Introduction to 3.1:
In East Asia, the Ming dynasty provided 300 years of stability after Mongol rule, but it was the powerful Qing--or Manchu--who will be the final and final Chinese dynasty in 1911. The year 1453, in the Middle East, witnessed gunpowder, and its potential, with the establishment of three new empires: the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires. Each empire was Muslim, yet each unique, and each all three bitter rivals over land, resources, and converts. In Russia, an empire is born. But with a unique geographic location, Russian Tsar's (kings) will face the challenging task of balancing an empire between the ancient East and the emerging West. Eurasia is now permanently divided into large kingdoms, some armed with plenty of guns, others desperate to gain them. The question is, who will be able to expand their power, but more importantly, who can maintain it?

Invest in these Empires, my friend, because they will last (well not all...sorry, Safavids, Aztecs, and Incas) for 80% of the AP Modern World course. It would be wise to double down in this unit. It will pay off come exam time and this period will be useful for creating the all important contextualization. Ok, let’s see how these Empires grew to some of the largest, longest lasting empires in all of earth’s history.