Civilisations, Kingdoms and Empires

Learning Outcomes
• This chapter is about what makes a civilisation. It also considers
what makes a kingdom and an empire. You will learn about:

– what people need to build a civilisation

– how a civilisation develops
– Factors that lead to the rise of a civilisation
– what makes a successful civilisation
– what a kingdom is
– what an empire is
– early civilisations
• Indus Valley
• Shang
• Funanese
• Srivijayan

• Use inferential skills to interpret a source (Continued)

What is a civilisation?
A group Land with sunshine
of people and rainfall

Forms a Near to a
Government water source
with laws Cradle of e.g. river
Civilisation

Suitable
Build villages,
for farming
towns, cities Develop a culture and living
e.g. language,
lifestyle,
traditions
Hierachy of rule We will conquer
Emperor says, “Collect more more land for
rice in the capital” the Emperor

Kingdom

This is what
you have to do
What is a Kingdom?

• A kingdom is a civilisation ruled by a single ruler with all the power

• The ruler was usually a man e.g. warrior or priest
• In a large kingdom, the king has officials who help administer the
country
• The king has absolute power
• The successor is usually the son or male relative
• A dynasty if formed when a family of kings rule the kingdom over
time

What is an Empire?
• A kingdom and other land conquered Ques
tion!
• An empire needs: What
• Strong ruler and d are the s
i im
• Powerful army civili fference ilarities
sa s
• Stable government empi tions, ki between
res? ngdo
• Prosperous economy ms a
nd
What Features do Successful Civilisations,
Kingdoms and Empires Share?
• Strong government to keep control
• An organised society
• Cities where large numbers of
people lived, worked and traded
• A view of themselves as one culture,
with the same religion and language
• The ability to defend themselves
• The ability to communicate through
a written language

2.1 Introduction
What Makes Them Different?
• Civilisations and empires do not necessarily have a single
ruler; a kingdom does
• Civilisations and kingdoms do not need to control large
amounts of land, or land in other places; an empire does

2.1 Introduction
Lesson 1 Assignment
• Workbook Activity 6 Pg 25
• Complete by next lesson
– Note: Refer to the summary table completed
in Chapter 3 Chapter notes
– Use the information to identify the
SIMILARITIES
Instructions on Peer-Teaching
• Each group has xx minutes to present the assigned part of a chapter
• As peer-teachers, your role is to present and explain an interesting
piece of information regarding the chapter/topic assigned
• You CAN teach in the form of story-telling, role-play (acting out a
story), conduct a quiz, play a game, do mindmaps/charts/presentations
or get your classmates to do group work/presentation
• You CANNOT just stand and talk
• Your group will be graded on how clearly and creatively you present
the content, interaction with the class and whether your classmates
understand your teachings. Running over time will be penalised.
• At mid-year, the grades will be consolidated and the group consistently
scoring As will get a prize
India – Indus Valleys
• One of the earliest civilisations
• From 5000 BC, people were living in
the Indus Valley
• By 4000 BC, settlements developed
• By 3500 BC, these people had cities, a
strong government, an organised
society, a shared culture and language
The Indus Valley Civilisation

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

Characteristics of the Indus Civilisation
• They had cities
• Archaeologists have found remains of several Indus Valley cities
• Two most important were Harappa and Mohenjo-daro

Modern day Harappa

(Dept of Archaeology
& Museum, Pakistan |
J.M. Kenoyer)

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

 Characteristics of the Indus The lower town
was where most
Civilisation ordinary people
lived and
worked. Homes
• They had a strong, and workshops
have been found
stable government there.

and a class structure

– different types of homes
– complicated drainage
system
– carefully planned cities
– efficient running of cities The citadel was
e.g. citadel, granary, public the safest place.
It was where all
bath the public
buildings were
– system of standard weights and where the
most important
and measures people probably
lived.

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

Characteristics of the Indus Civilisation
• They had a shared culture and language
– archaeological finds such as seals and pottery reveal a shared
language and writing system

Indus seals and jewellery

(Dept of Archaeology & Museum, Pakistan | J.M.
Kenoyer)
Characteristics of the Indus Civilisation
• Indus people worked as
– Farmers
– Craftsmen
– Priests (Indus people
participated in religious
bathing)
Decline of the Indus Valley
• Prospered for 1000 yrs
• 1200 BCE – Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa were abandoned
• Most likely cause is due to floods (evidence of rebuilding
by archaeologists
• Historical scholars thought it could be floods destroying
irrigation system or malaria plague
• Invasion by the Aryans (Western Asia Nomadic people)
• Settled at Ganges rivers alongside the Indus people who
settled there after the decline of the Indus Valleys
• Indian culture is a mix of Indus and Aryan culture
Practice your inference skills The lower town
was more widely
populated.
Look at the plan of the Homes and
workshops have
city. What can you infer been found
there.
about the people living in
Mohenjo-daro City?
Is this a primary or
secondary source?

The citadel was the safest place.

It was where all the public
buildings were and where the
most important people probably
lived.

A modern artist’s impression of Mohenjo-

daro City from archaeological evidence
 What can you infer about the people living in
Mohenjo-daro City?
Inference Evidence
1. The map shows the city divided into two parts –
There are different
one smaller part which is the upper town and
social classes
one bigger part which is the lower town.
The city was well- 2. The provenance states that the upper town is
organised with public where all the public places were and is most
buildings and well protected by the citadel In the lower
residential homes town, archaeologists found homes and
clearly divided. workshops
The upper town is 3. The buildings in the upper town seem bigger
resided by important with spacious surroundings. They also had a
people and ordinary more organised design. These suggest that more
people lived in the important people like priests or rulers live in
lower town the upper town.
Lesson 3 Assignment
• Workbook Activity 3 Pg 29
• Workbook Activity 4 Pg 30 – 31 part (c)

• Complete by next lesson

Next Lesson
• We will uncover the civilisations found in
India, China and Southeast Asia.

• Peer-teaching: Group 1 (Chinese

Civilisation) – Duration: 10 mins
– http://www.chinavoc.com/history/shang.htm
– http://
wsu.edu/~dee/ANCCHINA/SHANG.HTM

* Remember to submit all teaching

materials (1 hardcopy-bound/1 softcopy)
Chinese civilisation
• Earliest known hunters lived in Zhoukoudian for about
260,000 years (Peking Man)
• They settled along the Yellow River Plains where the rich
soil made farming easier and provided water for farming
and transport
• Yangshao and Longshan Villages
• 1500 BCE – Shang Civilisation arose from the Longshan
culture

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

Shang Dynasty
• Shang civilisation ruled by kings
• Coming from the same family line, they eventually
became the Shang Dynasty emperors
• Shang people worked as farmers, traders, prients
and craftsmen. E.g. silk clothes and jade ornaments

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

The Shang
• They had cities
• many well-planned Shang cities were excavated

Archaeologists have been excavating parts

of the ancient city of Anyang since 1930s
(Institute of History & Philology | Taiwan)

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

The Shang
• The had a strong, stable government and class structure
• Shangs kept written records
• Shang people were ruled by a king who divided his
kingdom into areas that lords ruled for him
• layout of the cities reveals a class structure

houses belonging to Shang family

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

The Shang
• They had a shared culture and language

• Shangs shared the same basic religious beliefs

• believed in an afterlife and praying to dead
rulers for help in their daily lives
• shared a spoken and written language
• writing was seen as a special skill
• Pictographic writing - writing system or script
• Oracle bones

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

Building an Empire
• The dynasties that followed the Shang grew bigger and more
powerful
• Although Western Zhou dynasty took over, the Shang culture was
preserved
• The most powerful dynasties of all – the Han and the Tang – had
strong rulers and a strong army to take and keep other kingdoms

The Qin Dynasty The Han Dynasty The Tang Dynasty

(221 to 206 BC) (206 BC to AD 220) (AD 618 to 907)

2.2 Factors for the Rise of a River Valley Civilisation

Practice your inference skills
These drawings show the
homes of the upper-class
Shang family and a lower-
class one. They are based
on archaeological
evidence.

Which is which? Give

more than one reason for
your answer.
Lesson 4 Assignment
• Workbook Activity 4 Pg 23
• Workbook Activity 4 Pg 30 – 31 part (a)
and (b)
Next Lesson
• We will uncover the civilisations found in
India, China and Southeast Asia.

• Peer-teaching: Group 3 (Southeast

Asian Civilisation) – Duration: 10 mins
– http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-52477/Cambodia
– http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-22799/Indonesia

* Remember to submit all teaching

materials (1 hardcopy-bound/1 softcopy)
Southeast Asia Civilisation
• Started much later (from c. 200 BCE) because records by
Chinese, Indian traders and locals began then
• Southeast Asia Mainland vs Southeast Asia Island
• Obstacles to agriculture/communication – jungles and
mountains
• Artefacts etc clay pottery, beads, wall paintings show that
S.E.A culture began c. 6000 BCE
• People depended on fishing, hunting and gathering food in
jungles for a living
• SEA villages grew to be cities -> Maritime Kingdoms
• Growth of rice and trade
Southeast Asia Civilisation
• Skilled at boat-making
• Coast villages acted as small ports -> port cities
• Traded goods like rice, bronze, bracelets and
ceremonial drums
• Two major Maritime Kingdoms – Funan and Srivijaya
Factors for the Rise of a
Maritime Kingdom or Empire
• Seas and rivers were much better transport routes
than overland routes.
• Roads were seldom paved and it was hard to move
heavy loads over long distances.
• Transport system had to be efficient for ease of
transporting soldiers, officials and goods

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

Factors for the Rise of a
Maritime Kingdom or Empire
• The bigger a kingdom or empire,
the better its transport system had
to be to run it efficiently
• Contact
– important for a maritime country to
have good contacts with faraway
places
– contacts brought trade links, new
ideas, knowledge and opportunities

• Trade
• important for a country to become
rich and powerful so as to build an silk fabrics sought after by
empire traders outside China
What Helps a
Maritime Kingdom to
Grow?

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

The Importance of Southeast Asia
• Worldwide trade developed
• Southeast Asia became increasingly
important
• Strong navy was able to
– control important trade routes
– become powerful in its own right
– build up maritime kingdoms

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

The Funanese Kingdom
gold coin from the Roman
• Mekong Delta, AD 1 to AD 550 Empire found at Oc-eo
(Getty Images | Don Farrall)

• Capital – Oc-eo It is the most important trading port to

have been partly excavated by archaeologists
• The Funanese had cities
• Well placed for trade
• Fertile land, good climate for growing crops especially
rice
• The Funanese had a strong, stable government and a class
structure
• Lived in walled cities that were well-planned with
different areas for different groups of people to live in
The Funanese Kingdom
• Many social classes
• Controlled the region of Southern Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam and northern part of Malay Peninsula
• The Funanese had a shared culture and language
• Funanese stories
• Buddhist temples
• Common spoken and written language
• Libraries and government archives indicated a long
history of using writing

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

The Srivijayan Empire
• Sumatra, AD 700 to AD 1200
• Capital is Palembang
• Controlled the Straits of Melaka, western Borneo
and western Java
• Rose to the next port city after Funan’s decline by
C5th CE
• Well-placed for trade
• Controlled Straits of Melaka and Sunda Straits
• Grew rich through trade

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

The Srivijayan Empire
• Areas for exchange of ideas and goods
• Place for religious study and pilgrimage
• They had a strong, stable government and social
organisation
• Government able to control sea routes
• Strong hold over the sea trade
• Efficient and obedient navy
• They had a shared culture and language
– Buddhist temples
– Buddhist texts
– Written records of laws, government stores,
– History and literature

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

The Srivijayan Empire
• Declined in C13th CE when
lands were conquered by
enemies
• After the fall of the
Srivijayan Empire, two
other empires rose to take
its place – the Melaka
Empire and the Majapahit
Empire

The Melakan Empire

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

Lesson 5 Assignment
• Workbook Activity 3 Pg 22
• Workbook Activity 4 Pg 30 – 31 part (d)
• Chapter 3 SEQ worksheet
Features of Southeast Asia civilisations

• Government – Buildings of stone (cf,

homes made of wood)
• Religion
• Varied occupations e.g. craftsmen,
fisherman, sailors, local foreign traders,
priests, officials
• Multi-cultural and multi-lingo
• System of writing e.g. Jawi script
2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire
Skill of Comparing
• How do you compare?
1. Compare = Finding similarities
• What is the difference between real
similarities and false similarities?
1. Real similarity: Similar in information, concept(s) or
meaning
2. False similarity: Source A and B are made of stone
3. False similarity: Summarising Source A and B
• How do you compare?
1. State the similarity (in your own words) at the start
2. Write down the evidence from the source

2.3 Factors for the Rise of a Maritime Kingdom or Empire

Lesson 6 Assignment
• Workbook Activity 4 Pg 30 – 31 part (d)
• Chapter 3 Critical & Creative Thinking
• Chapter 4 Chapter notes
Next Lesson
• We will explore the governing
systems and formation of societies
of China, India and Southeast
Asia

• Peer-teaching: Group 4
(Chandragupta Maurya was a
good ruler because ….) –
Duration: 10 mins