Comparison in Land-Based Empires

Ethan Taylor
8 min read
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#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
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.
#🔗 Jump to:
- Land-Based Empires
- Maritime Empires
- Land vs. Maritime: Key Differences
- Final Exam Focus
- Practice Questions
#🌍 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...

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