Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7

Chapter 4:

Strayer looked at Eurasian empires in this chapter. He defines empires as "political systems that exercise coervice power" and he goes on to state that are the "...more aggressive states, those that conquer, rule, and extract resources from other states and peoples." (p. 98) He compared the Persian and Greek Empires, and the Roman and Chinese Empires, and discussed the Indian Empire.

The Persian Empire had 35 million people in it where the Greek Empire had 2-3 million. The Persian Empire was lead by "absolute monarch kings" and the Greek Empire was led by individual city-states. (p. 99-101)

In the Roman Empire the "patricians, wealthy class," (p. 109) were in charge while the State was in charge in the Chinese Empire. Both of these empires used their military to build their empires. Though both of these empires were strong, they both collapsed and failed. The reasons for failure are thought to be that: they were "too big, over extended, too extensive to be sustained by available resources, diminished...authority of the central goverment, (and) disease." (p. 117)

Strayer briefly discussed the Mauryan Empire in India. He focused on the emperor, Ashoka, and discussed his teachings. Ashoka was known for his carvings on "rocks and pillars" and his "nonviolent...toleration," but his ideas did not survive after his death. (p. 120)

Chapter 5:

This chapter discussed the "Eurasian Cultural Traditions" of China, the Middle East, and Greece. In China there was Legalism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. In the Middle East Zoroastrianism and Judaism brought about the idea of one god instead of many. In Greece, the society decided to focus on "natural laws" and "a system of moral and ethical life" rather than the mythical gods. (p. 141) Strayer concluded the chapter with discussing how Judaism lead to Christianity, and Hinduism lead to Buddhism.

Chapter 6:

Strayer zoomed in on the "Eurasian Social Hierarchies" in this chapter. Specifically, he reviewed the hierarchies of China and India, slavery and civilization, and patriarchies.

China has four classes: the elite officials, the landlord class, the peasants, and the merchants. Indian also had four classes but within those classes there were subclasses of "Jati's, occupationally based groups" (p. 163) that lead to many subclasses within each class. The four classes in India were the: Brahmins, Ksatriya, Vaisya, and Sudras.

Strayer defines slaves as "those owned by another" person. (p. 165) Slaves have been prevelent in human society. Strayer discusses how the slaves were treated and what they could do in Greece, Rome, China, India, and Persia.

Strayer states that patriarchy was "In all of the classical societies...(and) men ere regarded as superior to women, and sons were...preferred over daughters." (p. 170) He goes on to discuss how patriarchy differed in China to that of Athens and Sparta.

Chapter 7:

In this chapter Strayer discusses Africa and the Americas. In Africa he reviews the societies in the Nile Valley, on the Niger River, and in Bantu. In Mesoamerica he reviews the societies of Maya, Teotihuacan, the Andes, and North America.

In the Nile Valley the Meroe specialized in "....merchants, weavers, potters, ... masons, .... servants, laborers, .... (and) slaves." (p. 186) The Axum focuses on agriculture such as "... wheat, barley, millet, and teff...", and "the arts". (p. 187)

In Africa, the Bantu society move south and interacted with other societies where they thrived, and had several advantages. Strayer focused on their advantages of: being an agriculture society instead of a gathering and hunting society, their immunity to disease, and their iron abilities that made tools.

In Mesoamerica the Mayans were strong in math and astrology which lead to the "solar year". They used "pictographs and phonetic/syllabic" writing and language, and had a water management system. The Teotihuacans had a complete city with items such as "... roads, markets, apartments, a water system, (and) complex art." (p. 195) The Andes societies had access to ocean food sources. One society had an "elaborate temple complex" while the other had a "complex irrigation system." (p. 198) In North America the Ancestral Pueblos has "pit houses" and the Eastern Woodlands had "large earthen mounds." (p. 201-203)