Around 500 BCE, four empires emerged along the Mediterranean Sea, Central Asia, and East Asia. The Greek, Roman, Persian, and Chinese Empires all expanded at an astonishing pace, encompassing vast territories and millions of people. Each empire was affected by forces ranging from the impact of geographical factors to the decisions made by a few powerful leaders. The people living within the empires constructed new cultural forms and innovations as they interacted with and responded to these forces.
In this task, you will discuss the impact of geography on your choice of two of these empires. You will also describe the unique cultures of these empires and then consider how they changed over time by choosing one empire and identifying and discussing the empire’s rulers and the expansion of that empire.
***RUBRIC***
A. Choose two empires from the list below:
• Greece
• Rome
• Persia
• China
1. Discuss the impact of one geographical factor on each of the empires selected in part A (suggested length of 2–3 paragraphs).
Note: You must include two different geographical factors (one per empire).
B. Describe two unique cultural characteristics for each of the empires you selected in part A (suggested length of 2–3 paragraphs).
C. Describe changes in one of the chosen empires from part A by doing the following (suggested length of 2–3 paragraphs):
1. Identify two major leaders of the chosen empire.
a. Discuss one significant contribution for each of the major leaders you identified in part C1.
2. Explain the methods used by the chosen empire to expand its territory and power.
3. Analyze how your chosen empire’s political structures changed over time.
D. Provide acknowledgement of source information, using in-text citations and references, for quoted, paraphrased, or summarized content.
1. Include the following information when providing source references:
• author
• date
• title
• location of information (e.g., publisher, journal, or website URL)
