AP World Essay There are many similarities and differences between the Ancient Greeks and the Persian Empire. Although the Ancient Greeks and the Persian Empires had the geographical locations similar, the different political system such as the one king vs. the city states and, the different social customs and beliefs of Zoroastrianism and the Greek culture prove the Persian Empire was more different and less similar than the Ancient Greeks. The similarities of the geographical locations of these two empires are many. They both were connected to water giving them an abundance of the fishing industry. The water also gave both empires access to trading with each other but the Persians had the Royal Road, a 1700 mile long trade route across the empire.
Mauryan/Gupta India and Han China had similarities as well as differences in the methods of political control. In the Mauryan/Gupta India was highly decentralized while Han China was centralized. However, Mauryan/Gupta India and Han China had similar bureaucracies. There was a bureaucracy present on both Mauryan/Gupta and Han. A bureaucracy is when non-elected officials are in charge instead of elected representatives.
Han China vs. Imperial Rome The methods of political control used in Han China (206 B.C.E-220 C.E.) were similar to that of Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E-476 C.E. ); however, these societies greatly differed on their oppositions of governing and the techniques used in maintaining control over citizens, expansions, and their falls. Han China and Imperial Rome had similar governments because they were ruled under one central leader, however, Han China had an emperor that enforced policies and Imperial Rome had a republic because they felt the monarchy did no good to the people. The Senate of Rome had most control over the citizens.
Of all the great city-states (poleis) of Ancient Greece, the two most popular are Sparta and Athens. While there were advantages to be had with their respective styles of government, economics, military, and society, there were distinct disadvantages to be had as well. The Spartan form of government was that of an oligarchy; a state in which power is held by a small group. There would be five elected officials and two “kings” who inherited their positions, who made all of the decisions regarding the welfare of the state. The land-owning citizens were permitted to attend these government sessions but were not were allowed to voice their opinions.
In reality Athenian democracy is a complete mockery of itself by not abiding by the ‘guidelines of democracy.’(i.e. for the people by the people). Although Athenian Democracy has its flaws it also has positives, during the time of democratic Athens, Athens was at its height of wealth, it was the most knowledgeable state in ancient Greece, Athens was the centre point of the time. Athenian democracy worked in many ways, with the extent of the voting systems Athens was able to vote quite accurately and thoroughly. At the time of democratic Athens a very influential figure took the chance of becoming a king in a democratic society, Pericles in some ways he achieved what he set out to do, Pericles had a great influence on the Athenian democracy, a great example of his influence is his funeral oration or his famed building programme.
How did geography, environment, and contacts with other peoples shape the institutions and values of Persians and Greeks? In both ancient Persia and Greece, societies originated in areas of land with poor resources. Ancient Iran was an arid, harsh land with little water, and so a strong central authority was required to organize the resources and manpower to adapt to the environment. The Persians gained their power and eventually their empire through the overthrowing of a Median monarch. The Greeks, however, were located on a peninsula and had easy access to foreign peoples and markets abroad over the Aegean Sea.
Trade was an essential part of these societies. The bazaars and town markets where this trading took place was a place rich with many different cultures, foods, farming supplies and techniques, the latest weaponry, politics and news. Without this, these civilizations would’ve advanced slower and there would’ve been a high possibility that they would’ve become ethnocentric much like the early Chinese civilizations were. But trade was inevitable where the Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies grew. They each lived on flat planes around large rivers where it would be pretty easy to communicate to the other societies around them.
Ancient Egypt vs Mesopotamia: the political, social economical aspects of two ancient civilizations Egypt and Mesopotamia were both great Empires of the ancient world, and have left equally great impacts on history and shaped the world we live in today. And while these impressive civilizations shared many similarities in areas such as politics and economics, society, they also shared many differences. At first glance, the political patterns in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia seem fairly similar, sharing an upper/ruling class consisting of priests and nobles however there are many fundamental differences between the two. Mesopotamia’s ruling class consists mainly of priests and later rulers of city states, in Egypt however the ruling class is almost completely taken up by the pharaoh, ;A god among men to the egyptians, who ruled over all of Egypt; followed by members of the royal family and important priests. Egyptian government was much more centralized than the city states of Mesopotamia.
Sparta vs Athens The Greek city states, Sparta and Athens may have been a short distance away from one another but the two neighboring cities differ greatly in terms of systems of government as well as their lifestyles and values. Athenians were well known for their beauty much like the Spartans were known for their strength. In addition to the major political and cultural differences between the two city-states the roles of women were drastically different. Spartan and Athenian societies were different in many aspects of government, military, education and their way of living which divided them as city states. The Spartans and Athenians of Greece had very different structures of government.
SPARTA'S POLITICS During the classical period Sparta's politics were different from Athens' politics. Athens used tyranny in their government and also used a form of democracy. Sparta did not like the way tyranny worked so they produced a different form of government. The Spartans had a constitution or what they called a rhetra, which came from the Great Rhetra . The Spartans formed a very complex government mixing democracy and oligarchy, and this form of government was a model for other poleis.