Part A Grading Rubric:

4 pts. = Fully respond to entire question in clear sentence form; correct grammar, mechanics, punctuation, etc.

3 pts. = Responds to most of the question in sentence form; correct grammar, mechanics, punctuation, etc.

2 pts. = Responds to part of the question in sentence form; may not have correct grammar, mechanics, punctuation, etc.

1 pt. = Responds to minimal aspects of the question not in sentence form; may not have correct grammar, mechanics, punctuation, etc.

DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Name: _______________________________________ Period: ___________

Historical Context

Empires involve a large expanse of territory, inhabited by diverse groups of people, and controlled by a single ethnic group (typically with one ruler or a small group of rulers). During the Classical Period (c. 8th century BCE – 4th century CE), empires sprung up around the world – from Central America and East Asia to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. These empires contributed to the social, legal, and religious developments of the world, but most of them were only able to do this because of their authoritarian control over others.

Directions: The following questions are based on the accompanying documents in Part A. As you analyze each document, take into account both the source of the document and the author’s point of view. Be sure to do each of the following steps:

1. Carefully read the document-based question. Consider what you already know about this topic. How would you answer the question if you had no documents to examine?

2. Read each document carefully, underlining key phrases and words that address the document-based question. You may also wish to use the margin to make brief notes. Answer the questions that follow each document before moving on to the next document.

3. Based on your own knowledge and on the information in the documents, formulate a thesis that directly answers the questions.

4. Organize supportive and relevant information into a brief outline.

5. Write a well-organized essay proving your thesis. You should present your essay logically. Include information both from the documents and from your own knowledge beyond the documents.

The following documents provide information about the developments and achievements of several ancient civilizations. Examine each document carefully. In the space provided, answer the question or questions that follow each document. This will help you to set up your responses to your chosen question.

Part A

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Short-Answer Questions

Document 1

Pyramid of Tikal (tallest structure in the Americas until the 20th century)

1. Describe the significance of Mayan architecture (and how it was built) evidenced in this temple at Tikal.

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Document 2

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

The Decline and Collapse of Mayan Civilization

A ruling class that had arisen out of advances in human productive powers now prevented further advances. But without such advances its own rapaciousness [greed] was bound to exhaust society’s resources, until the means of livelihood became insufficient to provide for the mass of the population…. Willey and Shimkin suggest similar ‘over-exploitation’ by the ruling class brought about the collapse of the ‘classic’ Mayan civilization of Meso-America about 1,200 years ago:

A growing upper class, together with its various retainers and other members of the incipient [developing] ‘middle class,’ would have increased economic strain on the total society … Malnutrition and disease burdens increased among the commoner population and further decreased its work capacity… Despite these internal stresses, the Maya of the late classic period (550 – 830 CE) apparently made no technological or social adaptive innovations… In fact, the Maya elite persisted in its traditional direction up to the point of collapse.

Source:

2. Based on this excerpt, what is the author’s main argument for why Mayan civilization declined and collapsed in the late classic period (550-830 CE)?

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Document 3

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Pericles’ Defense of Athenian Democracy

“We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.”

Source: John L. Esposito, ed., The Oxford History of Islam, Oxford University Press

3. In the ancient Greek city-state of Athens, citizenship carried both rights and responsibilities. Male citizens were expected to help defend Athens in war, to serve on a jury, and to participate in debates about issues. The above quote is from an Athenian statesman and orator who lived during the 5th century BCE.

What does Pericles think about citizens who do not participate in politics? What specifically leads you to think this?

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Document 4a

Greek Slavery and the Ruling Class

It is sometimes argued that slavery could not have been central to these [city-states] because slaves did not constitute anything like a majority of the population. But … what matters is how important they were to producing the surplus [of food], for without this there could be no life of idleness for the ruling class, no freeing of writers and poets from relentless physical toil and no resources for marvels like the Acropolis. The ruling class owed its position to the control of land cultivated mainly by slaves, to such an extent that the classic Greek writers and philosophers saw the ownership of slaves as essential to a civilized life…”

Source: Chris Harman, A People’s History of the World

Document 4b

Acropolis of Athens Modern Plans

4. According to Harman, how did the surplus of food production aid the ruling class [1]? Would Harman believe that the Acropolis of Athens (image

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the Worldabove) could have been built without the work of slaves? How do you know [2]?

(1)

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Document 5

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Herodotus’ Accounts of Persians

The Asiatics (people from Asia), according to the Persians, took the seizure of women lightly enough, but not so for the Greeks: the Greeks, merely on account of a girl from Sparta, raised a big army, invaded Asia and destroyed the empire of Priam [in the Trojan War hundreds of years prior]. From that root sprang their belief in the perpetual enmity [discord] of the Greek world towards them – with the Persians possessing Asia and its various barbarian peoples, and thinking that Europe and the Greeks being distinct from them.

5. Herodotus was a Greek historian who wrote down his account of the Persian Wars in the 5th century BCE. Above, he describes what he believes to be the root of animosity between the Persian Empire and the Greeks. Is Herodotus favorable or unfavorable to the Persians? How do you know?

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Document 6a50,000 miles of Roman Roads Linking Cities and Far-Away Provinces

Document 6bRoman Cities and Production

There were a few cities in which trade or manufactures played a predominant role… Here some industries did grow substantially – glass making, weaving and the manufacture of papyrus – and some merchants acquired great wealth. But most cities were centers of administration and ruling class consumption, not trade and industry. The roads constructed for military purposes were unsuited to transporting heavy loads … and so moving goods by land was extremely slow and costly. A 300 mile journey doubled the cost of wheat, for example. Long distance trade was restricted to the most expensive luxury goods, and inland cities depended for the great bulk of their provisions on the surrounding land and their own craftsmen based in small workshops.

The cities were parasitic (parasites) on the rural economy rather than a source of innovation that increased productivity. The great landowners who lived in the cities looked to increase their incomes by squeezing the cultivators harder rather than by investing in new tools and land improvements.

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World6. In order to maintain control of the Roman Empire, which eventually expanded

to include provinces from modern-day Britain and Spain to Egypt and Syria, the Empire needed to build expansive and well-constructed roads to maintain communication, military movements, and an established bureaucracy.

According to the author, were these roads and the cities that developed because of them beneficial for the majority of the Empire’s inhabitants, or the ruling elite? How do you know? Use at least two examples from his excerpt.

(1)

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Document 7a

Roman Political Order and Social Classes

Document 7b

Roman Patrician Control of the Government

[The citizen assembly] had nominal right to elect magistrates and decide on questions of war and peace. But 98 of its 193 votes went to the highest class [Patricians], and the delegates from the Plebian small peasants had no say if these were unanimous in their view, while the propertyless Romans, known as the proletarii, had only one vote between them.

The leading families used their political control to increase their already substantial landholdings at the expense of the peasantry, pushing them into debt, taking their land and relying on the judges to find in favor of the Patricians. What is more, as commanders of the armed forces, they ensured they took the lion’s share of conquered land after each military victory.

Source: Chris Harman, A People’s History of the World

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

7. These two secondary sources describe the same thing – the Roman political system. The Patricians were the upper-class, elite ruling order while the Plebeians were those citizens who owned property (e.g., farmers, merchants, landlords). What are two ways that these two secondary sources differ in terms of what they believe about the Roman political system?

(1)

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(2)

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Document 8

The Decline of the Western Roman Empire

Rome, like all great empires, was not overthrown by external enemies but undermined by internal decay…. The military crisis was the result of … proud old aristocracy’s … shortage of children. [Consequently,] foreigners poured into this … void [lack of soldiers]. The Roman army [was] composed entirely of Germans.

Source: Indro Montanelli, Romans Without Laurels, Pantheon Books, 1962

First the economic factor … While the empire was expanding, its prosperity was fed by plundered wealth and by new markets in the semi-barbaric provinces. When the empire ceased to expand, however, economic progress soon ceased….

The abundance of slaves led to the growth of the latifundia, the great estates that … came to dominate agriculture and ruin the free coloni [farmers], who drifted to the cities, to add to the unemployment there. The abundance of slaves likewise kept wages low.

Source: Herbert J. Muller, Uses of the Past, Signet, 1967

The basic trouble was that very few inhabitants of the empire believed that the old civilization was worth saving…. [The] overwhelming majority of the population had been systematically excluded from political responsibilities. They could not organize to protect themselves; they could not serve in the army…. Their economic plight was hopeless. Most of them were serfs bound to the soil, and the small urban groups saw their cities slipping into uninterrupted decline.

Source: Strayer, Gatzke, and Harbison, The Course of Civilization, Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1961

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

7. What do each of these authors identify as the cause of the fall of the Western Roman Empire?

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(3)

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Document 9

Advancements in Han China (3rd century BCE – 3rd century CE)

Technology Medicine The Arts

Paper from wood pulp Iron plow for breaking

soil Rudder-device to steer

ships Wheelbarrow Fishing reel Compass

Acupuncture : treatment of diseases using needles

Anesthetics : Substance that puts patients to sleep during surgery

Herbal remedies : Discovery of plants useful as medicines

Silk weaving Jade carving Bronze metallurgy Temples and palaces Poetry and history Philosophy Confucianism Daoism

10. Choose two examples from the graphic organizer and explain how they are used today.

(1)

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DBQ 3: Classical Civilizations of the World

Part BEssay

Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several supporting paragraphs (4-6), and a conclusion. Use evidence from at least four documents in your essay. Support your response with relevant facts, examples, and details. Include additional outside information where necessary.

Historical Context:

Empires involve a large expanse of territory, inhabited by diverse groups of people, and controlled by a single ethnic group (typically with one ruler or a small group of rulers). During the Classical Period (c. 8th century BCE – 4th century CE), empires sprung up around the world – from Central America and East Asia to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. These empires contributed to the social, legal, and religious developments of the world, but most of them were only able to do this because of their authoritarian control over others. These empires include the Mayans, Hellenistic World, Roman Empire, and the Han Dynasty.

Task: Using the information from the documents and your knowledge of world history, write an essay in which you response to the question below:

Select four documents from this essay and write an essay based on the following: Explain the legal, social, and political effects that empire had on the world Argue whether you believe these effects ultimately benefited the majority

of people of that time, or only a few select groups (e.g., males, upper-class, royalty) – do not use first-person statements (I, me, we, us)

Guidelines:

In your essay, be sure to Develop all aspects of the task Incorporate information from at least four documents Incorporate relevant outside information Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details Use logical and clear plans of organization, including an introduction

and a conclusion paragraph that are more than a simply restatement of the theme of your essay

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