Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires
In the pre-classical age (8000 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E.) the first states developed in core civilizations. Then, powerful cities imposed their rule on surrounding areas through conquest and the first empires were born. In the classical age (600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.) empires grew on a massive scale through territorial conquest with large armies. The growing scale of these empires, along with their increased ethnic and cultural diversity, required more sophisticated methods of governance. As empires acquired massive wealth, the unequal distribution of this wealth across social hierarchies placed enormous pressure on the political and social order. Eventually, all of the classical civilizations could not deal with the problems created by their own internal or external tensions.
- I. The number and size of key states and empires grew dramatically by imposing political unity on areas where previously there had been competing states.
You should know the location of all the following key states and empires for this region.
- Persian Empire
- Qin and Han Empire
- Mauryan and Gupta Empires
- Mediterranean region (Phoenicia, Greek city-states, Hellenistic and Roman Empires)
- Mayan civilization
- Moche
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Greeks sought cultural and philosophical ideals such as symmetry and rationality
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Romans were engineers and used concrete to address practical problems
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Indian temple architecture reflects the religious cosmology of Hinduism
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Mayan architecture is best seen in its temples, which were centers of worship and sacrifice
