State vs. Empire
WORLD HISTORY PROJECTORIGINS / LESSON 3.3ACTIVITYSTATE VS. EMPIREUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “State vs. Empire,” OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeEvaluating the characteristics of states and empires will help you determine the similarities and differences between these two political units.Process1.Review the articles “What Is a State?”and “What Is an Empire?,”andthen complete the table below.TermDefinition in your own wordsStateEmpire2.Determine if the examples in the table below are states or empires.ExampleCircle oneReasoningSumer(c. 3000 BCE): A city-state with walls, its own ruler, and control over nearby farmland. Often fought with other city-states,such as Ur.StateEmpireAkkad(c. 2300 BCE): Sargon, Akkad’s founder, conquered multiple Sumerian cities, expanding his control over a large territory, keeping local leaders but demanding tribute from them.StateEmpire
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 3.3 ACTIVITYSTATE VS. EMPIRE2ExampleCircle oneReasoningEgypt(c. 2600 BCE): Ruled by pharaohs with a centralized bureaucracy and a unified territory in the Nile Valley. Maintained control over a large but culturally similar area.StateEmpirePersia(c. 550 BCE): Included many different communities from the Indus Valley to Greece. Governors called satraps ruled provinces for the emperor.StateEmpireAnswer the questions that follow using evidence from this lesson.3.How could a state transform into an empire?4.What challenges might an empire face that a state might not?
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 3.3 ACTIVITYSTATE VS. EMPIRE35.Why do you think some states expanded into empires?6.How might the experience of ordinary people differ in a state versusan empire?