bad harvests poverty gap, especially with regards to land ownership decline in morality Shared Characteristics weak emperors, deflection of power to military leaders decline in trade taxes overburden peasants population decline/epidemic diseases bad harvests poverty gap, especially with regards to land ownership decline in morality collapse of traditional values the elite dependence on slave labor use of non-Romans in the army inability to effectively rule large empire cessation of inflow of resources due to cessation of wars of conquest Gupta regional leaders gained more at the expense of the power of the Gupta rulers traditional values persisted Why you should know this: You will be to identify specific reasons for the collapse of classical civilizations, and you may be asked to compare the collapse of classical civilizations in an essay. Additionally, you could be asked to analyze changes in classical civilizations, so you would need to know about the development of these civilizations as well as their decline. Example: The declining years of Han China and the shared all of the following EXCEPT a decline in morality epidemic disease assimilation of invading peoples into imperial culture unequal land distribution decline in trade If you know the shared characteristics of classical civilizations in decline, you would know that the only characteristic not shared by both is answer choice (c). 12. The Aftermath of the Fall of Classical Civilizations It will be important for you to understand how these civilizations transitioned from classical times to Medieval times. Han Gupta Daoism and Buddhism gain popularity Invasions from nomads (Hsiung-nu) political decentralization small landowners forced to sell to large landowners landowners became increasingly self-sufficient, leading to a decline in trade, which led to a decline in urban populations Conflict with Christian minority established second capital at () and converted to Christianity Invaders from central steppes from ~500 CE to ~600
589 CE: Sui dynasty reestablishes order in Confucian culture/traditions kept by the elite classes invading nomads settled and assimilated into Chinese culture Western portion of empire steadily declined, while eastern portion thrived and continued to trade with the East Huns migrate out of , pressuring Germanic tribes of to migrate/invade the Germanic tribes establish kingdoms within , eventually overthrow western emperor by 476 CE Eastern portion (becoming the ) faced less pressure from outsiders and more economic prosperity, center for arts Attempt to revive empire during the rule of Justinian (Byzantine emperor), but unsuccessful cities in the west deteriorated and culture/intellectual life declined centralized government replaced by allegiances to Germanic kings local rulers (Rajput) replace centralized rule of Guptas interest in Buddhism declined, adherence to Hindu traditions continued Why you should know this: You will be asked, most likely in the form of a multiple choice question, to identify events and patterns happening as classical civilizations collapsed and entered the “Medieval” time period. Example: The decline of Han China saw the end of Chinese established traditions like , saw invaders permanently dominate the empire witnessed Daoism, rather than Confucianism, gaining popularity was the end of Chinese dynastic rule resulted in the decline of Buddhism in considering the choices, (c) stands out as the only possible correct answer because it is the only one that is true. Knowing what happened after the collapse of classical lead you to this answer. 13. Interactions between Civilizations of the Classical Period In addition to knowledge of the specific characteristics of Classical civilizations, you are required to know about types of interactions, such as invasions (many of which have already been discussed) and trade Rivalries along the of : admired Egyptians and adopted aspects of their culture, such as hieroglyphics and religious beliefs conquer ~750 BCE during a time when was weak conquered by another rival kingdom, ~300 CE Another rival kingdom, , was a Christian kingdom (Christianity brought to region by Greek merchants ~4th century CE) All of kingdoms traded along the and across the Silk Roads roads linked , , and trade often facilitated by Central Asian herders roads extended by Romans to include the Mediterranean region