Make sure toanswer both questionsand submit them either as a Word or PDF document. Also note that the submission box will close at 12:00 pm on Oct.

Make sure toanswer both questionsand submit them either as a Word or PDF document. Also note that the submission box will close at 12:00 pm on Oct. 15, so there is no late submission - make sure to start early, as you have five days to complete the midterm (that equally applies for students with CAL Accommodations) and try to submit it at least a few minutes before the deadline in case of technical difficulties.

Keep in mind that each of the two answers should be about 500-600 words in length, so they need to be precise and to the point, but still answer the questions with details from the readings (footnotes are not required, since all your information should be from the course textbook, discussion readings, and the lectures). The written responses need to be in your own words - any copy-pasting of sections constitutes plagiarism and will lead to a failing grade on the midterm exam.

Question 1: (10 points)

Answer the following question in full sentences and paragraphs, drawing on lectures and your textbook. Give concrete examples, dates, and names of persons (main actors), or dynasties in your response. Please make sure to respond to all components of the question.

Early Civilizations

In what ways were the natural settings and developments in Mesopotamia, the Nile River Valley, and the Yellow River similar to each other? What aspects made the situation in Egypt different from the various Mesopotamian civilizations and the developments of state structures in China? Please provide specific examples in your response regarding timing of inventions or introduction of technologies, styles of governance, interactions with other cultures, etc.

Question 2: (10 points)

Answer the following question in full sentences and paragraphs, drawing on discussion readings, lectures and your textbook. Give concrete examples, dates, and names of persons (main actors) in your responses and include specific details from the documents.

Consolidating Empires, Imposing Legitimacy

What were the different means used to legitimize the existing social and political order or the ways in which rulers tried to maintain increasingly far-flung empires in Afro-Eurasia? Draw on the primary sources from the textbook (Chapter 3 starting on p. 136): Hammurapis Code; Instructions to Vizier Rekhmire; the Ten Commandments; The Code of Manu; and Advisor Zichan of Zhengs Compilation of Laws. Use specific details from any four of those five documents to discuss the different approaches to establishing common rules, laws, and legitimacy. Were there any common factors that legitimized the imposition of laws, or the jurisdiction of rulers in the absence of law codes? Why would populations accept the laws or the rulers' authority? How significant were factors such as gender and class in the different examples?