Political Authority in Second-Wave Civilizations Compared to other classical Eurasian empires, the Hellenistic Era, under Alexander the Great is superior to its contemporaries because of its size, the time it took to build, its diversity and adaptation to culture, and its style of government, the reverence of its subjects, and its legacy. Robert W. Strayer’s 2013 edition of Ways of the World provides evidence that compares and contrasts this empire with other regimes of the era to support this assertion. While it’s true that the Hellenistic empire was “founded and sustained at a great cost in human life,” and was divided shortly after Alexander’s death, it’s also true that Alexander’s Empire proliferated Greek “ideas, cultures, and values”
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120-1, 155). According to Aristides, the “fixed boundaries” of the Mediterranean Sea limited Rome’s political authority (p. 149). Similarly, Ashoka said, “one should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others” (p. 154). Because they were in constant battle with Darius’ Persia, Alexander was able to unify the Greek states against their common enemy to build his enormous empire (p. …show more content…
127). Darius, on the other hand, was an absolute monarch who centered his empire on a “cult of kingship” (pp. 120, 127). Similar to the imperial spies who aided the Persian government, Alexander’s rule began as an expedition from his father’s kingdom of Macedonia (p. 126). In contrast to the Macedonian style, however, the political authority of Persia, administered by satraps, based its imperial system on the examples of Babylonian and the Assyrian Empires (p. 121). Roman administration had “an elaborate body of law, applicable equally to all people of the realm” (p. 138). In China, the system of Legalism that “advocated clear rules and harsh punishments as a means of enforcing the authority of the state” was later replaced by Confucianism which “actively assimilated barbarian people” (pp. 133, 136-7). In Athens, Cleisthenes established the central role of popular assembly (p. 157). Developed an elaborate bureaucracy to hold the empire together (p. 138). “There has arisen a single harmonious government which has embraced all men” (p. 149). Also in Sparta, “the emerging sense of Greek cultural identity did little to overcome the endemic political rivalries of the larger city-states” (p. 124). Sparta was “famous for its extreme forms of military discipline and its large population of helots” (p. 125).
120-1, 155). According to Aristides, the “fixed boundaries” of the Mediterranean Sea limited Rome’s political authority (p. 149). Similarly, Ashoka said, “one should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others” (p. 154). Because they were in constant battle with Darius’ Persia, Alexander was able to unify the Greek states against their common enemy to build his enormous empire (p. …show more content…
127). Darius, on the other hand, was an absolute monarch who centered his empire on a “cult of kingship” (pp. 120, 127). Similar to the imperial spies who aided the Persian government, Alexander’s rule began as an expedition from his father’s kingdom of Macedonia (p. 126). In contrast to the Macedonian style, however, the political authority of Persia, administered by satraps, based its imperial system on the examples of Babylonian and the Assyrian Empires (p. 121). Roman administration had “an elaborate body of law, applicable equally to all people of the realm” (p. 138). In China, the system of Legalism that “advocated clear rules and harsh punishments as a means of enforcing the authority of the state” was later replaced by Confucianism which “actively assimilated barbarian people” (pp. 133, 136-7). In Athens, Cleisthenes established the central role of popular assembly (p. 157). Developed an elaborate bureaucracy to hold the empire together (p. 138). “There has arisen a single harmonious government which has embraced all men” (p. 149). Also in Sparta, “the emerging sense of Greek cultural identity did little to overcome the endemic political rivalries of the larger city-states” (p. 124). Sparta was “famous for its extreme forms of military discipline and its large population of helots” (p. 125).