Classical Era Dbq

In the Foundations Era, complex societies were just beginning to emerge due to agricultural surpluses, so government systems weren’t as intricate as they were in the Classical Era. Political authorities began to build states with governmental institutions, and did basic governmental actions, such as collecting taxes and creating law codes. Transitioning into the Classical Era, governments became more complex, with elaborate bureaucracies and imperial authority. Many empires had struggles within their governments such as negligent and selfish rulers and rebellious subordinates under loose centralized rule, which contributed to the collapse of quite a few dynasties. Throughout the course of the Foundations Era and Classical Era, the qualities …show more content…
Document 4, a picture of the walls around the Persian Palace at Persepolis, indicates a centralized government because they have the ability to undertake large scale building projects (Doc 4). The purpose of this could be to show neighboring regions that they have a strong government, as well as a strong army, which is another result of a good centralized rule. If the leaders of Persepolis felt that it was necessary to make a statement with their structures, then it means that they believed that a centralized government was a strong one. In Document 5, an excerpt of Politics written by Greek philosopher Aristotle, claims that a reason why Carthage has such a good government is because they have excellent institutions (Doc 5). To support the production of these institutions, there must be a centralized government in place. Because of their centralization, Carthage is able to become a strong empire based on trade in the west Mediterranean. Since Aristotle praised Carthage in his book for having an excellent government, then this means that it was believed that a centralized government was an effective way to lead. According to Bentley, the rulers of the Qin dynasty also believed that having a centralized reign was strong. This is proven because Qin rulers try to use a highly centralized imperial rule to unite China. Although the Qin dynasty eventually collapsed, they were able to …show more content…
In Document 6, the Roman Constitution, it says that their government was based off an assembly that represented the people (Doc 6). The purpose of the constitution is to set the rules of the government, and since a form of democracy is included in the Roman Constitution, it means that they believed that a good government was one in which the people had a voice. Document 7, an excerpt from Parallel Lives, written by Greek biographer Plutarch, states that Theseus designed a great city and believed there should be no king, and power should be divided evenly amongst the people (Doc 7). Athens, the city-state that Theseus is said to be the founder of, does develop a functioning direct democracy system that works for a very long time. Since Theseus supposedly received lots of support in his ideas from both the rich and poor, this means that it was widely believed that a quality government is led by the people. Also, according to Bentley, democracy was believed to be beneficial because it promised freedom and equality for all, which was different from tight, imperial rule. This is probably why Theseus was allegedly able to appeal to so many of his subjects. Given these points, it can be said that a democracy was perceived as an effective government