PERSIA
Political
1. Who had the power, how was it attained and maintained?
2. What type of government was it?
3. How did the governmental system evolve from previous ones or political philosophy?
4. How involved was the government in the economy?
5. What was the relationship with government to the religion?
6. Did the government enforce a social hierarchy?
7. How were laws made? What was valued based on this?
8. How were laws enforced?
9. How was justice delivered?
10. What criteria dictated the foreign policy? How were immigrants treated?
11. Was contact with foreigners sought? Tolerated?
12. What role did the military play in the government?
13. How were challenges to the government dealt with?
14. What was the relationship between justice and peace?
15. How did war affect the society’s ability to prosper? What caused violence?
Economic
1. How did the society decide the four basic economic questions?
What to produce
How to produce
Who produces
Who gets the products
2. What were the natural resources and which needed to be procured abroad?
3. Who had control of resources?
4. What was the medium of exchange? (barter, money)
5. How was government revenue distributed? ( public goods and services)
6. How did society deal with its economic system? (resources, capital, labor,
entrepreneurship?)
7. Were people largely self-sufficient or was specialized labor developed?
8. Was this a wealthy society?
9. What was the relationship between wealth and social status?
10. Did a large gap between the wealthiest and poorest people exist?
PERSIA
Religious/Philosophical
1. What religions or philosophies dominated society?
2. To what degree were divergent beliefs tolerated?
3. Did the religion influence government or laws?
4. What factors made the development of these religions possible? Where did they come
from?
5. What did each religion/philosophy teach about gods, death, moral codes...?
6. How did religious persecution lead to migration and diffusion?
7. How did religion help culture spread?
8. How did religion influence the culture (arts, writing, literature...)
9. How did religious conflicts affected the area?
Social
1.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Was there a social hierarchy? What was it based upon?
Was there social mobility?
What was the family structure like? (nuclear or extended?)
What were the social mores, taboos, customs, values and traditions?
How were gender roles and relationships defined?
How was social status determined?
What were the norms for marriage, divorce, and legitimacy?
Who was educated, and for what purpose?
Intellectual
1. Was this a period of intellectual growth or stagnation for the society overall?
2. What were the major innovations and their effects on society in the fields of...
Communication
Transportation
Buildings
Measurements,
Agriculture
Warfare
Scientific theory
Technology
3. What were the major philosophical trends and how did they impact society?
4. How did the ideas/technology spread to/from other regions?
5. How was knowledge shared?
6. What was valued?
Aesthetic
1. What were the major styles/achievements in
Literature
Performing Arts
PERSIA
Visual arts
Architecture
2. What role did artists have in society?
3. What values and symbols were reflected in the arts?
4. What was the legacy of the human experience of this group?