AP World History Empires Flashcards

5250646373	Han China	Established papermaking and had economic prosperity. The silk road was established (Spread of Buddhism) and allowed for extensive trade routes. Silk was heavily traded from China. Religion was Confucianism.	0
5250671245	Qin China (221- 206 BCE)	Major legalists, came before Han China. Had a highly structured political power, and unified the warring states period. The great wall of china was built, currency was introduced. Developed weaponry with a strong military force, the government was heavy-handed, bureaucratic and the empire didn't last long.	1
5250706041	Zhou China (1046- 256 BCE)	Followed the shang, introduced bronze making. Written scripts emerged in the later warring states period. Defeated the shang with the mandate of heaven, a large territory was established through conquest and colonization.	2
5250749254	Shang China (1600-1046 BCE)	First chinese dynasty, was a monarchy. The king ruled by force and broke the mandate of heavan, which lead to the Zhou dynasty.	3
5250768403	Greek Empire	Isolated city states which lead to varying political structure. Athens- Democracy Sparta- Oligarchy. They imported and colonized due to not having enough agriculture to support the empire. Women did not have a lot of freedom with a patriarchal society. Polytheistic beliefs, fell to Alexander the Great (Persian Empire)	4
5250812605	Persian Empire	The Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus, Alexander the Great expanded the empire tremendously from Greece to India. Darius ruled during the Achaemenid dynasty and created satraps which weakened authority slightly. Believed in Zorastorianism, Islam was introduced in 7th century. Water distribution was expanded across the empire, Persian language did not play an important role. Coinage was put into place, taxes led to the downfall.	5
5250853159	Gupta	Didn't have an effective centralized government due to its administrative bureaucracy. Priests were wealthy and they were buddhist with Jainism influence. Became hindu. Northern India was a place for pilgrimage with the decline of womens roles due to urbanization. Women were only used for children. They were a theatre state, exaggerating everything to appeal to people.	6
5250871670	Roman Empire	Polytheistic, Christianity introduced later. Plebians and Patrician government, republic with a senate. Emperors were chosen by the army with two consuls ruling. A lack of money caused people to resort to bartering due to third century economic crisis. Principate used to hide dictatorship. Romanization helped the spread of culture and language.	7
5250904706	Byzantine Empire	Appeared after third century crisis in 330 CE. Unlike western rome, they had unity. Christianity became the main religion and reconquered lands. The fall of the empire was caused by germanic invasions and migration. Constant warfare.	8
5250972040	Mauryan Empire	Had a bigger territory than the dynasty after it, Gupta. Founded by Chuandragupta and buddhism was spread by King Ashoka. Had a huge military with expansion and defense being a priority. Had a common economic system for the first time, enhanced trade and a centralized administrative system. Taxes were strict, but fair.	9