9.3 Classic Civilizations

Common Core- Global - 9.3

Classical Societies, 600 B.C.E. – ca. 900 C.E.

(link to Global 9 Home) link to Global 9, Unit 1)

9.3 CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS: EXPANSION, ACHIEVEMENT, DECLINE: Classical civilizations in Eurasia and Mesoamerica employed a variety of methods to expand and maintain control over vast territories. They developed lasting cultural achievements. Both internal and external forces led to the eventual decline of these empires.

(Standards: 2, 3, 5; Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO, GOV, CIV)

C. Classical civilizations (link to NYSED Online Global Resource Guide)

1. Chinese civilization
  1. Human and physical geography
  2. Chinese contributions (engineering, tools, writing, silk, bronzes, government system)
  3. Dynastic cycles
  4. Mandate of Heaven
2. Greek civilization

- 1. Human and physical geography
  2. The rise of city-states—Athens/Sparta
  3. Contributions: art, architecture, philosophy, science—Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and Plotemy
  4. Growth of democracy in Athens versus the Spartan political system
  5. Alexander the Great and Hellenistic culture—cultural diffusion

1. Roman Republic

- 1. Human and physical geography
  2. Contributions—law (Twelve Tables), architecture, literature, roads, bridges

1. Indian (Maurya) Empire

- 1. Human and physical geography (monsoons)
  2. Contributions—government system

1. Rise of agrarian civilizations in Mesoamerica—Mayan (200 BC -900 AD)

- 1. Human and physical geography
  2. Contributions (mathematics, astronomy, science, arts, architecture, and technology)
  3. Role of maize
  4. Religion

1. The status and role of women in classical civilizations
2. The growth of global trade routes in classical civilizations

- 1. Phoenician trade routes
  2. Maritime and overland trade routes
    1. Linking Africa and Eurasia
    2. Linking China, Korea, and Japan

Essential Questions

9.3a

- Geographic factors encouraged and hindered a state’s/empire’s expansion and interactions.
- Students will examine the location and relative size of classical political entities (Greece, Gupta, Han, Maurya, Maya, Qin, Rome) noting the location and size of each in relation to the amount of power held within a region.
- Students will investigate how geographic factors encouraged or hindered expansion and interactions within the Greek, Roman, and Mayan civilizations.

Traditional Latin America

9.3b

- Empires used belief systems, systems of law, forms of government, military forces, and social hierarchies to consolidate and expand power.
- Students will compare and contrast how the Mauryan, Qin, and Roman civilizations consolidated and increased power.

9.3c

- A period of peace, prosperity, and cultural achievements can be designated as a Golden Age.
- Students will examine the achievements of Greece, Gupta, Han Dynasty, Maya, and Rome to determine if the civilizations experienced a Golden Age.

D. The rise and fall of great empires (linked to NYSED Online Global Resource Guide)

1. Han Dynasty
  1. Human and physical geography
  2. Factors leading to growth
  3. Contributions
  4. Causes of decline
  5. Role of migrating nomadic groups from Central Asia
2. Roman Empire

- 1. Human and physical geography
  2. Factors leading to growth (engineering, empire building, trade)
  3. Contributions
  4. Causes of decline
  5. Role of migrating nomadic groups from Central Asia
  6. Pax Romana

Essential Questions
- Why do civilizations rise and fall?
- Are conflicts between nations and/or people inevitable?

9.3d

- Political, socioeconomic, and environmental issues, external conflicts, and nomadic invasions led to the decline and fall of Classical empires.
- Students will compare and contrast the forces that led to the fall of the Han Dynasty, the Mayan civilization, and the Roman Empire.

Bantu Migration

Traditional Latin America

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse