AP World History AMSCO Guided Notes
3.4: Comparison in Land-Based Empires
AP World History Guided Notes
AMSCO 3.4 - Comparison in Land-Based Empires
Essential Questions
- By what methods did empires increase their societal and cultural influence from c. 1450-c. 1750?
I. Military Might
1. What types of military technology and forces did land-based empires in Eurasia and the Americas use to expand and maintain control?
A. Soldiers
1. Why did Ottoman and Safavid rulers create elite enslaved soldier units like the Janissaries and Ghulams?
2. What were the devshirme system and the Aztec tribute system, and how did each empire use them to build military forces?
B. Warfare
1. What role did religion play in conflicts between the Ottoman and Safavid empires compared to conflicts between the Safavids and Mughals?
2. What happened when Morocco invaded the Songhai Empire in 1591 and what does this reveal about imperial power?
II. Centralized Bureaucracy
1. Why did land-based empires need to establish centralized bureaucracies and what methods did they use to recruit bureaucratic elites?
A. Taxation
1. How did the Mughal zamindar system and Ottoman tax farming differ in how they collected revenue from their subjects?
2. What were the Aztec tribute lists and how did they differ from taxation systems in other land-based empires?
3. Why did the Ming Empire shift from paper currency to rice and silver coins for tax collection?
III. Striving for Legitimacy
1. What challenges did rulers of diverse land-based empires face and why did they turn to religion, art, and architecture to legitimize their rule?
2. How did Islamic empires, European monarchs, and the Aztecs each use religion to legitimize their authority?
3. What examples of monumental architecture did land-based empires construct and what purpose did these structures serve?