1. Why did Ivan IV want to expand eastward and what method did he use to gain control of the Volga River?

2. What strategic advantage did controlling the Volga River provide to Moscow?

1. How did Russia expand across Siberia and what role did fur traders, militias, and missionaries play in this expansion?

1. How did the Ming Dynasty respond to renewed Mongol power in the 1440s?

1. What territories did Emperor Kangxi incorporate into the Qing Empire and what policy did he establish over Tibet?

1. What military campaigns did Emperor Qianlong undertake and which were successful and which were costly failures?

2. How did Emperor Qianlong respond to British requests for expanded trading rights in 1793?

3. What caused the White Lotus Rebellion and how did the Qing government respond?

1. Who was Tamerlane and what was the ghazi ideal that influenced the rise of the Gunpowder Empires?

2. How did Tamerlane use gunpowder to build his government and protect trade routes, and why did his empire ultimately fail?

1. How did Mehmed II capture Constantinople in 1453 and what made Istanbul strategically important to the Ottoman Empire?

2. What territories did Mehmed II's forces seize and how did he challenge Venetian power?

1. What military achievements did Suleiman I accomplish and why did his attempts to conquer Vienna cause fear in Christian Europe?

2. What naval conquests did Suleiman I make in the Mediterranean and North Africa?

1. What were the origins of the Safavid dynasty and what challenges did the empire face despite its military power?

2. How did Shah Abbas I strengthen the Safavid military and what role did European advisors play?

1. How did the Safavids use Shi'a Islam to build their power base and what conflicts did this create with the Ottoman Empire?

2. Beyond religion, what other conflict existed between the Ottomans and Safavids?

1. What rights and restrictions did Safavid women experience in their society?

1. What was the significance of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and what internal problems weakened the Ottoman Empire after Suleiman?

2. What events in the 18th and 19th centuries further weakened Ottoman power and led to the empire becoming known as the Sick Man of Europe?

1. What economic and military problems led to the Safavid decline in the early 18th century?

2. How did the 1722 rebellion by Sunni Pashtuns and the sack of Isfahan weaken Safavid control?

1. What were Aurangzeb's goals for the Mughal Empire and how did his policies lead to instability?

2. How did Aurangzeb's military campaigns and religious policies drain the empire and spark rebellions?