Rise of the Civilizations
The three defining groups in Hammurabi's Code.
What are Nobles, commoners, and slaves?
The two key concepts (duty and consequences) that reinforce the Caste System.
Dharma and Karma.
The three main governing bodies of the Roman Republic.
The Senate, the Consuls, and the Assemblies.
The concept used to explain the rise, decline, and replacement of Chinese ruling families.
The Dynastic Cycle.
Two goods that flowed from West to East along the Silk Road.
Gold and glass (or horses/manufactured goods).
The main geographic feature shared by the four major river valley civilizations.
What are river valleys?
or What are fertile land along rivers?
Distinguish between Polytheism and Monotheism.
Polytheism is belief in many gods (e.g., Mesopotamia/Egypt) and Monotheism is belief in one god (e.g., Judaism)
The 200-year period of peace and stability in the Roman Empire.
The Pax Romana ("Roman Peace")
The philosophy of the preceding Qin Dynasty that the Han moved away from.
Legalism
The major religion that spread from India to China as a key case study of diffusion.
Buddhism.
Explain the role of the pharaoh in maintaining stability in a theocracy.
Theocracy means rule by a divine figure; the pharaoh was believed to be a god-king, giving him total political and religious authority.
Compare the primary goal of Confucianism (ordering society) with Daoism (harmony with nature).
Confucianism focuses on social order and ethical relationships (Filial Piety), while Daoism focuses on finding balance and harmony with "The Way" (nature).
Explain the cause-and-effect that linked the Punic Wars to the rise of generals like Julius Caesar.
Roman expansion following the Punic Wars led to increased wealth, large slave populations, and weakened Republican control, allowing generals like Julius Caesar to gain power and loyalty through military success, ultimately leading to civil wars and the Republic's collapse.
Explain how the merit-based Civil Service Exam System led to a stable and effective government.
The exams ensured that officials were chosen based on merit (knowledge of Confucian texts) rather than birth, creating a competent and educated Bureaucracy loyal to the state and its shared cultural values.
Compare the role of the elite in Rome (Senate) versus Han China (scholar-gentry).
The Roman Senate was an aristocratic body of wealthy land-owners who held real political power in the Republic, while the Han scholar-gentry were officials selected by merit (Civil Service Exam) who administered the bureaucracy.
Name two key technologies (writing or otherwise) that helped early states manage resources.
Cuneiform (writing), hieroglyphics (writing), irrigation, or metallurgy.
Provide a piece of evidence showing how belief systems can reinforce political authority.
The pharaoh was viewed as a god-king, meaning disobeying the state was also disobeying the divine. OR
The Mandate of Heaven gave the Emperor divine authority to rule.
Analyze how Roman engineering (roads or aqueducts) helped to unify the Empire's vast territory.
Roman roads enabled the army and tax collectors to move quickly, while aqueducts supplied large, organized cities; both allowed for the efficient management and control of a diverse population.
Name three key technological advancements or government economic controls of the Han Dynasty.
Papermaking, the compass, the seismograph, the iron plow.
OR
Government monopolies on salt and iron.
Compare Rome’s primary method of unification (law and engineering) with Han China’s (Confucian bureaucracy).
Rome unified through centralized law and visible engineering (concrete/roads) to connect diverse peoples; Han China unified through a shared Confucian cultural unity administered by a centralized bureaucracy.
Describe the five required characteristics that define a Civilization.
Cities, complex institutions, specialized workers, record keeping, and advanced technology.
What concept in Judaism (the Covenant and Ten Commandments) made it different from most contemporary religions?
Its belief in a single, all-powerful God and the concept of a covenant and moral law (Ten Commandments).
Compare the social status and role of the Patricians versus the Plebeians in the Republic.
Patricians were the wealthy, land-owning elite who held power and seats in the Senate, while Plebeians were the commoners who struggled for rights and were later represented by the Assemblies/Tribunes.
Contrast the social standing of peasants and merchants in the Han social hierarchy.
Peasants were generally given a higher status than merchants because peasants produced the food considered vital for society, whereas merchants were seen as profiting without producing.
What goods were traded from East to West on the Silk Road?
Silk (the most famous), tea, spices, porcelain, and fine craftsmanship.