Unit 3: Topic 4 - Comparison in Land-Based Empires

Question 1

Islam

Answer 1

Because empires spread to such great lengths, their religions spread to new borders. The influence of Islam spread North into Europe and East into South East Asia. Islamic influence can be seen in the architecture of Constantinople and in writing in India’s new Mughal Empire. There were also Islamic missionaries in places as far as Indonesia, where they took advantage of native festivals to convert people to Islam.

Question 2

Protestant Reformation

Answer 2

The Protestant Reformation provided a political divide between many European countries. The result of the split included 18 small wars in Europe and forced of many governents to pick sides in the conflict

Question 3

Syncretism

Answer 3

Syncretism is the practice of combining religions. Akbar of the Mughal empire attempted to combine beliefs to unite the people he ruled. Another example is Sikhism which combines aspects of Islam and Hinduism. Lastly, Syncatism is seen in the Americas. Native peoples and enslaved Africans would combine elements of their previous religions with Christianity to please the Europeans who came over. This practice led to the formation of beliefs such as Voodoo.

Question 4

Gunpowder

Answer 4

Most land-based empires relied on new technologies that utilized gunpowder to expand their territories. The three Gunpowder Empires, the Safavids, Mughals, and the Ottomans, used gunpowder to expand their territories and wage war on each other. Gunpowder also was used to keep an empire’s population in check.

Question 5

Land Empires

Answer 5

The most common examples of land-based empires on the AP World Test are the Manchu in Central and East Asia; the Mughal in South and Central Asia; The Ottoman in Southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa; and the Safavids in the Middle East. However, other examples from this period include the Songhai Empire in West Africa; the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan; the Incan Empire in South America; and the Aztec Empire in Central America.

Question 6

Conflict

Answer 6

The time of empires included lots of rivalries. Whether it be religious rivalries like between the Sunni and Shia Muslims or the Protestant-Catholic split, or political rivalries like between Safavid and the Ottoman Empires