why did islam spread so quicly
DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION:
CLASSICAL EMPIRES FROM
THE PERSIANS TO THE GUPTAS
Directions
The following question is based on the accompanying documents. (The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise). The question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:
Has relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.
Uses all or all but one of the documents.
Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible and does not simply summarize the documents individually.
Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ points of view.
Essay Prompt
Describe the benefits afforded by classical empires to their peoples and the difficulties of maintaining the same empires.
Based on the following documents, discuss classical empires. What types of additional documentation would help determine the benefits and difficulties of running classical empires?
Historical Background
Beginning in the sixth century BC, Cyrus the Great of Persia established the first of the classical empires. Classical empires were transnational, multi-ethnic, and often encompassed diverse physical geographic regions. Between then and the sixth century AD, the city of Athens, Macedon’s Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors, the Mauryans in India, the Romans, the Ch’in and Han Dynasties in China, and the Parthians and Sassanids in Persia, and lastly the Guptas in India all established empires. While culturally and geographically diverse and different, these states, nevertheless, were remarkably similar.
Document 1
Document 2
Document 3
Document 4
Document 5
Document 6
CLASSICAL EMPIRES FROM
THE PERSIANS TO THE GUPTAS
Directions
The following question is based on the accompanying documents. (The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise). The question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:
Has relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.
Uses all or all but one of the documents.
Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible and does not simply summarize the documents individually.
Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ points of view.
Essay Prompt
Describe the benefits afforded by classical empires to their peoples and the difficulties of maintaining the same empires.
Based on the following documents, discuss classical empires. What types of additional documentation would help determine the benefits and difficulties of running classical empires?
Historical Background
Beginning in the sixth century BC, Cyrus the Great of Persia established the first of the classical empires. Classical empires were transnational, multi-ethnic, and often encompassed diverse physical geographic regions. Between then and the sixth century AD, the city of Athens, Macedon’s Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors, the Mauryans in India, the Romans, the Ch’in and Han Dynasties in China, and the Parthians and Sassanids in Persia, and lastly the Guptas in India all established empires. While culturally and geographically diverse and different, these states, nevertheless, were remarkably similar.
Document 1
Document 2
Document 3
Document 4
Document 5
Document 6