Saturday, October 12, 2013

2006 CCOT Essay Question



Welcome to your first blog entry!  This week's writing activity will be focused on building your skills with writing a CCOT Essay for the AP exam.  We have already looked at this question in an in-depth manner in the classroom and you all have read three student examples from the 2006 exam.  Now it is your turn to write.  Since this is still new to you, spend 45 to 1 hour writing this essay (no more!).  Then post your essay to this page in the comments section by Tuesday, October 22nd.  You will then respond to 2 essays (within your group) by Thursday, October 24th.  Your response should be based on the AP scoring guideline for this exam and follow the format we have been using in class.  If you need to access the scoring guidelines, please go to the AP World History Free Response Questions Website: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/216943.html.

(From the 2006 College Board AP World History Exam)

Analyze the cultural and political changes and continuities in ONE of the following civilizations during the last centuries of the classical era.
 
     Chinese, 100 C.E. to 600 C.E.
     Roman, 100 C.E. to 600 C.E.
     Indian, 100 C.E. to 600 C.E.


Photo from: http://whap.mrduez.com/2013_05_01_archive.html

32 comments:

  1. In the time period between 100 C.E. to 600 C.E., Rome dealt with the challenges of being a huge empire by splitting itself into two main political units. While some emperors attempted to hold the empire together with tactics such as pushing the shift from polytheism to monotheism, the Western Roman Empire was unable to sustain itself and collapsed at the hands of wandering barbarians. However, the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, would continue to be a major power in the Eastern Mediterranean and continue Rome’s legacy in architecture and law for centuries to come.

    100 C.E. brought in a new focus for Rome on its war fronts. Instead of expanding with offensive warfare, Rome switched to defending its borders against the constant threat of barbaric tribes that surrounded the empire and this trend would continue for the rest of the empire’s life. This shift would be punctuated by the building of Emperor Hadrian’s Wall between 117 and 138 C.E. on Rome’s north border in Britain. The early years of the second century would also mark the height of the empire’s reach, controlling the Iberian Peninsula, the Mesopotamian River valley, North Africa, and South Britain. At this point, Rome had reached a tipping point in size that forced the empire to stop expanding or risk collapse. In reality, however, the empire had already grown too big and its size would play a large part in its decline in the following centuries.

    By 235 C.E. the problems of a massive empire were made clear by the Third Century Crises. Men clamored over the position of emperor as Rome’s economic reliance on looting conquered areas rather than producing was no longer supplying the empire. Rome’s other economic base, agriculture, was failing due to high taxes destroying small farmers. The high taxes supported the military, which was becoming increasingly corrupt as soldier pledged their alliances to their generals rather than the emperor. In an attempt to fix the Third Century Crises, Diocletian split the empire into two: Eastern and Western Rome.

    Western Rome and its capital, Rome, were considerably weaker than Eastern Rome. Constant attacks by the barbaric tribes of Europe would continue to beat away at the West as the politics of the empire crumbled further. Finally, in 410, the Germanic tribes, who had always instilled a bit of fear in the Empire even at its height, sacked Rome and disposed of the final Western Emperor, Romulus Augustus. After that, the West was continuously picked apart by Asian and European tribes until none of it remained.

    The Eastern half, on the other hand, flourished as a stable power lasting for another thousand years after the West’s fall. Called the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern half was able to continue Rome’s legacy in the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East. Thanks to rulers such as Justinian, the grand domes and arches of Roman architecture were preserved in grand churches like Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Justinian also continued Rome’s tradition of codified laws, which helped unify the Byzantine Empire by having all areas have the same legal system.

    Justinian wasn’t the only, or even the first, emperor to try and unite the empire. The emperor Constantine, who came to power after the split but before the West’s collapse, attempted to unify the whole Roman Empire by establishing a singular religion: Christianity. This was a huge shift from the polytheistic traditions of the empire, but it was good news for the Christians who had been persecuted in the empire earlier. The Byzantine Empire would remain Christian the rest of its life, developing the faction now known as Eastern Orthodox. Where the Western Empire had been would come a rival Christian sect known as Roman Catholic, and these differing religions define Europe even today.

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  2. The period of time between 100 C.E. and 600 C.E. marked many important developments for the Roman Empire. A long line of weak emporers, interrupted only sparingly by stronger ones, led the empire into a downward spiral, eventually causing a near-total collapse in 476 C.E. Not everything, however, was changed. Despite the definite decline (and arguable fall) of the Empire that began in the third century, aspects of the Roman culture, including structures of law and education, continued to endure.

    With the third century C.E. came chaos for the Roman Empire. Power-hungry men, desperate for rule, began to fight viciously for their right to the office of emporer. Within less than fifty years, over twenty men asserted themselves as emporer; the majority of them maintained the seat for no more than a few months before being assassinated and replaced by the next greedy man in line. Around this same time, other internal and external problems were leading to the rapid decline of this great empire: plague, along with waning birth rate, decreased population drastically; Rome's upper class abandoned its political zeal in favor of pleasurable lives; culture, society, politics, and economics all began to crumble, allowing for the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire.

    Not everything, however, was lost. One thing that remains with us even today is the importance of Roman law and the precedences it set. Although we may not implement the severe punishments laid out in the Twelve Tablets, its larger concepts were certainly kept alive and kept present in laws that followed afterwards. Two such concepts that jump readily to mind are the evolving nature of laws and the 'innocent until proven guilty' model. Unlike Hammurabi, who insisted that the laws never be changed after his death, Romans acknowledged that laws ought to be flexible enough that they could evolve when met with a shift in conditions. What worked fifty years ago may not work tomorrow, they thought; thus, they set a precedent that laws may change when necessary. The most common phrase we hear in our legal system today--'innocent until proven guilty'--was another aspect of law put in place by the Romans that survived the fall of the Empire and propelled itself into our modern times, giving criminals the right to a trial before condemnation.

    Another Roman aspect of culture that endured was the matter of education. Rome never contributed much to the actual content of textbooks, save for a few notable religious writings, but the fact that they wrote them is what shaped methods of education. The writing down of important educational concepts, even if those concepts were borrowed, had incredible importance; it shows us today that the Romans were interested in learning, despite having little to contribute in the way of new discoveries and revelations. This use of written text to further education is one that has endured for centuries, just like the basics of law.

    The Roman Empire was subject to massive political, social, and economic shifts within the 500-year period nestled between 100 C.E. and 600 C.E. Emporers became greedy and back-stabbing, cultural life rotted, barbarians attacked, plague hit, and the Empire eventually crumbled. Yet all was not lost: even the most dramatic change of all—the falling of the Empire—could not entirely erase the legacy of the Romans, a legacy which included the very foundations of law and education as we know them today.

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    1. Seriously why do you have to be so good at this! And I mean that in a good way. Also, I'm sorry if my reasoning is not completely awesome, I'm really no good at this.

      I'd give it a 7 or 8, seeing as you seem to have hit all the requirements on the sheet and your writing is lovely, as always :) Perhaps more world historical context? Not completely sure what that denotes but it's the best I can do.

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  3. The time between 100 CE and 600 CE was very important for the Roman Empire. During the five centuries, a number political and cultural changes occurred, such as the East and West split and the arrival Christianity. Despite the split, certain pieces of Roman politics and culture remained. In the West, Latin remained the biggest language, and Eastern Rome continued to thrive under what became the Byzantine Empire, which maintained Roman politics through continued use of Roman law codes.

    Discord erupted in Rome after a group of emperors, all yearning to be the sole ruler of the empire, started ruling separately. With more than 20 emperors, all of whom were too weak to hold leadership for more than a few months at most, Rome’s government began to crumble into pieces. Rome had stopped expanding and was now defending itself against Germanic groups such as the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Saxons, and others who eventually ended up sacking Rome a number of times. The Western side of the empire crumbled while the Eastern side was able to build itself back up into a prosperous empire.

    After the West’s collapse, Emperor Constantine continued to rule in the East, which eventually became the Byzantine Empire. The empire was a new Rome, continuing trade with Middle Eastern and Asian countries as well as the West. Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, became a major center for trade. Rome’s code of law, the Twelve Tablets, continued to be the law of the land in the East. Byzantium kept Roman politics alive, but the culture changed dramatically with Christianity’s arrival.

    Prior to Emperor Constantine’s adoption of Christianity, Roman religion was largely paganistic. The thought of Christianity displeased emperors as Christians refused to worship anyone other than their single God. Constantine converted to Christianity while in battle and spread the religion, though he didn’t force people of the empire to convert. His issuing of the Edict of Milan allowed Christians to practice without persecution for the first time. The religion ended up becoming one of the most largely practiced in the world and remains so today.

    After falling, Western Rome became a mess of Germanic peoples running about, killing each other constantly. The empire entered into what is now known as the Dark Ages, the complete opposite of Rome. The West lacked political cultural stability except for in language. Latin, while changed throughout the Dark Ages, remained the main language of Western Rome while the East took to Greek. Roman language was one of the few cultural aspects that the West was able to hold on to during the many invasions.

    Although the West crumbled entirely due to invasions, Eastern Rome was able to continue to thrive after suffering from political strife. Christianity became accepted under Eastern rule, which was unheard of during the times of a unified Rome. The West became muddled with Germanic tribes on killing sprees, trying to run each other out of the empire. Despite the invasions, though, Latin language stayed in the West.

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    1. 6. There didn't seem to be much mention of continuity.

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  4. During the time between 100 C.E. and 600 C.E., the Chinese civilizations alter and stay the same. The changes are that the empire splits, religion fluxuates, trade improves. The continuities are the hierarchy, women are subservient, and one emperor rules at once.


    Shi Huangdi changes the Qin empire from Confucius to Legalism, he even burns confucius books and people if they get in the way. After the fall of the Han, China is no longer unified, it is split into three kingdoms. Religion is also one that is inconsistent. Both Hindu and Buddhist are spread, dueling with each other, as they go with contradicting beliefs. Then the people positions in the hierarchy change with religion and Confucianism to Legalism. confucian scholars near the bottom, merchants on the bottom.


    The Silk road has been established and will stay the same. Shi Huangdi and many emperors rule, the empires have one ruler with the mandate of heaven. The Hierarchy ultimately stays existent. Women under code must be subservient.

    The Chinese societies experienced many changes in government, economics, and culture like religion, unity, and trade. The chinese societies had some important aspects stayed consistent like the silk road, women roles, and the hierarchy.

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    1. You have a thesus, overall 5-6. Really short, needed more meat.

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    3. I already wrote this once but I will try again...
      I give you a 4-5 out of 9. You do not have enough evidence and analysis to properly back up your thesis which is slightly lacking in the continuities side. Good job the more we practice the better we will get at writing these.

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  6. In the period between 100 C.E. and 600 C.E., China witnessed a major change its structure as a unified state. In 220 C.E. the Han dynasty finally came to an end, and its collapse resulted in the division of China into three separate states and a long period of disunity. However, while its unification ended, China’s administrative bureaucracy and basis of Confucianism remained constant in its society.

    China in 100 C.E. was in the midst of the Han dynasty. Led by a single emperor, the society slowly developed a new social and political hierarchy with scholars on top. Emperor Lui Bang himself chose Confucian scholars as his ministers. The Legalist ministers of the previous dynasty, the Qin, had been replaced, but their administrative bureaucracy remained, with Confucian teachings as the formation of the Han. Other religions and philosophies included Buddhism, which was first introduced to China during this period, and Legalism, which continued to influence the dynasty despite its loss of power as the major religion of the society. If one thing stayed constant throughout the Han reign and the period after its collapse, it was the subservience of women. The teachings of Confucianism encouraged good treatment towards them, but women had only one job, and that was to please and serve their husbands.

    History and record keeping became important during the Han, first passed down orally and then written down when paper was invented. Intelligence became more important than social status and examinations were given for those entering the bureaucracy. Perhaps one of the most important developments during this time was the rise of the Silk Road and land routes, which increased the prosperity of the dynasty and allowed its continued expansion. Trade became a major player in the economic world and it was through this exchange of goods with other civilizations that Buddhism was first introduced. However, the expansion brought about by this new development would prove to be a large part of the Han collapse.

    Like all good things, the prosperity of the Han dynasty eventually came to an end. Poor rulers and an empire that had expanded beyond manageable control led to the fall of the great empire and the rise of a long period of disunity and chaos. Three separate states emerged: the Wei, the Shu, and the Wu. During the centuries of division that followed, many dynasties rose and fell- some of them foreign- but Chinese language and ways were continued through their various rulers. Chinese culture, language, ideology, and administration were able to survive nearly 400 years of turmoil and when the Sui dynasty rose in 581 C.E., China was once again able to unite, however briefly it lasted.

    A great period of change took place between 100 C.E. and 600 C.E. in China, but this was balanced by the preservation of its language, culture, and administration. The collapse of the Han dynasty resulted in the disunity of the empire into three separate kingdoms and centuries of chaos and division, but its administrative bureaucracy and Confucianist ideals remained constant even in such a time of anarchy.

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    1. I would have to say this would be a five or a six. You had a thesis that addressed two changes and one continuity; however, although you mentioned two changes in your thesis, you did not discuss them thoroughly in the body of the essay.

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  7. Between 100 C.E and 600 C.E, India underwent several political changes with the decline of the Kushan Empire, followed by a century of political unrest before the rise of the Gupta Empire and its subsequent defeat by the Huns. With the political upheavals, the teachings of Buddha waxed and waned in popularity. Despite these changes, several factors stayed the same, such as Hinduism and the regional princes through which the emperors exerted their power.

    By 100 C.E the Kushan Empire had already established itself in India, and with this, trade once again flourished between Persia and China via the Silk Road. During this time, a Kushan emperor converted to Buddhism, but this only served to alienate Indians by associating the religion with foreign rule. By 220 C.E. the Kushan Empire began to decline, ushering in nearly a century of disunity. The empire disintegrated back into the regional kingdoms that had existed before the Kushan Empire. Hinduism remained the dominant religion in India, with a small degree of opposition from Buddhists.

    In 320 C.E, the Gupta Empire reunified the regional princes of most of India into a partially centralized government. These rulers favored Hinduism, using a kind of divine right granted by the Hindu gods to legitimize their rule. During this time the Gupta Empire never truly conquered the regional rulers, choosing instead to intermarry with ruling families and establish tributary alliances. This left most administrative, legal, and religious decisions up to the regional princes. It was because of this that the empire fell so easily to the White Huns in 535 C.E. All throughout this time period, the Hindu caste system remained, growing in complexity but still being an integral part of society.

    The regional political structure was most evident in that neither the Kushan nor the Gupta Empire enforced any sort of overarching code of law as seen in Mesopotamia, or even a common language. The Kushan Empire didn’t even establish imperial rule.

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    1. I give you a 8 but I only see the political side of it so I don't know how to criticize it. You have a well written thesis but then again it's only political.

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    2. Good clear thesis, you answered the question and had specific changes and continuities that you could provide specific evidence and analysis for. Great job! 6-7

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  8. For the most part, the Gupta Empire in India politics, society and economy stayed the same due to them focusing inward, until the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty fell and brought the Gupta Empire down since they had lost the two Empires who traded most frequently with them.
    The Gupta Empire had very little change through 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. in society. Women, as in practically the rest of the world, were still lower/lesser than men, but since Hinduism was the main religion at the time, women had some rights since in Hinduism, the women goddesses are quite important. For example Kali is the goddess of destruction, and is an independent lady in their religion. Women were also a focus in literature at the time.
    The Gupta’s economy also had very little change in this time period. They traded by land and sea all throughout the known world practically. The Silk Road was the main land route and allowed them to trade with the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty with relative ease. Despite this the Guptas were agriculturally based at their core with their textiles which were in high demand all over the world.
    Politically, nothing much changed, the caste system remained the same with a person being born into their class. They also focused inwardly, instead of going out and stabbing and conquering like the Romans, the Gupta Empire built public roads and services to improve their empire. The only change that happened politically was that the Guptas fell. This happened because of Rome and the Hans falling and since the Guptas trade suffered significantly, it was fairly easy for the economy to suffer and since they had very little money, they couldn’t afford a military. Which of course means that the White Huns would easily be able to invade an empire with no army or money.

    In the end the Gupta Empire had very little change happen politically, socially, and economically in 100 C.E. to 600 C.E., but the change that did happen had a ripple effect and destroyed the Gupta Empire.

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    1. I'm giving you a 7. Your thesis is in the introduction, so that's cool. You use a lot of good information and speculate on changes AND continuities, so good job with that. I liked it :)

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  9. During the years 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. the Roman Empire collapsed while maintaining a basic existence through the Byzantine Empire.
    Between 100 and 600 C.E. the Roman Empire began to fall due to all sorts of military and political problems. Around 235 to 284 C.E. Rome continually switched emperors and suffered from internal problems which ended up splitting Rome in two, with a western empire and an eastern empire. However, Constantine reformed the Empire under a new capitol at Constantinople.
    Eventually, though, pressure from invading Barbarians caused the western Empire to totally collapse while the eastern empire would survive as the Byzantine Empire.
    The Byzantine Empire differed from Rome in regards to administration, with less isolated ruling classes, but it still maintained much of the military traditions and the political power of the emperor that the emperor had held.
    While the traditional Rome fell between 100 and 600 C.E. part of Rome survived through the existence of the Byzantine Empire.
    (This would've been put up earlier except the school website was down all morning so I was unable to, about which I apologize)

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    1. I apologize in advance if anything sounds mean at all. Any comments should not be taken personally. Please keep in mind that I could also be wrong since my track record with grading these essays has not been the best.

      1. Thesis: No point; the attempts at a thesis in the first and final paragraph fail to address both culture and politics in a single location (aka split thesis, which is no good!).

      2. Addresses all parts of the question: 2 points; Both continuity and change are discussed. Rome's split into East and West is one change noted and Byzantine's continuation of military traditions is one...well, you know.

      3. Substantiates Thesis: No points; culture discussion is vague, and while the political portion has dates and a detail or two, it is still not specific enough for any of the points.

      4. Uses relevant world history: No point; There is really no attempt made to talk about the rest of the world at the time (no, the Barbarians do not count I'm afraid).

      5. Analysis: No points; the fall of the West is attempted to be explained, but the details that are there are too few and too vague.

      Total points: 2
      I'm sorry! That's really harsh!

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  10. From years 100c.e. and 600c.e., the Empire had stopped expanding and many walls were built to define where Rome stood. Despite some differences between the Western and Eastern Rome, many political and cultural things stayed the same.

    Romes political structure was like a copy of many different countries who had similar structures, one of which was Greece. There was a Senate that was in charge of the political affairs and some army officers had political power. Assemblies were formed and all Roman people were to come to these assemblies. They had public baths and stadiums and many ways for everyone to interact and it also helped the masses in order and to prevent public disorder. In 235c.e. 284 c.e., Rome was nearly destroyed by political, economic, and military factors.

    They praised gods who were like the Greek gods, only with different names. Being Christian was considered being atheist because it was a monotheistic religion and that was considered blasphemy. Constantine, the ruler at the time, would later come to accept Christianity and convert because he believed the god had helped him win a battle after seeing a cross. No matter the religion, the people of Rome gave tribute to their emperor and the gods.

    Over a time period of 500 years, many changes, including religion and political ways of life were changed. Rome divided into two empires of their own and each had their own additions to their culture but they also kept some of their old ways. The religion went from seeing monotheistic religions as atheists to converting to one of them and their government was run on a senate and assemblies.

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    1. I'm giving you a 5. Pretty good essay. I gave you the thesis point for the conclusion. You used some good outside information, too, so that's good.

      Nice job.

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    2. 5. A little choppy, and needs to focus more on the topic than triva.

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  11. Throughout the time of 100- 600 CE , Rome experienced a variety of different shifts in politics , religion and overall the challenge of a newly divided 2 part empire. What would follow this split was a vast array of different emperors , some strong or adventurous and some weak and foolhardy. However not everything of Rome varied from its old ways. Even after the the almost total fall of Rome in 476 CE the language remained Latin , its structured law set and some of it culture never died .

    In about 100 CE a noticeable shift became apparent , largely due to Hadrian's Wall , as military commanders began focusing on a defensive strategy of Rome opposite to its expanding offensive strategy . Due to this shift in strategy Rome lost its ever increasing income and this would be a factor in a near collapse that occurred in 235- 284 CE . Even after this large shift from emphasis on conquest to defense we can see that Rome maintained its political structure , as well as the culture throughout this change . In 235 CE Rome was plagued with problems in economics , military , as well as politics. As a result of this weakness more than twenty men claimed office as emperor and served for terms as long as a few years and as short as about 6 months .
    Finally , one man known as Diocletian pulled Rome out of its fall by dividing Rome into two kingdoms one mainly Latin speaking and one mainly Greek. However the largest shift of culture in Rome was its shift from a polytheistic to a monotheistic belief due to an emperor named Constantine who converted because he claimed to see a cross before riding in to battle. Because of his conversion he legalized Christianity in the Edict of Milan which led to the monumental change end of christian persecution .

    In around 400 CE. Rome was challenged with the looming threat of invaders from seemingly all angles. After a long struggle defending its empire , Rome was sacked in 410 CE by a group of Germanic invaders known as the Goths. And in just 120 years Rome's economy and urban centers were dilapidated. In the end Rome was destroyed however its cousin the Byzantine empire was able to survive 1000 more years due to its administrative system and even then the Byzantine empire capital of Constantinople came to its knees due to Muslim invaders in 1435 CE .

    !00 CE - 600 CE was a challenging time for Rome that involved many changes however through it all Rome was able to maintain some aspects of itself . Largest of all the changes was its drastic change in political structure as well as the shift from a polytheistic to a monotheistic believing empire. Even Though many thing did change Rome always would keep Latin language , some aspects of its culture , but most of all Rome legacy in politics would live on and be utilized in governments all around the globe forevermore.

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    1. As I said in my previous critique, please don't take what I say as a personal attack and realize that I am very terrible at judging what is and isn't acceptable in these papers!

      1. Thesis: 1 point; Politics, culture, change, and continuity are all addressed. Rome keeping the Latin language is a bit vague of a continuity point and since you point out that Rome is split along Latin-speakers and Greek-speakers without backing up your claim of the continuation of Latin the whole thing is a bit confusing. Still, you mention it in your thesis, so you get the point.

      2. Addresses all parts of the question: 1 point; changes are clearly addressed throughout the essay, but the continuities are weak and don't qualify for the second point.

      3. Substantiates thesis: 2 point; While most of your cultural points from your thesis are never substantiated (just saying "culture" is too vague and the "Latin" bit I already discussed), the shift from christianity is mentioned so the point is rewarded. Political discussions are all over the essay.

      4. Historical context: No point; Goths are briefly noted, but their mention doesn't count. Muslim invasions happen way out of the time period and wouldn't count either (though the mention of the fall of the Byzantine is a nice detail).

      5. Analysis: 1 point; the events leading up to the fall of the West are discussed in detail.

      Total score: 5

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  12. From 100 C.E to 600 C.E, Rome went through many changes. Some examples are the change in war stratigies, and problems in the empire. The empire split in two, then tried to reunify. Also, the empire went though a big change in religious beliefs. Little in Rome stayed the same around this time.
    In 100 C.E barbaric tribes, any tribe or group of poeple who weren't Romen, were now thought of as a threat. The Roman military switched from fighting to concqure and expand to defending their land. In defense against the barbarians, the emperor Hadrian ordered a wall be built around Rome's northern borders in 117 C.E.. Even with the wall, the empire still expanded. In the second century the empire expanded to a breaking point, which would affect Rome's fall later on.
    The Roman Empire became to big in early second century. Population grew faster than land area which lead to many problems. Because population grew, the government needed to expand Rome's boarders. In order to do so, they had to find their military. To fund their military, taxes had to go up. Because taxes went up, farmers could no longer pay to keep their farms running. With out the farms, there was no food for all the poeple. This lead to the fall of Rome.
    Soon Rome would start sending men into the military if they couldn't pay their taxes. The solders in the military would honor their generals instead of the empire. Therefore, the military was not doing well. Many poeple took this as a need for a new emporor so many poeple fought for the position. Rome went through over twenty new emperors in this time. The was all called the Third Century Crisis. Diocletian became an emporor from 284 to 305 C.E. Within this time he split Rome in two, Western Rome and Eastern Rome. Eastern Rome was considerably stronger than Western Rome and was calle the Byzantine Empire. Justinian, one of the emperors, continued Rome's tradition of codified laws and architecture. Also, another emporor, Constintine, tryed to unify Rome with Catholisism, though many objected. Catholisism stayed in the Byzantine Empire through out history.
    Throughout history, Rome went through many changes. Their way of fighting changed due to the Barbarians threatening to invade. The empire grew, shrank, and split in to two. Some things that stayed the same were laws, architecture, and, after a while, religion.

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    1. An acceptable thesis may be found in the conclusion. However, more analysis of the changes would be preferable in the body of the essay; no evidence is submitted to support the continuation of laws or architecture, and religion is discussed only very briefly. All in all, I would tentatively give the essay a five.

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    2. I have to agree with Kyra on this one, either a four or five. You have a good thesis and you talk a lot about the numerous changes occuring but there is little to no discussion of the continuities.

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  13. In between 100 CE and 600 CE the Indian subcontinent civilization that grew along Indus river valley flourished, transformed with the arrival of new blood, and the eventual fall to the “barbarians” who came from the mountains. Through those 500 years India’s classical civilization evolved their animist religion that had explained the world around them changed with the introduction of Aryans and Hinduism then later with the Gupta empire Buddhism, the Mauryans social order changed with the creation of an increasingly rigid caste system and stratified the classes with little to no way to change their fate. Though the Aryan changed a lot when they moved in they left many local and regional leaders in power and during both the mauryan and gupta kept a mostly stable bureaucratic government during their golden ages.
    The early Indus river civilizations carried the animist beliefs of spirits in everything, with the invasion and settlement of the Aryans Hinduism was introduced and adopted as the new religious structure. The vedas helped form Indian social structure, laid out a definite team good, team evil, and set out moral guidelines. Hinduism also affected the nature of India’s early looks into early science and mathematical discoveries through Hinduism’s push to understand and the religion also played itself out in the art that was created at that time. Buddhism added to the diversity and provided another outsource for creativity and also sparked rebellion in some areas, Buddhism however took blow because it was later equate as the religion of the invader when the Kushan king adopted Buddhism.
    The caste system that came in with the Aryans also warped and grew throughout this age, based partially of Aryans later separations between their lighter skinned race and those of whom they had invaded who were naturally of a darker pigment began to stratify these higher classes of warriors and priests and put low the farmers and some merchants. The creation of the untouchables came as larger cities arose . Mucking and the need for people to clean it was solved by the addition of the lowest of the low. Though this system was maybe cruel and unfair to all the caste system helped keep India’s civilizations and dynasties stable, some how this systems groundworks led to little rebellion.
    Leaders and families stayed much the same, though many peoples invaded and conquered they allowed local leaders to stay in power to stabilize their rule with less trouble from the “conquered people”. This allowed for their bureaucratic political systems to take a firm hold on india for over 600 years, this form of government system allowed for change when needed but also for a strong king or dynasty system to rule.
    India’s classical period may have had several sweeps of change because it’s change of overlords but their strong political structures and held. Their cultural also changed with the evolution of the ruling religions, but their caste system stayed in place as the mortar to hold the society together though it continued to evolve into a stricter system.

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    1. That did not take you less than an hour, I think. you have a thesis and all. 8

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  14. Actually total time was 54 minutes. Sorry that I did not do it in 45 minutes though I do not think it would get an 8. :-)

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