Ancient Empires Lecture Notes

Flashcards about Engineering the Metropole Front, Engineering Society, Engineering Space and Engineering Subsistence

Akkad's location in the Akkadian Empire

Its location is unknown; it was a new city founded by Sargon, challenging the idea that only gods create cities.

How Ur III kings used architecture

They reconstructed Ur’s center intentionally, with rulers presenting themselves as divine builders—most notably by constructing the first ziggurat.

Role of Assur in the Assyrian Empire

It was the ideological and religious center; kings returned there for rituals, while founding new capitals to express political shifts.

How Augustus expressed imperial power in Rome

Through monumental architecture and symbolic acts, like placing an Egyptian obelisk in the Circus Maximus and sitting near god statues.

How the Sassanian Empire engineered its metropole(s)

By founding a system of cities through conquest and forced relocation, creating an interconnected urban network.

Why the Carolingians didn’t have a fixed capital

They practiced peripatetic kingship, ruling from royal palaces, monasteries, and Roman cities instead of a single capital.

How Naram-Sin depicted his status in Akkadian society

He wore a horned crown in stelae, visually aligning himself with divinity.

How social hierarchy depicted in Ur III art

Kings wore horned crowns and were shown above others, often directing construction.

The unique Assyrian social structure

It had a flexible hierarchy, allowed integration of deportees, and celebrated being multi-ethnic under the “Yoke of Assur.”

How the Roman Empire engineered citizenship

Initially exclusive, citizenship expanded over time to include all free people, helping unify the empire.

How identity was structured in the Sassanian Empire

It was a multicultural society with no rigid definition of citizenship; Zoroastrianism dominated, but other groups played roles.

How the Carolingians held their society together

Through Christianity and asymmetrical personal loyalty; identity was fluid and based on relationships, not ethnicity.

Evidence showing Akkadian presence in distant regions

Bricks stamped by Naram-Sin and donkey-related burials at Tell Brak (Syria) suggest Akkadian influence.

How territory was managed under Ur III

A strong imperial core with decreasing control radiating outward; symbolic influence in peripheries.

How the Assyrians engineered their space

Built huge new cities, restored older ones, and created infrastructure like roads, canals, and aqueducts with villages to support them.

Infrastructure the Romans built to control space

A vast road and maritime network, aqueducts, and agricultural systems; used to project Roman life and manage resources.

Spatial strategy the Sassanians prioritized

Controlled borders with frontier walls and strategic control over trade routes, especially around Oman.

How the Carolingians managed imperial space

Relied on Roman roads and built a canal linking north and south Europe; their spatial control was inconsistent.

How the Akkadians managed food distribution

Fortified storehouses, mobile transport (onagers), and ration bowls for centralized food control.

The Bala tax system in Ur III

A mechanism to extract resources from provinces and channel them into the imperial heartland.

How Assyrians increased food production

Built vast canal systems, developed agricultural settlements near cities, and produced surplus grain.

The Roman approach to resource use

Exploited natural resources through colonization and settlement, integrating them into imperial economics.

Economic strategy crucial for the Sassanians

Maintaining a strong coinage to support imperial economic stability.

Role agriculture played in Carolingian subsistence

Agricultural innovations occurred during their rule, but they mostly managed rather than initiated these changes.