Unit 1- Pre Modern Empires

Empires

-ruled by a king or queen or other fancy titles

-adjective: imperial

-history flows in imperial cycles

5 Rules of Empires

Conquering is easy, governing is hard
He who controls trade controls the world
Power will collapse without respect
If you act like you can’t lose you will
Divided you fall

### Rule 1

Expand → Integrate → Consolidate

### Rule 2

Money comes from war (unsustainable), taxing people (unpopular), and taxing trade (everybody gets money).

### Rule 3

Orders will get followed because they have to (threats and violence), they want to (why would they?), and they believe they should (needs trust and respect).

# Aztec Empire

## Geography

-Central Mexico

-Capital is Tenochtitlan

-Extended to Guatemala

## Religion

-Polytheistic

-Human sacrifices fed the gods

## Achievements

-Chinampas: floating gardens

-Stone waterworks without metals

-Tenochtitlan: made in the middle of a lake

## Political

-Conquests of Altapetl

-No consolidation of the conquered

## Economic

-Tributes (sacrifices)

-Regional Trade Markets

## Social

Nobles were priests and accomplished warriors

Inca Empire

Geography

-Long stretch in Andes Mountains

-Modern Day Peru

-Ecological Diversity

Religion

-Polytheistic

-Animal Sacrifices

Achievements

-Quipu

-Roads

-Machu Picchu

Political

-Centralized control in Cuzco

-Integrated conquered people

-weak succession rules

-sent them into civil wars for the next leader

Economics

-centralized redistribution of goods

-Organized into ayllu

- family groups that went up the side of the mountain

-Aristocrats are the priests

Songhai Empire

Geography

-West Africa specifically Mali

-In the Sahel

Religion

-Syncretism between Islam and African traditions

-Islam provided useful connections

Achievements

-Timbuktu

-Islamic Library

-Djenne

-The Great Mosque

Political

-Led by Askia Muhammad

-Sunni Ali, who preceded who Muhammad took over, conquered

-Muhammad did not set up a succession plan

Economic

-Trans-Saharan Gold Trade

-Controls trade across the desert

-Muhammad fixed trade

-Elites went to Islam

-Lower class stuck to tradition

Mongol Empire

Geography

-Central Aisa near Mongolia

-The Steppes

-Homeland to the Caspian Sea

Religion

-Local to their homeland

-Religiously Tolerant

Achievements

-Waves of conquest

-brutal, adaptive, and fast

-Created passports

Political

-Nomadic Tribes united by Genghis Khan

-Unable to stay untied

-Divided into four khanates

-Merit-based promotions

Economic

-Silk Road flourished

-without the Mongols Europe would need a new route to Aisa

-Hierarchal military organization

-women had rights