Thesis+Statements


 * 1) Compare and contrast the ways civilization developed in India and Mesopotamia.
 * The civilizations of India and Mesopotamia had developed in different regions of world, attributing to differences like governance and social structure, but both civilizations has had a history of development through warfare.
 * Both Mesopotamian and Indian civilizations attribute development of their civilizations to invasions, but Mesopotamia had developed with a centralized government and India developed with a decentralized theocracy.
 * 1) Compare and contrast the impact of Confucianism in China with Hinduism in India (200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.)
 * Both ways of thinking were a system of virtues, but Confucianism promoted the development of a powerful centralized government whereas Hinduism stressed promoted a decentralized caste system.
 * 1) Describe the changes and continuities in the role of women in the transition from a hunter gathering lifestyle to civilization
 * In the transition between hunting and gathering to civilizations, women downgraded from equality to a subordinated role as most societies evolved into patriarchal societies and continues through modern day.
 * 1) Compare the development of political structures in Classical China with those in Classical India
 * Classical China was influenced by Confucianism that promoted a centralized government whereas Classical India never developed an intricate political unit because Hinduism, for a majority of the classical era, promoted a decentralized theocracy.
 * 1) Describe the different trading patterns China and India (200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.) What factors can explain these differences?
 * Indian soceity were active traders who traded throughout the Eurasian continent via land and sea, while the Chinese economy refrained from trading with outside forces in order to preserve their "superior" status. Both of these activities can be attributed to the social impetuses.


 * 1) In what ways were the economic foundations of the Roman and Han Empires similar? What were the consequences of the differences?
 * Classical Rome and Han China were agricultural based economies, but Rome was a commercial agricultural that depended on slavery whereas the Hans were subsistent farmers leading to a disparity of technological and industrial development. Also, Classical Rome and Han China had very different outlooks on trading. Romans could not grow grains therefore relied on imports and exports to maintain a food supply, but the Middle Kingdom existed between two fertile river valleys allowing the subsistent growth of rice and wheat. As a result, the cultural fortitude of the societies varied in strength that ultimately affected succeeding civilizations.
 * 1) Compare the institutions of imperial government in Han China to those established in Rome after Augustus?
 * Han China utilized a professionalized bureaucracy alongside a supreme emperorship whereas Rome had a supreme emperorship with fierce localism. Since both governments had centralization, uniform law codes, like the Roman Twelve Tablets, were used to maintain the peace.
 * 1) Compare the social and economic organization of Rome and Han China
 * The social systems of Han China and Rome very similar since both civilizations had a serfdom, strident social stratification, and lack of official religion. However, their economic institutions varied greatly due to the extent of government control. Since Romans did not impose their regulations on the local powers, the major industries monitored by the government was olive, viticulture, and the procurement of grains. In China, since the bureaucracy were agents of the emperor, multiple industries, like silk, standardization of measurements, and even currency were overlooked by the government.
 * 1) Compare and contrast the factors that lead to, and the effects of, the collapse of Ancient Rome and Han China.
 * China and Rome fell because of similar internal issues: corruption of the imperial government and decentralization and stagnation of intellectual thought. Unlike Rome, the cultural identity of the Han empire persisted throughout the invasions and civil strife until the Sui dynasty, therefore the culture remained quite intact. Rome, due to Theodosius II, was split into two parts, but the western half of the kingdom fell to barbarians while the eastern half survived as Byzantine. Effectively, the vast Roman empire was divided into three areas: the western babarian kingdoms, Byzantine, and an eastern empire.