WebQuest – APWH – Persia and Alexander the Great
Beemon – Name: _____________________
Main Idea – The Development of States and Empires
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As the early states and empires grew in number, size, and population, they frequently competed for
resources and came into conflict with one another. In quest of land, wealth, and security, some empires
expanded dramatically. In doing so, they build powerful military machines and administrative institutions
that were capable of organizing human activities over long distances, and they created new groups of
military and political elites to manage their affairs. As these empires expanded their boundaries they also
faced the need to develop policies and procedures to govern their relationships with ethnically and
culturally diverse populations: sometimes to integrate them within an imperial society and sometimes to
exclude them. In some cases these empires became victims of their own successes. By expanding their
boundaries too far, they created political, cultural, and administrative difficulties that they could not
manage. They also experienced environmental, social, and economic problems when they overexploited
their lands and subjects and permitted excessive wealth to be concentrated in the hands of the privileged
classes.
o How did empires manage to control the vast lands in which they expanded?
o What were the downfalls to creating a large and powerful empire?
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The number and size of key states and empires grew dramatically by imposing political unity on
areas where previously there had been competing states.
o
o
Examples of key states and empires:
 Southwest Asia – Persian Empires (Achaemenid – c. 500 BCE-330 BCE, Parthian – c. 250
BCE to c. 225 CE, and Sassanid – c. 224 CE-651 CE)
 East Asia – Qin and Han Empire
 South Asia – Maurya and Gupta Empires
 Mediterranean Region: Phoenicia and its colonies, Greek city-states and colonies, and
Hellenistic and Roman Empires
View the article on the Persian Empire – 1) Go to the Cobb County School District Website
(http://www.cobbk12.org/ ) 2) Click on “Cobb Digital Library” on the left hand margin 3) At the
bottom of the page click on the link that will take you to mackinvia.com 4) username: sprayberry –
password: sprayberry 5) Log on and then click on “Social Studies Resoruces” 6) Next click on “ABC –
CLIO” for “World History: Ancient and Medieval” 7) At the top of the page click on “Eras”  The
Persian Empire – Use this article to complete the questions below.
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What is the legacy of the Persian empire?
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Along with Aryan groups, the Persian empire grew from what ancient river
valley civilization?
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How did the Achaemenid dynasty come to be?
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How would you characterize Persian actions in the 6th Century BCE?
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Describe the goals and the outcomes of the Persian Wars from the stance of the
Persians.
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Be sure to locate Persepolis as it became a center of trade, culture, and political
administration.
(http://www.utexas.edu/courses/ancientfilmCC304/lecture15/detail.php?linenum=7 )
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Who defeats the Achaemenid dynasty?
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How did rulers attempt to manage the large territory of land that was the
Persian Empire?
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How would you describe the Persian culture of the Classical era?

Explain the impact of Zoroastrianism on Persia and the world community.
Empires and states developed new techniques of imperial administration based, in part, on the success of
earlier political forms.
o In order to organize their subjects, the rulers created administrative institutions in many regions
 Administrative institutions include: centralized governments and elaborate legal systems
and bureaucracies
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How did the Persians organize their subjects?
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How did Alexander the Great organize their subjects?
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How was this different from China and India?
Based on your reading on Alexander the Great, complete the following chart:
How was Alexander the Great able to build an
empire?
How did Alexander approach practices that
were unlike his “Greek” heritage?
Following Alexander’s death his empire was
divided into 3 territories (some historians argue
4) Here explain the impact of Ptolemy in Egypt.
Hellenistic Culture was Alexander’s legacy –
explain this concept and why you think it is
important to the Classical Era.
Google search – Hellenistic Art & Hellenistic
Architecture – Discuss what you see.
Who comes after the Hellenistic Empires?

View the map to get a visual representation of Alexander’s conquest:
CONDENSE! – Create A Prezi that condenses the information from this WebQuest into 4 main topics
(You pick these four topics). Under each main topic include a ONE paragraph (4-6) sentences about
the main topic. You need to include one image per sub topic – this can be a map, painting, sculpture,
etc. This should be short and sweet and not copied and pasted  Own words – own summary. This
activity as a whole will count as an individual project grade. Please turn your Prezi link in via
Edmodo.