#AP World History: Modern - Unit 3 & 4 Study Guide 🚀

Welcome! This guide is designed to help you ace your AP World History exam, focusing on the crucial content of Units 3 and 4. Let's get started!

Units 3 and 4 are all about the rise of empires, both land-based and maritime. Understanding their similarities and differences is key to success on the exam. These units often account for a significant portion of the exam, so pay close attention!

#🧭 Overview: Land vs. Maritime Empires

Key Concept

The big picture: Unit 3 and 4 explore how empires expanded across the globe, both on land and overseas. The main comparison point is the style of government and how they maintained power and legitimacy.

#🌍 Land-Based Empires

These empires primarily derived their power and wealth from controlling land, agriculture, and overland trade routes.

#🇮🇳 Mughal Empire

Time: Early 16th to mid-19th centuries
Location: South Asia (modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Afghanistan)
Founders: Muslim dynasty of Turco-Mongol origin (descendants of Timur and Genghis Khan)
Key Features: Economic, cultural, and architectural prosperity; known for its art and cultural achievements.

#🇹🇷 Ottoman Empire

Time: 14th to early 20th centuries
Location: Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa
Founders: Turkish tribes who converted to Islam
Key Features: Centralized autocratic government; diverse population (Muslims, Christians, Jews); dissolved after WWI.

#🇮🇷 Safavid Empire

Time: Early 16th to mid-18th centuries
Location: Modern-day Iran, parts of Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey
Founders: Ismail I, who made Shia Islam the official religion
Key Features: Known for Persian art, literature, and culture; military conflicts with the Ottoman Empire.

#🇸🇳 Songhai Empire

Time: 15th and 16th centuries
Location: West Africa (modern-day Niger and Mali)
Founders: Songhai people
Key Features: Strong military; well-organized bureaucracy; centralized administration; declined due to internal conflicts and Moroccan invasions.

#🇷🇺 Russian Empire

Time: 1721 to 1917
Location: Largest country by land area, covering more than one-sixth of the planet
Founders: Romanov dynasty
Key Features: Autocratic rule by the tsar; multiethnic state; dissolved after the Russian Revolution.

#🇨🇳 Qing Empire (China)

Time: 1644 to 1912
Location: China
Founders: Manchu people
Key Features: Centralized government; social hierarchy; bureaucratic rule; multicultural state; significant economic, social, and cultural developme...

Comparison in Land-Based Empires

Ethan Taylor