Watch the video Civilizations Expand: Feeding the Empire. The link should take you directly to the part of the web page with the video, but if not, just scroll down until you see the title. This video is a part of the Big History Project, which covers the history of the universe from the Big Bang to the present. Don’t worry—your essay will cover a lot less time! The video makes the argument that empires have needed to continually expand to “feed” themselves, but that, eventually, all empires have fallen for various reasons. Using this argument as a starting point, your essay should address this question: In what ways did the Han Dynasty in China and the Roman Empire follow the pattern of expansion and collapse outlined in the video? How were these empires similar to and different from earlier empires in the ways they did or did not follow this pattern? To answer this question, you will rely mostly on specific information from the textbook, but you must also discuss the video “Civilizations Expand: Feeding the Empire.” Remember that this is your chance to show me what you have learned, so do not skimp on examples from the textbook.
