This article introduces some of the different ways in which early modern empires in Eurasia functioned politically, socially, and economically. The Ottoman, Mughal, Russian, and Ming states are compared in terms of how they raised revenue, legitimized their rule, and used bureaucracies and different sectors of society to support and run their empires. In some respects, these land-based empires differed, and in others they used similar methods to govern.

This article will help you analyze how the land-based empires of early modern Eurasia developed and functioned. Compare and contrast them to better understand how these empires were governed and how their respective economies functioned. Consider in what ways they were similar and in what ways they differed in economic and political terms, as this will help you understand the common patterns as well as the regional differences among complex societies in early modern Eurasia.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. According to the essay, how did the empire of Ming China raise funds, and what was one big problem with this system?
2. Besides taxing land and production, what other ways could the states in this article collect revenue?
3. What did taking the title of caliph mean for rulers in the Ottoman Empire and why was this title important?
4. Why did Mughal rulers—who ruled much of South Asia—have to be sensitive about making religious claims?
5. What were some strategies highlighted in this article in which empires used bureaucracies and different sectors of society to help rule?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750?
2. Based on the information from this article, how did different rulers in different states use culture and religion to enhance their legitimacy in the eyes of their subjects?

In this activity, you’ll deepen your understanding of contextualization by analyzing shifts in belief systems that occurred from 1450 to 1750. You will use your contextualization skills to unpack the reasons why these transformations occurred at this time and place while also considering the culture of the period, all of which are critical for thinking about why and how these changes occurred. More generally, you need to have well-developed contextualization skills to receive that point for both the LEQ and the DBQ on the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

Causation, comparison
In order to understand why certain belief systems were transforming in this period, you’ll use your causation skills. You’ll also be asked to compare across these belief systems to understand why these changes occurred during this era.

In this activity, you will use the event cards to complete the Contextualization Tool. Then, you’ll use the information from your completed tools and evidence from the “Transformations of Eurasian Belief Systems, 1450–1750” article to answer a prompt. By contextualizing the time, place, and culture that surrounded these belief systems, you’ll be able to more fully understand why there were breaks or shifts in belief systems during this era.

First, your teacher will lead a discussion about the different types of belief systems in the world today, which will help you think about when, where, and why these belief systems first took shape.

Next, your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Contextualization – Belief Systems worksheet. By now you should be more proficient with using the Contextualization Tool, which is included in the Contextualization – Belief Systems worksheet. Remember that contextualization is often about situating an event in its temporal (time period), spatial (location), and cultural setting.

Your teacher will break the class into small groups of three to four students to complete the tool. Start by writing the dates and locations for the transformations of belief systems. Then, you’ll divide the event cards for each empire into broad and narrow context.

Next, you’ll share your broad and narrow context with the class by placing your event cards on the funnel on the board. Be sure to share your reasons for categorizing your event cards as broad or narrow context. You are allowed to move any event cards that you think were placed incorrectly by the prior group, but you must provide justification for doing so. After your group has moved any of the previous group’s event cards then you can place two of your event cards that are not already up on the funnel and explain your reasoning to the class. Then, return to your group to answer the remaining questions on the tool.

Finally, use your descriptions of broad and narrow context from the tool and information from the “Transformations of Eurasian Belief Systems, 1450–1750” article to write a one-paragraph response to the question below. Your group’s contextualization paragraph should include a thesis statement that directly answers the prompt as well as evidence to support your thesis statement.

What historical context related to the time period, location, and culture led to the transformation of beliefs in one of the following faiths from 1450 to 1750: Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity?

Once all groups have written their contextualization paragraphs, your teacher will instruct you on how to share your paragraphs with the class. As you read each group’s contextualization paragraph, take notes on any similarities and differences you find in these transformations of beliefs. Identifying these similarities and differences will help you compare how these belief systems impacted different empires.

Your teacher will collect your worksheets and paragraphs at the end of the activity to assess your understanding of these historical events and your contextualization skills.

Between 1450 and 1750, several of the world’s major religions experienced dramatic transformations. In Islam, divisions between Shi’a and Sunni faiths intensified. In Europe, the Protestant and Catholic Reformations produced decades of religious wars but also many new ideas. In the Mughal Empire, Sikhism emerged in an environment of syncretism, spreading through merchant networks and challenging the traditional authority of the caste system. These and other religious transformations produced conflicts and reshaped belief systems across Afro-Eurasia.

This unit focuses on the emergence and expansion of the land-based empires of Afro-Eurasia. Organized religions have at times alternately challenged and supported empires. In this period, religious transformations provided both great opportunity and threats to the power of empires and states. This article provides evidence at a regional and global level for evaluating the impacts of belief systems on governance across Eurasia.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article explain continuity and change within the various belief systems during the period from 1450 to 1750? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What are some of the short and long-term changes that the author provides to explain this period of religious transformation?
2. How did the Sunni-Shi’a split in Islam create a crisis for the Ottoman Empire?
3. Who was Martin Luther and why was he a significant figure in religious change in this period?
4. Why did the Protestant Reformation spread so quickly?
5. What does the author list as important characteristics of Sikhism?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article explain continuity and change within the various belief systems during the period from 1450 to 1750?
2. This article lists three beliefs systems that emerged as politically powerful forces during this period (Shi’a Islam, Protestant Christianity, and Sikhism). Did these three belief systems do more to support or to destabilize empires and states? Provide three pieces of evidence to support your claim.

3x5 note cards or cut up paper

This sourcing collection, along with the Quick-Sourcing Tool, gives you an opportunity to practice a quicker kind of sourcing than you do in the sourcing practice progression. The tool and the process for using it—specifically designed for unpacking document collections—will help you be successful on both the SAQ and DBQ portions of the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

If you are unfamiliar with the Quick-Sourcing Tool or the process for using it, we recommend reviewing the Quick-Sourcing Introduction activity in Lesson 1.4.

The Quick-Sourcing Tool can be used any time you encounter a set of sources and are trying to respond to a prompt or question, as opposed to the deeper analysis you do when using the HAPPY tool that is part of the sourcing progression.

First, take out or download the sourcing collection and review the guiding question that appears on the first page. Then, take out or download the Quick-Sourcing Tool and review the directions. For Part 1, you’ll write a quick summary of each source in terms of how it relates to the guiding question (we recommend using one note card or scrap of paper for each source).

For Part 2, which uses the first four letters of the acronym from the HAPPY tool, you only have to respond to one of these four questions. This will get you a partial point on the AP^® World History: Modern exam. You should always include the historical significance or “why” (the “Y” in “HAPPY”) for any of the four questions you choose to respond to.

In Part 3, you’ll gather the evidence you found in each document and add it to your note cards so you can include it in a response later. Once each document is analyzed, look at your note cards and try to categorize the cards. There might be a group of documents that support the claim you want to make in your response, and another group that will help you consider counterclaims, for example.

To wrap up, try to respond to the guiding question.

This collection explores changing belief systems, from the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation to devotional movements like Sufism and the Bhakti movement. It also looks at the political dimensions of religion, from Christian Europe to the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Courts, all of which were entangled in sectarian struggles.

The AP^® World History: Modern CED suggests students develop their sourcing skills in line with certain topics. For Unit 3, the topic is “Empires: Belief Systems”; therefore, we’ve compiled a number of primary source excerpts to help you develop these skills in relation to this content. This should help prepare you to be successful on the AP exam.

We recommend using the accompanying Quick Sourcing activity (above) to help you analyze these sources.

Make sure you have the Unit 3 Themes Notebook worksheet that you partially filled out earlier in the unit.

This is a continuation of the Themes Notebook activity that you started earlier in this unit. As part of WHP AP, you are asked to revisit the AP themes in order to maintain a connection to the core themes of the course. Because this is the second time you’re working with the themes questions, you’re asked to explain how your understanding of the unit’s themes has changed since you began the unit. Make sure you use evidence from this unit and sound reasoning in your answers.

Fill out the second table on your partially completed worksheet from earlier in Unit 3. Be prepared to talk about your ideas with your class.

You have already been introduced to the CCOT Tool, and in this activity you will use the new CCOT skills you’ve developed to analyze a historical topic. This process will help you make claims in response to questions about how things have stayed the same or changed in history.

Comparison, causation, claim testing
In this activity, you will use both your comparison and causation skills and apply them to analyzing changes and continuities that took place from Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200–1450) to Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450–1750). Additionally, you are making claims in this activity by determining which changes and continuities are most historically significant.

You’ve read a lot about expanding networks of exchange and empires in these units. But what really changed from the period covered in the previous unit and this one? Was this a period where there were more continuities than changes? Or were there a few changes that took place on a much larger scale during this period? We’ll take a look at the time period from about 1200 to 1750 CE to decide just how much the world actually changed.

Your teacher will either hand out or have you download the CCOT – Networks of Exchange to Land-Based Empires worksheet and divide the class into small groups of three to four students. You’ll follow the directions on the CCOT Tool (which is included in the worksheet), and start by adding the timeframe you’ll be investigating. Then, you’ll work with your group members to identify and write down on sticky notes as many continuities and changes (one change or one continuity per sticky note) you can find for this time period. Remember, you can review any of the articles or videos in these units to jog your memory—looking over the Units 2 and 3 introduction articles would be a good place to start!

Once your group has written your changes and continuities on sticky notes, you’ll determine if the change or continuity was positive or negative. You’ll share your changes and continuities with the class by placing your sticky notes on the graph on the board. Be sure to share your reasons for categorizing your changes and continuities as positive or negative. You are allowed to move any sticky notes that you think were placed incorrectly by the prior group, but you must provide justification for doing so. After your group has moved any of the previous group’s sticky notes, you can place any of your changes or continuities that are not already up on the graph and explain your reasoning to the class.

Finally, return to your groups to answer the remaining questions on the tool. Remember that you can use the acronym ADE to determine historical significance. Consider if most people’s lives were affected by these changes and continuities (amount); if people living in this time period were deeply affected by these changes and continuities (depth); or if these changes and continuities were long lasting (endurance). Be prepared to share your most significant change and continuity with the class along with your reasoning for your selections.

Your teacher will collect these worksheets and use them to review your understanding of these historical processes and to assess your CCOT skills.

This activity will provide additional evidence to help you respond to the Unit Problem: How did land-based empires in Afro-Eurasia expand their influence and govern diverse communities between c. 1450 and 1750 CE? You will look back on what you’ve learned during this unit by comparing three political maps. You will also review your predictions about the development of land-based empires from the Part 1 activity. Finally, you’ll reflect on the governance of these empires and their connections to the maritime empires you’ll encounter in the next unit.

This activity begins with an identification opening in which you identify Eurasian empires on three blank maps of Afro-Eurasia in 1450, 1550, and 1750. Next, you will compare the full-color versions of these maps as you identify key changes and continuities from 1450 to 1750. Finally, you will revisit your guesses and predictions from the Part 1 activity and write a response to a prompt about the administration of land-based empires.

Step 1

Identify the empires associated with the numbers on the black-and-white maps of the world in 1450, 1550, and 1750 and record your answers on the worksheet. You should complete this part of the activity without referencing outside sources or the rest of the maps in this activity.

Step 2

In small groups, examine the 1450, 1550, and 1750 Political Maps. You should compare these three maps and identify three significant changes or continuities in land-based empires over this period.

Step 3

Remaining in small groups, open your Part 1 activity maps and predictions. How close were your initial predictions? Finally, prepare a short paragraph or bullet list in response to this prompt:

The fall of the Mongol Empire led to the rise of several new land-based empires in Eurasia. As you’ve seen, some turned out to be more powerful and more long-lasting than others. Over the same period, new oceanic empires also arose in other parts of the world. Using evidence from the maps and other materials you’ve encountered in this unit, explain how you think the expansion of these land-based empires might have been connected to the rise of oceanic empires that you will encounter in the next unit?

The chief reason students don’t get full points for SAQ responses is that they don’t clearly answer the prompt. Instead, they tend to provide facts related to the topic. By analyzing and scoring prompts, you’ll be able to see the difference between providing some relevant facts or vague claims as opposed to fully responding to each prompt. In this activity, you’ll will take a break from rewriting and responding to prompts, and will instead, analyze other students’ work, which will give you a clearer understanding of what a high quality SAQ response looks like.

In this activity, you’re going to analyze and score actual student responses to SAQ prompts. This will give you a much better idea of what makes a strong response so you know what to aim for on the exam. Your job is to go around the room reading the SAQ prompts and responses that your teacher posted, and decide whether that response should have earned a score of 0 or a score of 1.

So, how should you evaluate the responses? You can use the same ACE acronym that you’ve been using to write your SAQ responses. So, you’ll check to make sure that the student did each of the following in their responses:

• A – answer the prompt/make a claim
• C – cite evidence
• E – explain how the evidence supports the claim (often referred to as reasoning).

So, for each response you analyze, make sure that the response:

1. Actually answers the prompt and makes a claim
2. Cites evidence
3. Provides a clear and understandable explanation for the evidence and how the evidence supports the claim.

You may want to read through a few prompts and responses before deciding upon your scores—comparing and contrasting will help you get a better sense of what a high or low quality response looks like.

Once you’ve decided on your scores, grab some sticky notes and write down the score for a response and post it next to the relevant prompt. If you give any of the responses a score of 0, write down how the response was lacking in terms of ACE. Be ready to discuss your reasoning with the class.

This activity will help you continue to gain familiarity with elements of good writing by digging into the Evidence, Sourcing, and Complexity rows of the WHP DBQ rubric. This will help you learn to develop nuanced, evidence-based arguments in your writing. Analyzing a sample student essay will help you become more familiar with the specific expectations for WHP AP writing, as well as prepare you for the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

In this activity, you will take a close look at the Evidence, Sourcing, and Complexity rows of the WHP DBQ Writing Rubric. You will analyze a student essay against the criteria included in the rubric. This activity will be similar to the one you did in Unit 2, when you analyzed a sample LEQ to look for thesis and contextualization. For this activity, you will analyze the use of evidence, sourcing, and complexity in a student essay that was written in response to this DBQ prompt: “Evaluate the extent to which the Columbian Exchange transformed the Americas from c. 1500–1750 CE.”

Before you start your analysis, download the WHP DBQ Writing Rubric, and review the Evidence, Sourcing, and Complexity rows of the rubric with your class. Once you’ve reviewed these criteria, work with your class to identify the major claim in the essay. Although you will not be focusing on the major claim in this activity, it’s difficult to assess the rest of the essay without being aware of it, since everything in the essay should be in support of that claim.

Once you’ve identified the thesis, your teacher may put you in a small group to work through steps 2 through 4 of the worksheet. First, underline evidence in the essay, making sure at least four documents and at least one outside piece of evidence were used as support. Then, for at least two sources, show how the essay explains how or why each source’s historical situation/context, audience, purpose, or point of view is relevant to an argument being made. Finally, look for where the essay demonstrates a complex understanding of the historical development that is the focus of the prompt, or where the writer uses advanced argumentation or effective use of evidence to construct a response that fully addresses the prompt. Be prepared to share your answers with the class!

• Have the Comparison, CCOT, and Causation tools available (find all resources on the Student Resources page)

This assessment will help prepare you for the document-based questions (DBQs) you will encounter on the AP^® World History: Modern exam. It will also give you a better understanding of your skills development and overall progress related to constructing an argument, interpreting historical documents, and employing the historical thinking practices you are using in this course.

Contextualization, sourcing, reading, writing
All DBQs require you to contextualize, research, and source documents, and of course as part of this, read and write.

Day 1

In this activity, you are going to prepare to respond to a DBQ, or document-based question. In this course, document-based questions give you a prompt or question along with seven source documents, and you’ll use the information from at least six of those documents (and any additional knowledge you have) to respond to the prompt. Your responses will be written in essay format, and will usually be five or six paragraphs long.

This DBQ asks you to respond to the following prompt: Evaluate the extent to which governments reacted similarly to increased foreign trade during the period c. 1450 to 1750 CE. To make sure you’re clear on what you’re being asked, take out the Question Parsing Tool. Work with your classmates to deconstruct the prompt.

Next, take out the DBQ and relevant thinking tool to help you analyze the documents. Take a look at the document library. As you do with the Three Close Reads process, quickly skim each of the documents for gist. Then, do a closer read of each one. For each document, write down the information you think you might use in your essay. You must provide source information for at least two of the documents in your essay. Write your ideas on the relevant tool as you work through the documents. Discuss your ideas with the class.

Now, come up with a major claim or thesis statement that responds to the prompt. Use the information from your thinking tool to help you come up with an idea. What you have written should help you support your claim. One common mistake students make when responding to a DBQ is not directly answering the prompt—so, in creating your thesis, make sure that it directly answers and is relevant to the prompt.

Finally, it’s time to contextualize. Remember, that ALL historical essays require you to contextualize. If you need to refresh your memory, contextualization is the process of placing a document, an event, a person, or process within its larger historical setting, and includes situating it in time, space, and sociocultural setting. In this case, you are contextualizing the documents. Contextualization will often come at the beginning of your essay, or at least in the first paragraph, either before or after your thesis statement. As needed, you can use the Contextualization Tool for this part of the process.

Day 2

This second day is your writing day. Feel free to use your tools and notes from any prewriting work you completed as you craft your essay response. Make sure you have a copy of the WHP DBQ Writing Rubric available to remind you of what’s important to include in your essay. And don’t forget to contextualize! In doing that, think of the entire time period, not just the time immediately preceding the historical event or process you are writing about. Your teacher will give you a time limit for completing your five- to six-paragraph essay responding to the DBQ.