World History > Redefining World Society and Culture > Rise and Fall of the Classical and Medieval World > Page 13 of 15

Unit 1: Redefining World Society and Culture

Lesson C: Rise and Fall of the Classical and Medieval World

Activity 8: The Mighty Will Fall

Empire	Location	Date Marking the "Rise" of the Empire	Date Marking the "Fall" of the Empire	Years in Existence
Mauryan Empire	India/South Asia	322 BCE	185 BCE	137 years
Han Empire	China/East Asia	206 BCE	220 CE	426 years
Roman Empire	Europe/North Africa/Southwest Asia	27 BCE	476 CE	503 years
Mayan Empire	Central America	250 CE	900 CE	650 years
Gupta Empire	India/South Asia	320 CE	600 CE	280 years
Byzantine Empire	South & Southeast Europe/North Africa/Southwest Asia	330 CE	1453 CE	1123 years
Tang Empire	China/East Asia	618 CE	907 CE	289 years
Song Empire	China/East Asia	960 CE	1279 CE	319 years
Mongol Empire	South, Central, Southeast, East Asia/East Europe	1206 CE	1368 CE	162 years
Mali Empire	West Africa	1230 CE	1600 CE	370 years
Songhai Empire	West Africa	1340 CE	1591 CE	251 years
Aztec Empire	Mexico/Southern North America	1428 CE	1519 CE	91 years
Incan Empire	Peru & Chile/South America	1438 CE	1533 CE	95 years

As you examine the chart above you should notice that all empires eventually fall. Seldom is there an exact day and time when an empire "dies", rather it normally happens over many years or decades. Historians often look at empires and hypothesize about all the different factors that led to their decline.

In the activity, you will read different historians' accounts of the fall of the Roman Empire. Afterward, you will answer these questions in your notebook.

Written Activity - Notebook

In your notebook, respond to the following questions:

What does each historian point to as the cause(s) of the fall of Rome?
Why might each historian have drawn a different conclusion?

Document 1: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1776

Document 2: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1955

Document 3: The Fall of the Roman Empire 1986

image of classroom blackboard with world history written on it

Classroom Activity - Fall of Empires

Research

Directions: Now that you have had a chance to examine possible reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire, choose one of the other empires from the Chart of Empires and conduct research to find secondary sources that suggest reasons for the fall of that empire. Once you have done your research, share with your classmates different reasons for the fall of empires. As a class, compare and contrast the reasons that you researched with the reasons given for the fall of the Roman Empire.

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