Period 2:Organizational and Reorganization of Human Societies: 600 B.C.E. To 600 C.E.
Period two,also known as the Classical period, was a mixture of economic, political, and most importantly cultural changes. In this period two of the three major world religons arose along with some other smaller,but still important ones. Along with religon, some of the greatest empires the world has ever seen flourished and fell during this period.
Politics and Empires In The Classical Period
Politically, the Classical period set up the foundations of government and society as we know it now. One of the most important and prominent empires of the time was the Persian empire. Sometimes known as the Achaemenid Persian Empire, it was important for the mere 200 years it lasted, from 550 BCE to 330 BCE. A trademark that is always important to remember about the Persian empire is that they were tolerant. At the height of its rule, the Perisans ruled a good 70 ethnic groups, and they realized they way to keep them all at peace and not rebelling was to be tolerant. Cyrus was the first ruler of the Persian Empire, the one who made it from the tribes and clans it used to be. By the end of his rule in 530 BCE he had established the vast empire from India to the borders of Egypt. After his passing a few rulers passed, extending the Persian empire to include Egypt and moved the capital to Persepolis. The empire worked as long as they were tolerant, but if not then the people rebelled. Along with rebellions from the inside, the demise of the Persian empire was due to outside invasions. In 331 BCE Alexander of Macedon invaded Persia and burned Persepolis, ending the empire.
Something to remember throughout the extent of your AP World History class is that empires fall when there is a mixture of outside forces along with unrest inside the empire, usually being rebellion or uprising.
Though it's not known as China quite yet, the area that we know as China was major during the Classical period. In 221 BCE, that which seemed impossible happened; China was unified. This happened under the rule of the Qin dynasty ruled by Qin Shihuangdi, the first emperor. The way he unified China is the way many empires would then and now unify their people aswell. He established standard laws, currencies, weights, measurments, and scrips. He also faciliated communication throughout the empire by making roads and bridges. He kept the economy strong by encouraging agriculture and the military strong by equipping them with iron weapons. The Qin dynasty was responsible for: paper production, the start of the tradition of filial piety (because they adopted Confucianisim), iron metallurgy, and an increase in education and literacy (for men). Though they didn't last long, the dynasty set up the foundations for Chines dynasties to come
