Activity 1 - Why did civilisations expand?

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Activity Tasks

1. Imagine that you are part of the ruling class of an ancient civilization. You have a problem: Your civilization is running low on resources! You have two options: raise taxes on your citizens or conquer a neighbouring civilization. Choose one of these options (tax or invade) and then answer the following questions on this worksheet.
2. Watch the video and try to answer these questions:
   1. 1:58 Why did civilizations expand geographically?
   2. 2:35 Why did many leaders of civilizations choose conquest to pay their expenses rather than trying to raise money in lands they already controlled?
   3. 3:04 What are some examples of ways that military innovations supported trade and other important human activities?
3. Discuss - It is often rare for a civilization to expand by conquering neighbouring nations today. Do you think it’s more difficult for this to occur now than in the past?
4. Sorting - Examine the reasons for empire on this worksheet and arrange them into the correct columns of the table.

Activity 2 - How did civilisations expand?

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Activity Tasks

1. Read this article called "How did Mesopotamian Empires Expand?" and answer these questions:
   1. How does an empire differ from a city-state?
   2. Which empires ruled the Fertile Crescent?
   3. What common problems did the empires of Southwest Asia face?
   4. How were the Assyrians and Chaldeans able to build empires?
   5. How did the reigns of Cyrus and Darius compare?
   6. In what ways did the Royal Road and Minted Coins help Darius unite the Persian Empire?
2. Complete the table on this worksheet by researching the rise and fall of the five Mesopotamian empires (Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Persian):
   1. Name three similarities that you see across the four civilisations
   2. Name three differences that you see across the four civilisations
3. Extension 1 - Create a map of Ancient Mesopotamia and outline the four Mesopotamian civilisations on it, showing their borders and capital cities.
4. Extension 2 - What were the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? Research each one and create a Google MyMaps showing the supposed location of each wonder. Which ones still exist today?

Activity 3 - Mesopotamian Civilisation

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Activity Tasks
​For this activity you will need to arrange yourselves into six groups. Each group will examine a different aspect of civilisation in ancient Mesopotamia. Use this research journal to help record your notes as you move around the six stations.

1. ​Group 1 - Geography - How was Mesopotamia affected by natural systems, the landscape, and the climate?
2. Group 2 - Religion - What were the beliefs, morals and traditions of ancient Mesopotamia?
3. Group 3 - Accomplishments - What were the works, innovations and discoveries of Mesopotamian culture?
4. Group 4 - Politics - How are decisions made, who has power, who rules, and what are the laws like?
5. Group 5 - Economics - What resources and goods are produced & traded and how do people make money?
6. Group 6 - Social Structure - How are people organised into different classes? Male vs. Female roles in society?

Activity 4 - Why did civilisations fall?

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Activity Tasks

1. Discuss - Why do great civilisations no longer exist? Brainstorm as many reasons as possible. Then place each of your reasons in the following categories:
   1. Internal Problems
   2. External Conquest
   3. Environmental Disaster
2. Complete this worksheet by researching the fall and collapse of three different civilisations. You need to record information on the following:​​
   1. Reason for Collapse - How did the civilisation collapse?
   2. Theory Alignment - Internal problems, External Conquest, Environmental Disaster
   3. Claim Testers Used - Which claim testers were used? Intuition, Authority, Logic, Evidence, Faith
   4. Citations - Which sources did you use to find out this information? (use APA citethisforme - tutorial here - chrome extension here)
3. Once you have finished the worksheet, discuss these questions as a group:
   1. Do any of the societies’ collapses clearly point to one theory over another?
   2. Could a society collapse due to multiple factors?
   3. Did anyone research a society whose collapse did not fall in line with any of the three theories of collapse?

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previous lesson - what are ancient civilisations?

next lesson - how successful were the ANCIENT GREEKS?