Ancient Empires Geography Essay

To start off, the geography of Greece affected early settlements in many positive ways. One great example of the lands geography that made a positive impact on Greece was Mount Olympus, more importantly it’s height. Mount Olympus was and still is a very tall mountain. Since the mountain reached so far up into the sky, the top of it was

This forced them to compete for any available resources that they needed and it had also caused conflicts between neighboring peoples and themselves. Military advancements were a result of these expansions and they also faced a need to govern the peoples around them. There were many difficulties that could not be managed because of these expansions such as economic, social, and environmental problems. The states and empires that expanded during this time period include the Persian Empires in Southwest Asia, The Qin and Han Empires in East Asia, The Mauryan and Gupta Empires in South Asia, parts of the Mediterranean region, empires in Mesoamerica, and the states and empires in Andean South America. In order to organize their subjects, the rulers of these states and empires created administrative institutions. These involved centralized governments and elaborate legal systems and bureaucracies. Military techniques over larger areas included diplomacy, or the skill of managing international relations, developing supply lines, and building fortifications, or defensive walls, and roads. The successes of many of these empires were dependent on their ability to trade and their economic integrations. Many cities, such as Athens in Greece, Constantine in present - day Turkey, and Rome in present - day Italy, served as a number of things that included trade, religious rituals, and political matters. Many of these empires heavily relied on slaves, peasant communities, and Family and household productions to keep the production of food going and to provide rewards for the loyalty of the people - mainly the elites. One of the main things that these empires had in common was their Patriarchal society, where the father or eldest son was the head of the family. This greatly affected the gender roles in these empires and had caused for women to have less rights than the men. Many of

Geography played a big role in determining the political units and economic institutions of Mediterranean society. The mountains interspersed throughout the Greek peninsula led to regionalism in the form of city-states. This was a departure from the centralized government of China. The fact that civilization developed along a peninsula also shaped Mediterranean culture. The ocean provided some protection from invaders and allowed for the advancement of trade.

In conclusion there is many reasons why Mesopotamia and Egypt develop into a successful civilization some of them are the nile river floods that people depended on for food and water and the rivers that provided resources such as transportation, trade and plants or pharaoh that the Egyptians believed in and thought he had absolute power or the sumerians and akkadians that were polytheistic and believed in many gods and keeping the gods happy for their own happiness, also Hammurabi code that concerned to a daily life laws like making justice or destroying evil and wicked all of these reasons made Mesopotamia and egypt successful

Athens had a geographic advantage because they were very superior. The Athens lived by the Sea which was an advantage because they had an excellent trading system. Even though the mountains protected Sparta it also caused trading problems, the Spartans had no way to get around the massive mountains to trade with people. Athens was located on the coast and included a harbor. The Athenians had an advantage and a disadvantage for them because they had easy water access but during the time of

In Greece, the geography affected early settlements in positive ways. An example is Mount Olympus, since it was so high up and covered by clouds, Greeks believed Gods lived there. Document 2 states, ”According to the ancient Greeks, their gods controlled every part of daily life--the weather, crops, money, love, and business, phases of the moon, earthquakes, and even whether a loaf of bread burned in the oven.” This proves that ancient Greeks not being able to see the top of the mountain, made them believe the gods were up there, and it gave them an explanation to everything. Another one is, how hot and dry climates were great for growing olive trees. In document 4 it states, ”Olive oil was as good as money to the ancient Greeks, since they could trade it for other land not available

The different geographic location of Athens and Sparta had a great impact on their military strategy and technologies. Athens was close to the sea, therefore it expanded by conquering nearby islands. This necessitated the construction of ships, which was expensive and required a lot of wood material and cheap labor. Both of those were supplied by Athens' allies; wood was purchased with paid tributes and labor came from conquered slaves (Pomeroy, p.22). Sparta was situated far inland on the Laconian plain and had no access to sea. It directed its military expansion towards the neighboring poleis and relied mostly on its standing army. In return, its allies were expected to provide military support to the Spartan army in an effort to appropriate even more land on the Peloponnesian peninsula.

The Greek economy was based off of agriculture. They were also colonized to somewhat like the states we have in America. Their main crops and trade products were grapes, olives, and wine. The Greek commerce and trade by sea is what made all of the Greek city-states as wealthy and important as they were. The Greeks were often called “The Masters of the Mediterranean” because of their skillful seafaring.

Geography had a tremendous impact on early civilizations, the topography of the different regions played a key role in their development and formation. This statement by Fernand Braudel “ Geography is the stage in which humanity’s endless dramas are played out” (Getz et al., Exchanges, 26) is a very moving and telling description. The terrain, whether it is natural or man made is not the end all, be all. It does however affect the stage a great deal. Mountainous areas act as blockades, which keep the societies independent, plains open up the area, and rivers enable everything to move around freely. 2

Ancient Greece is found to be on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, due to its location it was possible to trade with other parts of the area and not depend solely on crops grown in the area. The region of the Mediterranean where Greece is found is on the coast of the Aegean Sea it contains rugged mountains, and valleys. Being on the coast made the use of ships necessary this also put the people of Greece at risk for land attacks from armies bigger than the Greek armies. Also the region was at risk for volcanos, large ocean storms, and catastrophic earthquakes that could destroy cities without notice. In Persia there were two groups of people who settled the in the region who left a major impact on the area’s history the Medes and the Persians. The Medes were found in the Zagros Mountains, and the Persians were found lower in the plains along the

In historic times, multiple Societies of people living and collaborating together in a community is what led to the formation of many Empires. Empires were comprised of similar groups of people that were most often geographically located within close proximities. It is interesting to compare and contrast three societies which became Empires: the Egyptian, Zhou Chinese, and Persian. Each Empire is responsible for contributing to a foundational advancement that has been used in future generations. I will compare the similarities and contrasts of each and explain why I believe the Persian Empire was the most successful Empire.

The Roman Empire was one of the most popular empires that there ever was. It was also one of the largest as it went as far as Memphis in the South and Europe in the North (document 3). The empire’s location was not the best. Water practically surrounded the entire empire. The Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Caspian Sea were all ports of water around it. However, that did not hold back the empire’s power, as it quickly adapted and used it to their advantage. Sea trade, deep harbors, and roads are a few of the ways that the Roman Empire used their location to help themselves.

The geography of the region shaped the lives of the people in the Ancient World by allowing permanent settlements to flourish, by allowing technology to adapt, and by isolating them from other cultures. The geography of a civilization can range from mountains, deserts, oceans, and forests. This can allow for many advancements and setbacks.

What allowed ancient empires to thrive? This question is what historians look for when uncovering the past. To be a successful empire starts with people. The larger the crowd, the more a city will flourish. Ancient empires used two forms of imperial rule: dominance and hegemony. What makes the most successful empire and is it possible to have dominance without hegemony?

The exporting area of Athens economy reached then Sicily, Egypt, and the Black Sea. New monuments were built and the city experienced its first jump in culture and arts. Athens was also the prime fighter during the war with Persia. This war aided by the existence of democratic governing helped Athens become Greece's leading city and the center of an allied state.