The emperor, the aristocracyand the army were the "three main players" in the political history of the empire. The success of individual emperors dependedon their control of the army, and when thearmies were divided, the result usually was civil war. Except for one notorious year , when four emperorsmounted the throne in quick succession, the first two centuries werefree from civil war.

Roman Empire:

1. Roman empire extended from Spain to Syria along the Mediterranean.
2. It had more of a diverse population in looking into its geographical expanse . It was characterised by many cultures but had common government with single ruler/emperor.
3. Greek and latin languages were used for adminstrative purposes.

Iranian empire:

1. It controlled major part of the  Caspian sea, large parts of Afghanistan and eastern Arabia.
2. The Parthians and Sasanians dynasties,ruled over the people of Iran. It was not as diverse as the Roman empire.
3. People spoke Persain language.
    

Islamic decoration and architecture is very similar to the Byzantine Empire as well. The heavy use of marble and gold mosaics. The important of covering a woman's skin up and veiling her in Islam came directly from the Byzantine Empire. Poetry was also hugely impacted in Islam by Byzantine. These early caliphates, coupled with Muslim economics and trading, the Islamic Golden Age, and the Age of the Islamic Gunpowders, resulted in Islam's spread outwards from Mecca towards the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans and the creation of the Muslim world. One reason was to spread the Islamic faith throughout the world. They were successful in the Sassanid region (and beyond), but only partially successful in the Byzantine Empire and later in Western Europe. Land grab and war booty. These were weak (Rome and Sassanids) and right for a grab.

Rise of ‘Fourth Order’ – New Towns and Townspeople

• Expansion in agriculture was accompanied by growth in three related areas: population, trade and towns.
• The towns of the Roman Empire had become deserted and ruined after its fall. But from the eleventh century, as agriculture increased and became able to sustain higher levels of population, towns began to grow again
• Towns offered the prospect of paid work and freedom from the lord’s control, for young people from peasant families.
• The bigger towns had populations of about 30,000. They could be said to have formed a ‘fourth’ order.

A medieval town would seek a charter giving it the right to become a borough . The rich merchants would then be allowed to choose a mayor and hold a market. ... The streets of a medieval town were narrow and busy. They were noisy, with the town crier, church bells, and traders calling out their wares. By the High Middle Ages, towns were growing again. One reason for their growth was improvements in agriculture. Farmers were clearing forests and adopting better farming methods. As a result, they had a surplus of crops to sell in town markets.

Under feudalism, peasants lived in a state of serfdom, a condition that essentially turned them into rural slaves. The rigid and cruel medieval system of law and order that accompanied feudalism succeeded as a tool for social control and largely prevented peasant resistance or rebellion. At the bottom of the feudal system social hierarchy are the peasants and the serfs. ... The peasants divided the land in narrow strips for each family. This way, everyone got a share of the good land and the poor land. A fief typically needed dozens of peasant families to maintain it, grow crops, and raise livestock.

When William the Conqueror became King of England in 1066 he introduced a new kind of feudal system into Britain. William confiscated the land in England from the Saxon lords and allocated it to members of his own family and the Norman lords who had helped him conquer the country. Feudalism was introduced in England in 1066 following the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest. The Normans, led by William the Conqueror who was crowned King William I of England introduced Feudalism to England. Feudalism was based on the exchange of land for military service.

The Term "feudalism" has been used by historians to describe the economic, legal, political and social relationships that existed in Europe in the medieval era.

Northern Mesopotamia is made up of hills and plains. The land is quite fertile due to seasonal rains, and the rivers and streams flowing from the mountains. Early settlers farmed the land and used timber, metals and stone from the mountains nearby. Ancient Mesopotamia was located in a piece of the "The Fertile Crescent." It was located in an area now known as southern Iraq. The city of Mesopotamia was about 300 miles long and 150 miles wide. It was located between two rivers which were referred to by the ancient Greeks as the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Tepe Gawra is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement in the Mosul region of northwest Iraq that was occupied between 5000 and 1500 BC. It contains remains from the Halaf period, the Ubaid period, and the Uruk period (4000–3100 BC). Tepe Gawra contains material relating to the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period c. 5,500–5,000 BC. A brief exploratory dig was performed by Austen Layard before 1850. The site was formally excavated in 1927, 1931, and 1932 for a total of 8 months by archaeologists from a joint expedition of the University of Pennsylvania and the American Schools of Oriental Research, led by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser.

In 2001, Mitchell Rothman reanalyzed the data from previous excavations that did not use precise stratigraphic techniques. He considerably clarified the stratigraphy of the site.

The Indus people were greatly reliant on trade. They traded with many different civilizations like Persia, Mesopotamia and China. They were also known to trade in the Arabian Gulf region, central parts of Asia, portions of Afghanistan and northern and western India. Other trade goods included terracotta pots, gold, silver, metals, beads, flints for making tools, seashells, pearls, and colored gem stones, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise. There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations. 

Harappan Civilization :-
Harappan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization, mainly in the North-Western regions of South Asia, extending from today's North-Eastern Afghanistan to Pakistan, and North-Western India. It was one of the oldest civilizations of the world.

Mesopotamian Civilization :-
The Mesopotamian civilization was a historical region situated within the Tigris-Euphrates river system, in today's most of Iraq plus Kuwait, the Eastern part of Syria, South-Eastern Turkey, and regions along the Turkish-Syrian and Iran-Iraq borders. It was also one of the oldest civilizations of the world.

Difference Between Harappan and Mesopotamian Civilization -

1) In Harappan civilization, the houses were built to the East of citadel while in Mesopotamian civilization, the houses were built around distinct palaces and temples & dedicated to the patron Gods or Goddesses.

2) Most of the Harappan people lived in small villages while most of the Mesopotamians lived in cities and towns.

3) The Harappans had walls built to protect their houses while the Mesopotamians had walls built to protect their cities and town.

4) The Harppan people were peaceful in comparison to the Mesopotamians.

5) The Harappans traded in cotton, beads, other art and jewellery while the Mesopotamians traded in precious stones.

6)The Hrappans grew melons, lettuce, and general fruits and vegetables that they ate while the Mesopotamians grew flex and used it for oil, net, cloth & food.

7) As far as the technology is concerned, the Harappans established exact measurement and weighing system while the Mesopotamians first created the wheel.

During 9^th century of Europe local wars became common. There were frequent localised wars in Europe from the ninth century onwards Good cavalry was required for wars. The amateur present-soldiers were not good enough for those wars. This need was fulfilled by the knights. In this way, knights became a distinct group to achieve this aim. The fall of the feudal power resulted in the decline of the knight during the 15^th century.

The civilization of Ancient Mesopotamia grew up along the banks of two great rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris. In the midst of a vast desert, the peoples of Mesopotamia relied upon these rivers to provide drinking water, agricultural irrigation, and major transportation routes. Agriculture was the main economic activity in ancient Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is important because it is located in the Fertile Crescent. D. Mesopotamia is significant for two reasons, one: It is the first civilization, and two: many important inventions and innovations were first introduced in the city states of Mesopotamia.

The word Australopithecus is derived from Latin word ‘austral’ means southern and a Greek word ‘pithekos’ which means ‘apes’. Hence, the word means southern apes (Southern Monkey). The earliest human is called so because he resembles them.

The term urbanization denotes an increase in the urban population at a rate higher than that of the increase in the rural population. Features of Urbanization
The important features of urbanization are as follows:

1. Fast Growth in Urban Population: Between 1961-71 the growth rate of population in urban areas was over 38%. This was followed by a still higher growth of 46 per cent during the decade of 1971-81. Between 1981-91, the growth was, no doubt, somewhat less at over 36 per cent but it was not inconsiderable.

2. Large Increase in big owns: Another noteworthy feature of urbanization is that there has been a substantial increase in the population of big towns. A substantial increase in population has taken place since 1901 in the big towns, and that a major proportion of urban population resides in them.

 
3. Regional Disparities in Urbanization: The above description provides the all-India picture. However, the variations in the level of urbanization in various states are indeed large and rates of urbanization show surprises. Again, there are variations within the regions of each state. All this point to the diversity of conditions/causes that operate in this vast country, and is suggestive of different perceptions and policies in this field.

1. Mesopotamian Writing:

• The first Mesopotamian tablets, written around 3200 BCE, contained picture-like signs and numbers.
• Writing began when society needed to keep records of transactions – because in city life transactions occurred at different times, and involved many people and a variety of goods
• Mesopotamians wrote on tablets of clay.

2. Modern Writing: The greatest legacy of Mesopotamia to the world is its scholarly tradition of time reckoning and mathematics, calender.

Sources: There is a rich collection of sources to study Roman history, like – texts, documents and material remains. 

1. Archaeological : a) Amphitheater, b) Amphorae, c) Colosseum, d) Statues, e) Aqueducts

2. (Literary) Written : (A) Texts –  Histories written by Contemporary Historians (B) Documents

3. Aerial Photographs

The royal capital of Mari flourished after 2000 BCE. Mari is situated much further upstream on the Euphrates; rather than on the fertile southern plain. Some communities in the kingdom of Mari had both farmers and pastoralists. Most of its territory was used for pasturing sheep and goats. Exchange of materials was the norm between herders and farmers. But access or denial of access to water resources often led to conflict between herders and farmers. Nomadic communities of the western desert often came to the prosperous agricultural heartland. Some of them also worked as harvest laborers or hired soldiers. Some of them became prosperous and settled down. A few gained power to establish their own rule. Akkadians, Amorites, Assyrians and Aramaeans were examples of such herders.