Book 1, Chapter 3, Set 7

Question 1

Describe the reemergence of the Persians during the 3rd century CE. (page 122)

Answer 1

The Persians reemerged under Ardashir I of the Sassanid dynasty, who defeated the Parthians. The Parthians had defeated the former Seleucids and took possession of most of the Seleucids’ conquests. Persian rule was restored until 640 CE. The Persians also inherited the lucrative trade route from China to the West. The Sassanids built a civilization built largely on trade and agriculture, with government far more centralized than under the Parthians. The Sassanids now installed local officials appointed by the king. While Zoroastrianism did become the official state religion, the Persians were also tolerant of other cultures and religions in their empire.

Question 2

How did the Persian Empire that ruled from the 3rd century CE to the 7th CE eventually fall? (page 122)

Answer 2

The Persians suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the 7th century CE. This weakened them enough to leave them powerless against Islamic forces invading from the south. Arab armies routed the Sassanids at the Battle of Qadisiyya in 637 CE.

Question 3

Describe the rise of the Mauryan empire in India and the major accomplishments of this empire under Chandragupta Maurya. (page 124)

Answer 3

Around 321 BCE, the Nanda dynasty was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya dynasty that later became the Mauryan empire (c. 321 - 185 BCE). Chandragupta won a great deal of new territory, uniting smaller kingdoms and loosely uniting much of India under one ruler for the first time. The empire encompassed much of India and part of Afghanistan. The Seleucids who occupied the parts of India disputed by Chandragupta eventually ceded all claim to lands around the Indus in a peace pact signed by Seleucus I Nicator in 305 BCE. Hellenistic culture continued to influence parts of northern India, but Chandragupta also based his rule partly on the Persian Achaemenid model. His centralized rule owed much to his minister, Chanakya.

Question 4

What and when was the Vedic period of India? (page 124)

Answer 4

The Vedic period of India (c. 1500 - 500 BCE) was named after the Vedas, ancient Indo-Aryan texts that were produced during this time and that were central to the Hindu faith.

Question 5

Who was Chanakya? (page 124)

Answer 5

Chanakya was Chandragupta’s minister and the author of one of the greatest treatises on politics, administration, and economics ever written, the “Arthashastra”.

Question 6

How did Chandragupta Maurya die? (page 124)

Answer 6

As a convert to Jainism, he fasted to death in 297 BCE from being grief-stricken that he could not prevent a deadly famine in his empire that he could not stop.

Question 7

What ruler led the Mauryan empire after Chandragupta’s death and what were some of his accomplishments? (pages 124 and 125)

Answer 7

Bindusara (c. 297 - 265 BCE) succeeded his father Chandragupta after Chandragupta’s death. Little is known about his reign, but Bindusara did expand the Empire to include all of India except the southern tip and the Kalinga area to the east.

Question 8

Who was the Mauryan empire’s third emperor and why is he famous? (page 125)

Answer 8

Ashoka (c. 265 - 232 BCE) succeeded his father Bindusara and became one of the great figures of ancient history. Ashoka brought the empire to its greatest extent, conquering the Kalinga territory. He is considered as having presided over a Golden Age in which he promoted the arts and sciences and built many of the stupas (mound-shaped shrines) to Buddhism that stand in India to this day. Eventually he would convert to Buddhism and repent of his bloody conquest of Kalinga. He played a large role in the development of Buddhism by sending missionaries throughout Asia and spreading the word on edicts – sayings inscribed on stone pillars and rocks across India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Question 9

Describe the decline and fall of the Mauryan empire. (page 125)

Answer 9

After Ashoka’s death, subsequent rulers lost territory and prestige, and there were squabbles over the succession. The last Mauryan emperor, Brihadratha, was assassinated c. 185 BCE by his chief aide, Pusyamitra, founder of the Sunga dynasty. The Sunga dynasty ruled India until about 73 BCE. After this, India largely reverted to chaotic smaller kingdoms.

Question 10

Describe the Gupta empire of India and its fall. (page 125)

Answer 10

During the 1st to 3rd centuries CE, the Kushans of the steppes of Central Asia ruled much of north India, while small dynasties came and went elsewhere. Around 320 CE, the region of Magadha produced the Gupta dynasty. This dynasty would become an empire that ruled northern India until c. 540 CE. Under the two first kings, Chandra Gupta I (c. 320 - 330 CE) and his son, Samudra Gupta (c. 330 - 380 CE), great artistic achievements were made, including many depictions of the Buddha. The empire also saw great advances in architecture, dance, drama, the Sanskrit epics, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, logic, and medicine. Under the fourth Gupta ruler, Kumara Gupta (c. 415 - 455 CE), cracks began to appear in the empire. Hephthalite nomads made incursions from the north, and by the 6th century CE, the Guptas had retreated to their home in Magadha, leaving India once again a patchwork of kingdoms.

Question 11

What was the Warring States period of China and when and how did it begin and end? (page 127)

Answer 11

The Zhou Dynasty (1027 - 256 BCE), was the longest in Chinese history. After this, however, the Zhou disintegrated into independent states. The Warring States period began in 481 BCE as warlords constantly conquered smaller kingdoms and consolidated their territory. This period only ended when the king of the Qin state conquered the last remaining opposed state and became the first emperor of Qin, Qin Shi Huang.

Question 12

Describe Qin Legalism and some of its effects. (page 127)

Answer 12

Legalism is a philosophy positing that people are fundamentally evil and selfish and that to guard against this the state must strictly enforce severe punishments and laws to promote public peace. This philosophy was already introduced by the minister Lord Shang in 356 CE, before the Qin had even begun to conquer neighboring states. Under this dogma, all adult males were made eligible for military service, and many measures still in effect today were enacted. Among these were the abolition of feudal fiefs, the standardization of the written script, the application of a strict legal code, the establishment of official units of weight and length, the issuance of a unified currency, and a regulation of the width of roads.

Question 13

What were some of the accomplishments of the Qin Empire? (page 127)

Answer 13

Even after the Warring States period, the Qin colonized parts of Guangdong on the south coast of China, and a campaign was launched against the steppe peoples of the north. After this campaign was concluded, emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered his general Meng Tian to construct a great wall to prevent further attacks. This was the start of the Great Wall of China, which was later rebuilt during the Ming dynasty. Meng Tian was also tasked with building the 500-mile-long Straight Road, which ran north from the capital of Xianyang to the Ordos region to facilitate troop movement. Qin Shi Huang also commissioned the building of many projects, including temples, bridges, and canals to strengthen his rule.

Question 14

Describe Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum. (page 127)

Answer 14

The First Emperor became increasingly obsessed for finding the key to immortality as he aged. This led to the construction of his own mausoleum, begun in 212 BCE. According to the record of the Grand Historian Sima Qian written one century later, the tomb contained a model of the empire. It was complete with rivers of quicksilver and a mechanism for manipulating the tides, as well as traps for tomb raiders. Not far from this as-yet-undiscovered chamber lay the famous terracotta legion of life-size pottery soldiers constructed to defend the emperor in death.

Question 15

Describe the fall of Qin China. (page 127)

Answer 15

The autocratic actions of the Qin alienated the population. The Second Emperor was convinced to execute Li Si, Qin Shi Huang’s first minister, by Zhao Gao, a eunuch. The Second Emperor was later forced to commit suicide in 207 BCE and was succeeded by his son, the Third Emperor. But by then rebellion had spread throughout the empire and the Qin Empire collapsed.

Question 16

Describe the rise of Han China (page 128)

Answer 16

Liu Bang, the leader of a rebel band from a poor peasant family, fought in the rebellion against the Qin Empire. At first, he backed the aristocrat Xiang Yu, who hoped to revive the feudal states. In 206 BCE, Liu Bang captured the Qin capital Xianyang, negotiated the surrender of the last Qin ruler, and repealed the severe Qin penal code. The rebel leaders quarreled and then fought amongst each other for four years, after which Liu Bang won a decisive victory in 202 BCE at Gaixia in modern Anhui. Liu Bang assumed the role of sovereign emperor and used Han as the title of the new dynasty.

Question 17

Who is Emperor Gaozu? (page 128)

Answer 17

Emperor Gaozu is another name for Liu Bang, first emperor of the Han dynasty.

Question 18

Describe the achievements of Emperor Gaozu. (page 128)

Answer 18

Emperor Gaozu enacted many of the features of the imperial system of Han China. He began by announcing an amnesty and measures to restore peace. In the west and the area around his new capital at Chang’an, he continued Qin practices by applying direct rule in the form of commanderies (districts ruled by a centrally appointed governor). In the east and south, he initially tolerated the existence of ten kingdoms who swore loyalty to him, although he would later replace these with members of his own family. In the commanderies he rewarded officials, military leaders, and leaders of non-Chinese groups who had submitted to the Han with the title of marquis. As a marquis, these people could raise taxes for the state and keep a share of these funds for themselves.

Question 19

Who was Emperor Wudi? (page 129)

Answer 19

He was the sixth Han Chinese emperor, and reigned from 141 to 87 BCE.

Question 20

What were the accomplishments of Emperor Wudi? (page 129)

Answer 20

He made contact with the Western Regions (now Xinjiang) that opened up trading links with Persia and the Silk Road. He also led manly campaigns that put new commanderies in the northern part of Korea, the territories of the modern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, and north Vietnam. These wars were costly, so Wudi enacted a state monopoly of salt and iron.

Question 21

Describe the fall of the Han Chinese. (page 129)

Answer 21

Emperor Wudi died searching for the key to immortality. After his death, the empire declined under weak emperors and increasing court politics involving the court eunuchs. The eunuchs guarded the concubines, any of whose sons could be named emperor, so they became an increasingly significant factor in court politics. The empire also suffered from financial mismanagement and widespread tax evasion. Also, in the 1st century CE the Yangtze flooded severely and changed to its southern course in 11 CE. The throne was briefly usurped by Wang Mang in 9 CE, who had ruled as regent for a succession of child emperors. He ordered large estates to be broken up, but was later killed in 23 CE. in 25 CE, Guang Wudi reestablished the Han dynasty, moving the capital to Luoyang. In the later year of the Han dynasty, factionalism weakened the court and China was threatened by the Xianbei, a new confederation of northern steppe nomads. Rebellions broke out, and the dynasty collapsed in 220 CE, when Cao Cao, the most famous rebel general, died.

Question 22

Give the birthdates of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius. (page 131)

Answer 22

Socrates: c. 470 BCE. Plato: c. 428 BCE. Aristotle: c. 384 BCE. Confucius: 551 BCE, according to tradition.

Question 23

Describe the origins of the Celts. (page 134)

Answer 23

The Celts may have come from the Urnfield culture (so named because ancestors were burned and their ashes stored in urns left in fields) which was from around 1200 BCE and was based in France and Germany. Others believe that they originated in the Eurasian steppes. Archaeological finds place the first Celts in Hallstatt (Austria) around 700 BCE – the early Iron Age. By around 500 BCE, the Celts had settled in pockets of France, Germany, and what is now the western part of the Czech Republic, and about 100 years later, they had spread into many other parts of Europe. They settled in the Po valley before sacking Rome (c. 390 BCE).

Question 24

Who were the Celts? (page 134)

Answer 24

The word “Celt” refers to many groups of Europeans who spoke related Indo-European languages and migrated across Europe from the 5th century BCE. Although a very diverse group of peoples, they shared a common culture typified by nomadic or village life, a strong warrior tradition, and a tribal structure of society.

Question 25

Who was Boudicca? (page 134)

Answer 25

Queen of the Celtic Iceni people of eastern England, Boudicca led a bloody uprising against occupying Roman forces after the Romans ignored the will of her dead husband, King Prasutagus. The king had left his estate jointly to his daughters and to Rome, but the Romans seized his entire kingdom and supposedly whipped Boudicca and raped her daughters. Boudicca sacked Colchester and Londinium but was finally defeated and committed suicide, possibly to avoid capture.

Question 26

What are the two main divisions of the Eurasian steppe? What are the main environmental differences between these two regions? (page 138)

Answer 26

The western region begins in Hungary and runs north of the Black Sea to the Altai Mountains in the east. The eastern portion, mostly at a higher altitude, runs east from the Altai range across Mongolia to Manchura in China. The western steppe is wetter and greener and thus more fertile, while the eastern steppe has hotter summers and colder winters.

Question 27

How did environmental differences often shape the contact between peoples of the Eurasian steppe? (page 138)

Answer 27

Tribes of the drier and less hospitable eastern steppe would often migrate west or south to areas of higher rainfall and fresh grazing pasture. Such migrations reinforced a nomadic lifestyle and explain much of the similarities between different steppe peoples.

Question 28

What were some factors that enhanced the steppe people’s fighting skills? (page 138 and 139)

Answer 28

The early history of the domestication of the horse is unclear, but by c. 700 BCE, horses were extremely important on the steppes, where they provided not only fast transport between areas suitable for livestock, but also fast vehicles for combat, and a source of meat and even milk. The composite bow ( a short yet powerful bow easily shot from horseback) also helped their battle prowess. Finally, the stirrup (probably invented in the steppes around the 2nd century BCE) made riding in full armor much easier.

Question 29

Who were the Scythians? (page 139)

Answer 29

They were a nomadic steppe people who migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia around the 7th century BCE. The Scythians at one point possessed large portions of the Middle East as well as southern Russia. They fought with bows, arrows, and axes, and, with the exception of the aristocracy, wore no armor. They would be quashed by the Sarmatians by the 2nd century CE, who were in turn defeated by the Huns.

Question 30

Who were the Kushans? (page 139)

Answer 30

They were a nomadic people who migrated from the fringes of Mongolia to the western steppe in the 1st to 3rd centuries BCE. These regions were formerly controlled by the Achaemenid Persian Empire and the Empire of Alexander the Great. Their culture shows a mixture of Greek, Persian, and Indian influences.