Each Writing Assignment needs to be between 350-400 words, and must include evidence. Evidence used for Skill points must be found outside the course material. All Writing Assignments can be completed as either a Short Argument Paragraph or a Creative Writing Assignment, both of which are explained in this Lecture. Please view before doing this Assignment. This is a Self-Assessment Assignment.
Pick either the Roman Empire or the Han Empire: what was the single most important event, for good or ill, in these empires’ histories?
Writing Assignment guide.pdf
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Reading – The Imperial World 400 BCE – 400 CE
Reading (off-site)
Han China
The Han Dynasty, or the Han Empire, comes out of a very long civil war period in Chinese history called the Warring States Period, which had lasted from 475 to 221 BCE. The Han were led by Liu Bang, their first emperor, and when he made an alliance with the Chu following the death of the first emperor of Qin this would ultimately result in the destruction of the Qin dynasty and the installation of the Han. the Han would see an interregnum period separating the early Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, both named for the placement of their capital city. The Eastern Han would eventually fall and usher in another warring states period, this one known as the Three Kingdoms Period.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Han_Dynasty/Links to an external site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_and_culture_of_the_Han_dynastyLinks to an external site. (Read “Social Class,”Links to an external site. “Marriage, gender, and kinship,”Links to an external site. and in the “Education, literature, and philosophy”Links to an external site. read only “Competing ideologies,” “Confucianism becomes paramount,” and “Further philosophical synthesis”)
Reading (off-site)
Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, the area that is now be Vietnam was a crossroads for the movements of peoples for some 30,000 years by this point. By 3000 BCE these various peoples had already started rice cultivation and conglomerating into larger and larger city and trading centers. This period, called the Hồng Bàng Period, lasted up to 258 BCE, but it is uncertain when it started. It probably goes back till at least 2,000 years BCE. China had been involved in the area for a long time and it was two Chinese sister that would install aa new dynasty around this time period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0ng_sistersLinks to an external site.
Reading (off-site)
Rome
The history of Rome is long and complex, and thus we will largely focus on the Imperial period here alone. The Roman state was mythologically founded in the year 753 BCE by Romulus, but that date seems to actually be smack in the middle of a series of settlements that had been on the seven hills of Rome for centuries by that point. The Roman Kingdom would transform into the Roman Republic in 509 with the ousting of their last king, Tarquinius the Proud. In 450 BCE the Republic was overhauled when one class of Romans, the lower class Plebeians, threatened to leave without more say in the government. The upper class Patricians allowed them their settlement, and gave them the Tribunate of the Plebeians as a compromise. Up until 132 BCE this system was mostly working, till Tiberius Gracchus led an political uprising of Plebeians and veterans seeking redress for their service. From there until 101 BCE the situation was rocky, but mostly stable. The first of several civil wars would begin shortly afterward and lead to the eventual domination of Augustus Caesar as the full ruler of the Roman state.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/Links to an external site.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Empire/Links to an external site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_reforms_of_AugustusLinks to an external site.
Reading (off-site)
East Africa
One of the most important states that is often not discussed at all are the state that occupy the Horn of Africa, which is mostly synonymous with East Africa. These states facilitated the maritime trade that grew up around the Silk Road trade and become instrumental in the Spice Road, which is the maritime trading activity in the Indian Ocean starting around 200 BCE and going all the way till the Early Modern Period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_PuntLinks to an external site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_history_of_Somalia Links to an external site.(Only read “Antiquity”Links to an external site. and “Middle ages”Links to an external site.)
Reading (off-site)
Mesoamerica
In Mesoamerica one of the most important states was the Maya. The Maya, however, were not an empire like Han or Rome. They were a series of city-states that vied for regional control. The Preclassic Maya would eventually lead to the Classic Maya after a possible series of collapses. These collapses could have been due to many different occurrences, with climate change and overuse of resources being one of the main current theories.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preclassic_MayaLinks to an external site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Maya_collapse#Drought_theoryLinks to an external site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_architectureLinks to an external site.
Journal (Canvas)
Write 200-300 words: what is most interesting to you about imperial systems? Why?
Turn in your Journal here.
Key Terms
Arranged marriage
Clan
Classical Period
Commanderies (Jun)
Dominate (Roman Imperial system)
Drought
Dynasty
Eastern Han
Empress
Empress dowager
Horn of Africa
Interregnum period
Monsoon
Patron-client relationship (China and Rome)
Pax Romana
Pax Sinica
Preclassical Period
Principate (Roman Imperial system)
Roman war ethos
Stepped pyramid
Western Han
Prompt for Short Argumentative Essay
Pick either the Roman Empire or the Han Empire: what was the single most important event, for good or ill, in these empires’ history?
Turn in your Short Argument Essay here.
Discussion (Canvas)
No unread replies.No replies.
Let’s do some memes! I know that probably a majority of you all probably look at memes at least on occasion, if not frequently. So, I wanted to do something fun this Module and give you a break from the Primary Sources, and also give you some extra time to keep doing your research for your paper. For this Module’s discussion section I want you all to create your own meme about the Han or Roman Empires, or both. This will give you an opportunity to take a modern medium (which is really a version of a very old medium) and combine it with historical content to make something that is educational and fun!
Now, just because we are doing memes for this Discussion Board does not mean that all the rules are going out the window. I want you to keep the same rules as we have always had for discussions. Please refrain from anything inappropriate. If I feel like a meme or a comment is crossing the line I will remove it.
If you feel comfortable with that, then go ahead and make a meme and post it. If you would like instruction on this in any way, I made a video that will walk you through the process, which you can view by following the link.
Please follow the link if you would like to respond to the Discussion question.
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Lecture Videos – Pushing the Overton Window in Roman and Han Politics and Society (17:03, 14:34, 15:59)
Deifying Emperors by Good and Bad Emperors
Third Century Crisis changes nature of religious legitimacy
Wang Mang’s Dynasty of One
Important Themes and Concepts
Overton Window – the accepted speech and actions in popular culture and society. Generally used for politics, but here I am applying to all aspects of society.
Continuity and change – while things seemingly stay continuous over any historical moment the way that things are slowly pushed forward has stayed the same throughout history. When we look back on history, as we have in this lecture, over a 300 year period, we can do so in the span of twenty minutes. But you have to remember that these people lived 24 hour days and 365 day years just like we do! The way things change over time is generally contiguous, but when looking back over a huge stretch of time and multiple generations one can see drastic changes in culture, politics, and social interactions.
Deified emperors – just as ancestors are worshiped, so too were dead emperors. Except these dead emperors were worshiped on a public state level rather than a private household level. As we begin with the deification of Julius Caesar by his adopted son Augustus, and move through several emperors who attempted to deify themselves in life, we end with deified emperors in the Tetrarchy that essentially did the same thing that had once gotten an emperor killed.
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Lecture Videos – The Economy of the Han Dynasty (13:47), Scale of the Roman Commerce (14:51)
Han Economy: Continuity and Change
Creating Mountains of Trash: Scale of Roman Commerce
Important Themes and Concepts
Continuity versus Change – the struggle of history is the struggle of continuity and change. The willingness to maintain a course or the desire to shift from a well-trodden path, these ideas will always be at conflict.
Tax issues – the Han needed a steady source of revenue so they actually lowered taxes in hopes of gaining more of the taxes that were in place. This would lead to a solid base of tax revenue from the lower classes and give them an increased loyalty among the people. The Han also seized land from the wealthy and aristocrats and gave it to the commoners so that they could put more of the country under plow.
Improved farming equipment – in lowering taxes on each harvest from the lower classes they also pushed for iron farming equipment that increased yields from each farm. This would give them a higher number of taxable revenue to pull from while also ensuring that the commoners had enough food to feed their families and draw a surplus.
Buying and selling land – the Han also changed the old law of a ban on the buying and selling of land. This at first gave the commoners more mobility but eventually led to the purchasing of land by the wealthy and aristocrats till they owned much of the land and turned the commoners into tenant farmers, putting most of them in serious debt. This situation would eventually lead to a tremendous social upheaval and the increase of rebellions and subsequently the overthrow of the Han.
Amphora (pl. amphorae) – these large pots were used by peoples of the Mediterranean to transport goods on ships. Roman merchant vessels would stack as many of these amphorae on a ship as possible. They essentially functioned as a modern container (the back of a semi-truck, which can be stacked on trains and boats) and essentially large enough for either two or four men to carry.
Mare nostrum – Latin for “our sea.” What the Romans called the Mediterranean Sea during the height of their power from the first century BCE to the fourth century CE.
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