What+Makes+an+Empire?

Alexander the Great created the largest empire the world ever witnessed in 4th century BCE. Alexander’s goal was to unite millions of people together under one rule. He set out accomplishing his plan by spreading Greek culture and by blending Greek and Persian customs together. Following Alexander’s death, his empire crumbled, setting the stage for two great empires to establish their dominance: the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire.

Your client, **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?

The answers to these questions will culminate in a travel poster and oral presentation. The poster should persuade prospective tourists and include the following components:

__**Travel Poster Components**__ >
 * 1) One Glogster.edu poster for each empire
 * 1) 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
 * 2) At least one audio recording for each empire

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

**Oral Presentation 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

=Background=
 * B efore** you begin the research process, read the following brief overview from Wikipedia to get a sense of what makes an empire:

The term **empire** derives from the [|Latin] //[|imperium]//. Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples ([|ethnic] groups) united and ruled either by a [|monarch] (emperor, empress) or an [|oligarchy]. [|Geopolitically], the term //empire// has denoted very different, territorially-extreme states — at the strong end, the extensive [|Spanish Empire] (16th c.) and the [|British Empire] (19th c.), at the weak end, the [|Holy Roman Empire] (8th c.–19th c.), in its [|Medieval] and [|early-modern] forms, and the [|Byzantine Empire] (15th c.), that was a direct continuation of the [|Roman Empire], that, in its final century of existence, was more a city-state than a territorial empire.

The [|Roman Empire] was the most extensive Western empire until the [|early modern period]. Prior to the Roman Empire the kingdom of Macedonia, under [|Alexander the Great], became an empire that spanned from Greece to Northwest India. After Alexander's death, his empire fractured into four, discrete kingdoms ruled by the [|Diadochi], which, despite being independent, are denoted as the "[|Hellenistic] Empire". In the East, the term //[|Persian Empire]// denotes the [|Iranian] imperial states established at different historical periods of pre–Islamic and post–Islamic Persia. And in the Far East, various [|Celestial Empires] arose periodically in East Asia between periods of war, civil war, and foreign conquests. In China the [|Han Empire] became one of East Asia's most long lived dynasties, but was preceded by the short-lived [|Qin Empire]. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire

=The Research Process= Deciding which dynasty your client would be most interested in visiting may seem like a complicated task, but the Big6 can help you organize your research efforts. As you work through the assignment, keep each of the following steps in mind. If you need help, simply follow the hyperlink for more information:

Step 2: Information Seeking Strategies Step 3: Location and Access Step 4: Use of Information Step 5: Synthesis Step 6: Evaluation**
 * Step 1: Task Definition

=Project Workspace= Each student researching this topic will have a project workspace for documenting his/her research and posting the travel poster. All work related to the project should be maintained there:

Empire Student Template DO NOT EDIT THIS PAGE Josh L Michael O Tyler R Madi C Olivia L Kara Z Naomi K Samuel O