This document summarizes the key political developments of classical civilizations including Greece, Persia, China, India, and Rome. It outlines the rise and fall of major dynasties and empires, noting some similarities like centralized monarchies, bureaucracies, taxation, and use of religion to reinforce political authority. Differences are also highlighted such as Greece having independent city-states while India maintained a caste-structured society.

1. Classical Civilizations –
Political Developments

2. The Dynasties and Empires
Greece/Alexander China
 City-States of  Qin
Greece  Han
 Alexander’s
Conquests Persian Empire
Roman Empire India
 Republic & Empire  Mauryan
 Gupta

3. Greek City-States

4. Alexander’s Empire

5. Persian Empire

6. Han China
India

8. Some Similarities…
 Centralized Monarchies
 Exceptions?
 Bureaucracy (administrators, tax
collectors, judges, governors, etc.)
 Most extensive?
 Taxation
 Religion reinforced political
authority
 Examples?

9. Other similarities . . .
Military conquest and
expansion of territory.

10.  Central
government
sponsored public
works projects

11. Relatively unified law code used
throughout the empires.

12. Persia
Centralized Authority of an Absolute monarch…
 Emperor connected to the god Ahura Mazda &
extensive bureaucracy
 Ruled over 35 million people-respected diverse
cultural traditions of subject people
 Royal Road

14. Political Developments-Qin & Han
Strongest central  Expansion of
authority bureaucracy
 *Standardization
 Economic control -  Education and
iron, salt, and silk examination
trade system created a
scholar gentry
class of
government
workers.

15.  Mandate of Heaven  Dynastic Cycle
continued

16. Indian Political Developments
 Central
authority with
“independent”
 Caste
structured
society
 Local trade
unrestricted

17. Greece
 Independent CITY-STATES
 Variety of governments including-
Monarchy & Democracy
 Little diversity in culture and religion
 Citizenship and SLAVERY

18. Alexander the Great expanded
Greek Civilization for a short time.

20. Political Developments in the Roman
Empire
 1st a Republic, then  Citizenship &
a Empire w/ a Slavery
monarch  Strongest Law
code

21. Political Developments in the Roman
Empire
 Local rulers  Diversity in religious
maintained regional beliefs and
rule with Roman languages
oversight  Local trade relatively
unrestricted – except
for the trade of
grains

22. The Collapse of Empire-Rome and
Han China-The Differences
Rome Han China
 No large scale,  After several hundred
centralized years, a new dynasty
authority ever emerges with a return to
a single emperor, a
rules over W. bureaucracy selected by
Europe for any education and exams,
significant and Confucian beliefs
time…ever!