Istanbul Hagia Sophia

Classic EmpiresMaurya Civilization & The Han Dynasty

Maurya Civilization

Location – Northern India – Indus River Valley

Created a bureaucracy (system that runs a government)

Ran a centralized government – all cities report to one location and all laws come from one location

Han DynastyLocation – Eastern China

Contributions:Paper

Wheelbarrow

Rudder

Acupuncture

Originally built to protectNorthern boarders

Nomad Invaders

Several Walls

Began in 5th Century BC

The Silk Road

Silk – Popular trade product, soft natural fiber

Chinese Law: No silk worms could be exported

“Silk Road” connected China and Middle East (Cultural Diffusion)

Civil Service System

Pass a civil service test to get a government job

Based on the teachings of Confucius

Dynasty System

Line of ruling families in China

Mandate of Heaven – families are given the right to rule by the gods

Essential Questions:

What does it mean to call a civilization classical ?

Essential Questions:

How did geography cause the rise of city-states in Greece?

Essential Questions:

Generally, what was the status of women and slaves in classical civilizations?

Essential Questions:

How are contemporary (today’s) democratic governments rooted in classical civilizations?