Kara+Z


 * What Makes an Empire?**

Rafael Lefort is a game designer who wants to create a new //Age of Empires//-style video game for Han China and Imperial Rome. To help Mr. Lefort decide which features of each empire he should travel back in time to visit and include in his game, you'll need to research each dynasty and present your key findings on the following questions:

= **Key Questions:** =
 * 1) What is the difference between an ‘empire’ and a ‘civilization'?
 * 2) What are some of the major similarities and differences between the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty?
 * 3) Why are the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire important to World History?

=Resources= Your research will be confined to the following web resources and library databases. If you wish to use a resource not on this list you must seek approval from your teacher.

**Rome**
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 * China **
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 * __ [|http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHEMPIRE/FORMHAN.HTM] __
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 * Library Databases **
 * @http://www.micdslibrary.com/databases.html

Scroll down to the History/Social Studies menu; the ABCCLIO Ancient World History database is particularly helpful.

=Research and Citations= Use the space below to record your research for each question. Remember that you will need to cite your sources using the format found on the MICDS Library resource page.

What is the difference between an ‘empire’ and a ‘civilization'?
An empire is a larger area most likely formed from a civilization that took over more power by conquering other civilizations in the same are as them. Once the people of the empire conquered many different places they would work more effectively on running the empire and keeping it at the height of its power. An empire is hard to run because there are many different people you must join together or else the empire will fall apart. Also it is harder because since it is a larger region of area to control it would be harder to have power over everything all at the same time. A civilization, on the other hand, is a smaller area that works together as one. A civilization has no, one particular ruler and the people all share the same religion, culture, etc. === What are some of the major similarities and differences between the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty? === The Han Dynasty and Roman Empire seem very different, but even these two empires have similarities. Here are some similarites and differences between Han and Rome. Both empires had economical strengths, such as Han's many exports like silk, tea, and other oriental goods and tere is also Rome's agriculture that played a huge role in their economy. The society of these tow different places are also diffferent. They both have a form of social structure,but in the Han Dynasty there are many more classes than Rome such as the free peasants, mechants, scholar-officials, and at the very bottom of the classes are the convicts, beggars, and slaves. In the Roman Empire it was only one upper class and one lower class. Most of the lower class citizens would work in the military or work with trading goods to make an effort to advance socially. More similarities and differences are that the religion in Han and Rome were very different and they believed in different things. Although they were both poletheistic the emperors of Han were more so unconcerned with the religious banquets and ceremonies rather than the emperors in Rome who were involved greatly in them. In the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty education and the arts were very important to their culture. In Han poetry, stories, and books flourished, while in Rome theatres, amphitheatres, and the colosseum (most important) were their form of public entertainment where both upper and lowe classe cld enoy watching gladiator fights, races, and plays. The last similarty was the military. Both places had extremely strong armies and conqured many different areas and began to control the land they conquered. By conquering the many civilizations near them Rome became the most powerful in the Mediterranean and Han became very powerful and was feared by outsiders.

Why are the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire important to World History?
I think that the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty are important to World History because they both show the evolution of knowledgable advancements in their society. We can learn by their successes and failures, their trials and losses, and become a more advanced society ourselves. By studying more about the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty we can look forward to a brighter future and learn, not only from them, but from ourselves as we make mistakes. The advancements that they made thousands of years ago can still be used, taught, and we can build off of them. As we learn more about their achievments and look at how they evolved from a civilization into an empire/dynasty we can also achieve many of our goals as well. Learning about history in general will make us understand more of our problems, help us fix them, and make ourselves more successful.

Similarities and Differences
Before deciding which dynasty your client should visit, you may wish to create a simple Venn Diagram to compare/contrast the two empires. You may use [|this template] or create one online at Read-Write-Think.

=== Which features of each empire should Mr. Lefort travel back in time to visit and include in his game? Why? === There are two places I think Mr. Lefort should travel back in time to see, one in China and one in Rome. In China I think that Mr. Lefort should visit the Great Wall of China. He would learn about the amount of people it took to make it and how long the people spent working on it. Over thousands of people were forced to build the Great Wall and it stretches longer than the United States width. Thousands of people died when working on this huge project that took years to accomplish and legend says that the people who died building it were buried into the wall. I think that Mr. Lefort would find out that the people of the Han Dynasty worked very hard to serve their emperor and much more about the Han Dynasty's effect on China as a whole. In Rome I think that Mr. Lefort should travel back in time to see the Colosseum a favorite and popular public entertainment spot to see gladiators fight against each other and wild animals. Also they could watch races on feet, chariots, and horses as well. Both upper and lower classes could go to the Colosseum to watch and be entertained. Not only will Mr. Lefort learn about upper and lower classes and the arts at the Colosseum he will also see the amazing effort and work put into building the Colosseum and the wondurous architecture such as the beautiful arches. = Travel Poster Components: =

You will create a travel poster for each of the two empires. Each poster should be attractive, persuasive, and highlight the major features related to your topic. You will create the posters using Glogster.edu (instructions will be provided in class) and they should contain the following components:

__**Travel Poster Components**__
 * 1) One Glogster.edu poster for each empire
 * 2) At least three "must see" tourist features to include in the game for each empire that characterize what it means to be an empire with detailed text and relevant images
 * 3) At least one audio recording for each empire

The **[|Poster Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before handing in your final product. When you have completed the poster, embed it below the "Travel Poster" heading below:

Travel Poster
//embed your poster here by copying the embed code from Glogster and adding an HTML widget//

= **Oral Presentation Guidelines** = The presentation is your opportunity to explain the importance of Han China and Imperial Rome and should follow these guidelines:


 * 1) Less than 3 minutes in length
 * 2) Should address/explain the "must see" features of each empire that should be included in the game
 * 3) Should explain why each empire is important to world history

This presentation is about speaking skills and the use of your poster. You will be permitted to use notecards but are NOT to simply read your notes to the audience. The **[|Presentation Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before giving your final presentation.