman rule eastward into the Middle East, and also into Central Asia. In 1529,
his armies besieged the Austrian city of Vienna, causing great fear in Western
Europe. The Ottomans ruled the largest, most powerful empire in both Europe
and the Middle East for centuries.
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
206
Name
Class
Date
Concept Connector Study Guide
EMPIRES (continued)
11. The Mongol Empire
The Mongols were a nomadic people who grazed their horses and sheep on the
steppes of Central Asia. In about 1200, a Mongol chieftain united rival Mongol
clans. The chieftain took the name Genghis Khan, meaning “Universal Ruler.”
Under Genghis Khan, and his grandson Kublai Khan, the Mongols conquered an
empire that spread from Europe in the west to China in the east. Under the protection of the Mongols, who controlled the great Silk Road, trade flourished
across Eurasia. Cultural exchanges increased as foods, tools, inventions, and
ideas spread along the protected trade routes.
12. The Ming Empire
With the death of Kublai Khan in 1294, Mongol rule in China weakened. In 1368,
a new dynasty, called the Ming, took over. Early Ming rulers sought to reassert
Chinese greatness after years of Mongol rule. The Ming restored the civil service
system. The economy grew as new agricultural methods produced more crops.
Ming China saw a revival of the arts and literature. Ming artists developed their
own styles of landscape painting and created brilliant blue-and-white porcelain.
People enjoyed new forms of literature, such as novels and detective stories. The
Ming sent Chinese fleets to explore distant lands and to show off the glory of the
Ming empire. The Ming dynasty ended in 1644.
13. The Roman Empire and the Tang Dynasty
The Roman empire and the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618–A.D. 907) in China each established a system of government to rule over their lands. Both empires had law
codes and a well-developed bureaucracy or civil service. Both empires benefited
from competent emperors. Rulers in both empires took steps to strengthen the
central government and increase revenues through taxes. In both empires, social
and economic problems, as well as invasions, weakened the governments. Both
empires collapsed after a period of decline.
14. The Qing and the Yuan Dynasties
Twice in China’s history foreign dynasties ruled the region. The first was the
Yuan dynasty, in the late 1200s, established by the Mongols. Kublai Khan, the first
Yuan leader, tried to prevent Mongols from being absorbed into Chinese civilization. He reserved the highest government jobs for Mongols and decreed that only
Mongols could serve in the military. Under the Yuan, contact between Europe
and Asia continued. The pope sent priests to the capital and Chinese products
were sent West. In the 1600s, invaders from Manchuria, known as Manchus, toppled the Ming dynasty. The Manchus set up a dynasty known as the Qing, which
ruled China until 1911. Unlike the Yuan, the Qing left local government in the
hands of the Chinese. For each high government position, the Qing chose two
people, one Manchu and one Chinese. The Manchus adopted the Confucian system of government, and this won them the support of important Chinese scholarofficials. Unlike the Yuan, the Qing restricted contact with Europeans.
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
207
Name
Class
Date
Concept Connector Study Guide
EMPIRES (continued)
15. The Roman Empire and the Spanish Empire in the Americas
Both the Romans and the Spanish established empires over a wide area. There
were similarities and differences between the two empires. Rome allowed local
peoples to retain their own religions and cultures as long as they did not come
into conflict with Roman rule. The Spanish, on the other hand, tried to convert
their subjects to Christianity and to “civilize” them according to European ways.
Rome and Spain gave some room for local people to govern at local levels,
though each retained centralized control in the parent country. Superior technology gave both empires advantages over other societies. Disease, which aided
Spain in establishing an empire, was not a factor for Rome.
16. The Roman Empire (Chapter 1, page 49)
17. North American Colonies and Latin American Colonies (Chapter 4, page 163)
18. The Second Reich and the Holy Roman Empire (Chapter 7, page 253)
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
208
Name
Class
Date
Concept Connector Study Guide
EMPIRES (continued)
19. The Spanish Empire of the 1500s and the British Empire of the late 1800s
(Chapter 9, page 315)
20. Arguments Against Imperialism (Chapter 9, page 315)
21. The Soviet Union and Other Empires (Chapter 15, page 545)
22. Chechnya and Earlier Efforts to Break Away from an Empire
(Chapter 17, page 597)
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
209
Name
Class
Date
Concept Connector Study Guide
EMPIRES (continued)
C. Sample Topics for Thematic Essays
Below are examples of thematic essay topics that might appear on a test. Prepare for the test
by outlining an essay for each topic on a separate sheet of paper. Use the Concept Connector
Handbooks at the end of your textbook, as well as chapter information, to outline your essays.
1. Describe Britain's attitudes toward its colonies during the 1700s and the reasons
why the Americans were able to break away from the British empire.
2. Discuss reasons why Napoleon was able to build an empire in the early 1800s, and
the reasons for its fall.
3. Describe the results of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the forces that challenged the old empires during the next 30 years.
4. Describe the Hapsburg empire in the early 1800s and the conflicts that made the
Balkans a “powder keg” before World War I.
5. Describe the reasons why the Ottoman empire was in decline by the 1700s, and
explain why the Europeans were able to take control of much of the Ottoman
empire in the 1800s.
6. Discuss why Great Britain was able to expand its areas of control in India after
1765 and the policies that set the stage for later independence movements.
7. Describe reasons why Western powers were able to gain control over much of the
world between 1870 and the beginning of World War I.
8. Discuss reasons for the fall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in
the 1980s.
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
210