Chapter 4 Sections 3-4 - Impact of Geography on Empires PDF

Section 3 The Impact of Geography on Empires QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY As mentioned in previous sections of this book, geography plays an important role 1. What are the shared characteristics of the in history and how things change and develop. This is also the case when it...

Section 3 The Impact of Geography on Empires QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY As mentioned in previous sections of this book, geography plays an important role 1. What are the shared characteristics of the in history and how things change and develop. This is also the case when it classical civilizations? comes to empires. Many empires started geographically in places where city- 2. What are the defining characteristics of states and civilizations already existed, which helps support the idea that empires city- states, civilizations, and empires? were in fact subsets of civilizations. We have already discussed how these places had good climates, access to a steady food supply, and access to resources. But how else did geography impact and influence human life and development? Terms, places, and people: Geography greatly impacted empires in a number of different ways. In some Persians cases empires were aided and protected by geography and in other cases empires were limited and hindered by their geography. Why were the Persians able to construct one of the largest empires in the world? When you examine geography the answer becomes clearer: there are very few geographical barriers in that region of the world which allowed them to expand and grow into a massive empire. Geographical barriers could also act as a source of protection for empires. As you learned in the previous chapter, the Chinese Empire enjoyed protection on three sides with natural barriers to potential invaders. They decided to build a wall where natural barriers didn’t exist. 90 By contrast, some regions were limited and constrained by the if we can uncover how geography affects empires. Each of the geographic barriers surrounding them. The Indian Empires were maps below shows not only the empire, but also the “core” area limited by the fact that they were a peninsula closed on their of the empire, which is represented by the shape inside the northern edge by the world’s tallest mountains. The Roman empire. Empire was also unable to expand further into Africa due to the After examining these maps how do you think geography aided massive Sahara Desert. each of these individual empires? How do you think it could have Geographic barriers greatly impacted the stability of many limited these empires? Use specific geographic examples from empires in this time as well. The Middle East, which we know each map to explain your thinking in this interactive where you had few geographic barriers, saw the most turmoil and conflict will explain how geography both aided and hindered empires. during this time. Empires rapidly grew, shrank, and competed with one another over this large and ever changing space. By Gallery 4.1 Empire Maps comparison the Indian and Chinese Empires, sheltered by mountains and highlands, enjoyed more stability and faced fewer external threats. This is one reason why China maintained its empire for hundreds of years. Geographical barriers were significant but not insurmountable. We will see how they were sometimes overcome in later sections of this unit. Let’s explore some maps and see 91 Section 4 The Development and Impact of Trade Networks QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY Trade became an economic pillar and was incredibly important for the creation 1. What are the shared characteristics of the and survival of empires. Trade provided these large-scale empires with the classical civilizations? resources and goods that they needed to survive and could not make for 2. What are the defining characteristics of themselves, or did not have access to. Trade also gave them access to faraway city- states, civilizations, and empires? markets and places to sell the things they produced. This is supply and demand economics at its very basic level. For this reason trade routes became the veins Terms, places, and people: trade Silk Road cultural diffusion By Whole_world_-_land_and_oceans_12000.jpg: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Centerderivative work: Splette (talk) - Whole_world_- _land_and_oceans_12000.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10449197 92  and arteries that fed the hearts of the empires. By the end of Era Goods were not the only things that traveled along the Silk Road. 3, nearly all of the empires were connected and interacted along As traders went from place to place they shared language, these increasingly important trade routes marking the first real stories, ideas, technology, and even religion. Just as goods move toward what we refer to today as globalization. moved from one empire to another so did these other equally important products. They helped to develop an increasingly The most famous of these trade routes was the Silk Road. The connected world in which ideas were more freely shared among Silk Road was a massive connection of trade routes linking China all of humanity. This process is known as cultural diffusion and and the Roman Empire. Romans had acquired a love for silk it was not unique to this era of history. It happened in previous fabrics, and the only people in the world who knew the secret to eras and still happens to this day. producing that silk were the Chinese. Traders would begin travelling along the Silk Road like runners in a relay, passing the Empires usually found it mutually beneficial to exchange goods silk from traveler to traveler along the route until they eventually along these trade routes. But there were times when the empires reached their destination. Travel could be dangerous, but the could come in conflict. At these times, a secondary impact of rewards were great for those who traveled along the Silk Road. these roads and trade routes was that they provided a ready- made access point to invade the empire. It would be impossible to talk about trade routes and the Silk Road without mentioning the humble camel. Often overlooked, the camel was vitally important to the success of trade routes. Like trucks on the roadways today, camels were the main method of transport and travel along these trade routes. Camels By Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/ could traverse the variety of terrains By Jjron - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:// 3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? curid=2831408 93 that existed along the Silk Road and other trade routes. From hundred years. As the Greek city-states grew more powerful they high mountain passes to burning desert sands, the camel's ability challenged and ultimately defeated the Phoenicians taking over to carry heavy loads while needing little water made it an their trade routes and building wealth of their own. Later, the indispensible creature that was vital to the success of trading. Roman Empire, as we saw on an earlier map, would control all of the trade routes in the Mediterranean and the surrounding land, Finally, it is important to examine the success of trade routes over completely controlling the region. water as well. One of the most powerful groups of traders at the beginning of this era were the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians were expert ship builders who used this knowledge and their location to become incredibly rich. The Phoenicians traded with the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, and places across Africa by sailing around the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians used these overwater trade routes to achieve great success for several By Elie plus at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6074645 By Yom (talk · contribs) - Own work based on: ar:File:Ph routes.jpgTransferred from en.wikipedia to 94 Commons by Akigka., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1074993