Madi+C


 * 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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 * 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'?
The main difference between an empire and a civilization is a very small difference. A civilization has culture of different sized cities and has achievements in art, literature science and technology just within a small group of people. An empire is a large group of people, who may have been from different cultures, cities and civilizations, that are ruled and conquered by a person. An empire is usually larger than a civilization. A great thing that is better than a civilization, is an empire has multi-cultures so the army and intelligence can be spread wider. A civilization has a more likely chance to be the same culture of people than an empire.

=== What are some of the major similarities and differences between the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty? === One major similarity that the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty have is the social class. In Rome there was a specific social class, ranking of wealth and authority, being patricians and plebeians (also slaves, soliders, and women). In Han Dynasty, there was also a clearly defined social class. Another simliarity is that both empires started by water, as Rome started by the Tiberus River and China by the North China Plain (Yellow River). Another similarity between these two cultures is that China and Rome had a very diverse area, with plateaus, mountains, and plains. A difference between Rome and China is that China traded silk for other nessacery items in other places of the world, while Rome conquered so much land that they already had what they needed and they didnt have to get supplies. In China, there were really only four occupations, the shi; knightly, duke-like people, the nong; farmers, the gong; artisans and craftsmen, and the shang; merchants and traders. In Rome, the people were not divided by class and occupations, because the class really made or broke your lifestyle. For example, poor women worked as hard as the poor men did, while rich women relaxed while the men worked in a classy job.

Han Dynasty and Roman Empire are important to World History because they both brought some amazing things to the world. China brought paper and compasses as inventiones. Rome conquered almost the most amount of land ever conquered and they contained nice theater. Rome's plebeians also showed how the underdog could fight and become more equal. These cultures are also important to World History because they affected the way things are now, and if we lost the information, so much of the existing things today would be an utter mystery, and maybe non-existent, even so. WIthout the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire, the world would have lost alot of the many things that bring happiness to lives, like some sports, government decisions, and theater as examples. These places were important because of the many new inventions and ideas they brought that expanded in our lives today.

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? === Mr. Lefort should choose Circus Maximus from Rome in his empire, so guests and citizens of the city can have entertainment. He should also put the Silk Road from China in so the Chinese citizens can have extra work. I would put Rome's army in the video game because since they owned so much land, they had many cultures in their empire. This means the strength and intelligence of the people that would serve would all differ thus making it stronger as a whole. I would want Rome's geography, because it has certain areas that are much better for farming. I would suggest Rome's technology. Most people would choose China because of the Great Wall, because even though that was like a punishment and no one wanted to do that, it was a very good barrier. The thing that makes Rome's technology just as impressive is that In Rome, they built more that **people were proud to have helped with and proud to be a citizen**. I would choose China's intelligence because they were advanced in medicene, science, and they invented paper and compasses, making them very talented and that would be a good feature. = **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.