Major Classical Era Empires – Vocab 1

Major AP World Regions (Contextual Framework)

• World divided into broad cultural-geographic zones frequently referenced in AP World History:
  • North & South America; Europe; North, Central & South Asia; Middle East; North & Sub-Saharan Africa; East Asia; South Asia; Oceania
  • Surrounded by major bodies of water (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Southern Oceans) that shape trade & cultural diffusion

• Knowing these regions helps locate, compare, and connect the classical empires covered in this lecture

Persian (Achaemenid) Empire (c. 550 – 330 BCE)

• Founder: Cyrus the Great (mid-6th century BCE) united Iranian tribes → launched rapid conquest

• Geographic span at height: Central Asia & India (east) ⇆ Egypt & Greece (west)
  • Ruled >35\text{ million} people ≈ \tfrac{1}{2} of global population at the time

• BREAKTHROUGH: first large empire run by a single, formal imperial administration rather than loose tribute networks of earlier “first-wave” empires
  • Emperor viewed as semi-divine “god-king” issuing universal laws
  • Local implementation by imperial governors = satraps
  • Complex bureaucracy: tax collectors, record-keepers, translators, engineers

• Economic & infrastructural policies
  • Standardized coinage → smoother inter-regional trade
  • Royal Road + auxiliary roads; imperial postal (relay) service → accelerated communication & army movement

• Social/ideological glue
  • Famous policy of religious & cultural toleration; subjected peoples kept local gods, customs, and elites → lower rebellion risk; Jews allowed to rebuild Temple in Jerusalem = classic example

• Result: Many conquered peoples arguably experienced higher prosperity & security under Persian rule than under prior local regimes

Greek City-States (Poleis) before Macedonia (c. 800 – 338 BCE)

• Political fragmentation: ≈ 1,000 independent poleis; key examples: Athens (democracy), Sparta (dual kings + council), Corinth, Thebes

• Shared culture
  • Polytheistic pantheon (Zeus, Athena, etc.)
  • Advancements in medicine, natural philosophy, theater, mathematics → core of later “Classical Greek” heritage

• Lack of unity → frequent inter-Hellenic wars
  • Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) Athens vs. Sparta: illustrates destructive rivalries

• Maritime expansion (Greek diaspora)
  • Colony network from modern Spain → Black Sea, spreading language & trade goods (wine, olive oil, pottery)

• External threats
  • Persian Wars (490–479 BCE): coalition of poleis repelled Achaemenid invasions
  • Competition with Phoenician Carthage in western Mediterranean

Rise of Macedonia & the Hellenistic Era (338 – 30 BCE)

• Philip II of Macedon: adopted phalanx + longer sarissa pike → conquered Greek mainland (Battle of Chaeronea 338\,\text{BCE})

• Alexander the Great (r. 336–323 BCE)
  • Conquered Egypt, Levant, Anatolia, Achaemenid Persia, reaching Indus Valley; undefeated in battle
  • Died 323\,\text{BCE} → empire split among Diadochi (Ptolemies, Seleucids, Antigonids, Attalids)

• Hellenistic synthesis
  • Creation of \approx20 cities named Alexandria; famous library at Alexandria (Egypt) stored Greek science & literature
  • Greek language (Koine) became lingua franca of commerce & scholarship from Mediterranean to Central Asia

Legacy of Greeks & Persians

• Administrative
  • Hellenistic successor states adopted Persian-style centralized bureaucracy (satrap-like governors, roads, taxation) → template for Rome, Arab Caliphates, later Asian & African polities

• Intellectual
  • Greek emphasis on skepticism, logic, empirical observation = early scientific method
  • Works of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle later translated by Arab, Persian, Indian scholars → fusion with local mathematics & medicine (e.g., algebra, optics)

Roman Republic (509 – 27 BCE)

• Origin: small Latin city-state in Italy; expelled Etruscan kings 509\,\text{BCE} → created senate-led republic

• Expansion stages

  1. Conquest of Italian peninsula (500s–300s BCE)

  2. Western campaigns: Spain & Gaul

  3. Conflict with Greek colonies → wars with Macedonia & Carthage

• Punic Wars (264–146 BCE)
  • Hannibal’s alpine invasion (218 BCE), victories (Trebbia, Lake Trasimene, Cannae 216\,\text{BCE}) but ultimate Roman win at Zama 202\,\text{BCE}
  • Rome razed Carthage (146 BCE), seized western Mediterranean supremacy

• By 31\,\text{BCE} defeated remaining Hellenistic kingdoms → “Mare Nostrum” (our sea)

• Cultural borrowing: Greek architecture, gods (Zeus→Jupiter), philosophy infused into Roman education and governance

Roman Empire (27 BCE – 476 CE West / 1453 CE East)

• Transition: Julius Caesar’s dictatorship (d. 44\,\text{BCE}) → Octavian (Augustus) crowned 27\,\text{BCE}; republic institutions hollowed out

• Military reforms
  • Standing professional army; retirement benefits (land grants) encouraged enlistment
  • Large estates & tax incentives rewarded loyal elites → patronage network

• Administration parallels Persia
  • Provincial governors, census & tax system, extensive road grid (see Tabula Peutingeriana)
  • Unified coinage (denarius) & legal code (Twelve Tables → Corpus Juris)

• Distinctive innovation: Roman citizenship extension
  • Conquered elites/communities could receive full legal rights without forced cultural assimilation → powerful integrative tool

• Size strains → Diocletian split 285\,\text{CE} into Western & Eastern halves
  • West fell to Germanic invasions 476\,\text{CE}
  • East persisted as Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire until 1453\,\text{CE} (Ottoman conquest)

• Reprisal doctrine: revolts met with swift, often brutal suppression (e.g., Jewish Wars, annihilation of rebel cities)

Gupta Empire – India’s “Golden Age” (c. 350 – 543 CE)

• Founder: Sri Gupta; reunited major parts of Indian subcontinent following Kushan & Persian intrusions

• Centralized imperial system → sustained peace & prosperity facilitating scientific/cultural flowering

• Landmark achievements
  • Mathematics: positional decimal numerals; concept of 0; early forms of algebra & trigonometry
  • Astronomy: hypothesis of spherical Earth rotating on its axis; calculated solar & lunar eclipses
  • Literature & arts: Sanskrit poetry (Kalidasa); elaborate temple architecture; iconic game of chess (chaturanga)

• Trade: internal agrarian surplus + Silk-Road and Indian-Ocean commerce

• Decline: court intrigue + invasions by Huna (Hephthalite Huns)

China: Warring States → Qin Unification (475 – 221 BCE)

• Zhou decline produced seven competing states; constant war, famine, displacement

• Intellectual ferment: Legalism (Han Fei, Shang Yang) advocated:
  • Powerful state over tradition; codified, impartial laws; harsh punishments
  • Merit-based bureaucracy (examination of ability)

• Qin state adopted Legalism → efficiency edge
  • King Ying Zheng (Shi Huangdi) unified China 221\,\text{BCE}

• Qin Dynasty accomplishments
  • Central bureaucracy, standard weights, coins, axle lengths, scripts
  • Nationwide road network; first Great Wall segments against Xiongnu pastoralists
  • Capital: Chang’an (modern Xi’an) – administrative prototype for later dynasties

• Downside: draconian rule (book burnings, forced labor on wall & tomb) → rebellion after Shi Huangdi’s death 210\,\text{BCE}

Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE)

• Founder: Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu) rallied anti-Qin forces

• Golden Age status
  • Territorial expansion into Korea, Vietnam, Central Asia (protectorates)
  • Officially adopted Confucianism under Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) while retaining Legalist administrative structure → enduring Chinese governing ideology (meritocracy via exams)

• Silk Roads
  • Diplomat Zhang Qian’s missions (138 BCE) opened indirect trade with Roman Empire; silk, spices, paper for Roman glass, silver

• Technological & cultural advances: paper making, seismograph, iron plough, acupuncture, poetry (fu, shi)

• Military
  • Defeated renewed Xiongnu; implemented frontier garrisons & heqin (marriage alliances)

• Decline factors: court eunuch factionalism, peasant uprisings (Yellow Turban Rebellion 184\,\text{CE}), warlordism; empire fragmented by 220\,\text{CE}

Comparative & Thematic Connections

• Centralization vs. fragmentation: Persian, Qin/Han, Gupta, Roman Empires vs. Greek city-states & Warring States China illustrate spectrum of governance models

• Bureaucratic innovation (Persia) transmitted west (Hellenistic, Rome) & mirrored independently in east (Qin)

• Toleration/citizenship (Persia, Rome) as political technology to secure multi-ethnic empires

• Idea diffusion: Greek science → Hellenistic libraries → Roman elites → Abbasid scholars → European Renaissance; simultaneously, Indian numerals transmitted via Arabs to Europe, replacing Roman numerals

• Empires often reach zenith, then fracture due to over-extension, internal strife, or nomadic incursions (Rome West, Gupta, Han)

Ethical & Philosophical Implications Highlighted

• Persians’ tolerant administration as early model of pluralistic governance vs. Qin’s Legalist authoritarianism → enduring debate on order vs. liberty

• Greek skepticism & Socratic method lay groundwork for scientific inquiry; cross-cultural adoption shows universality of rational thought

• Roman citizenship policy raises questions on identity, assimilation, and rights in a multicultural state