The First Great Empire Leaders: Shi Huangdi, Darius, and Nebuchadnezzar

The First Great Empire Leaders: Shi Huangdi, Darius, and Nebuchadnezzar

Background information:

Shi Huangdi: The Qin dynasty that he ruled replaced the Zhou Dynasty. He was the first ruler of this dynasty, so he is known as Shi Huangdi, which translates into English as “first emperor”. He brought unity to China by applying Legalist ideas to the empire. Legalism is a Chinese political philosophy based on the idea that a highly efficient and powerful government is the key to social order.

Darius: Darius’ father, Cambyses, had ruled for eight years, but after his death the Persian control weakened. Darius decided that he should take it upon himself to bring back strength to the Persian empire. At the time he was just a member of the king’s bodyguard, but with the help the “Ten Thousand Immortals” (elite Persian soldiers), he regained the throne and regained the throne.

Nebuchadnezzar: Nebuchadnezzar is known for restoring the great of Babylon. Babylon had been burned by Sennacherib, an Assyrian king. But when the Chaldeans defeated the Assyrians and Nebuchadnezzar became king he restored this great city and invented his hanging gardens, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world .

Compare/Contrast:

Based on their background information, clearly all of these leaders were great contributors to their empire’s success. However, they all had different ways of ruling, which made each one of them the great rulers they were.

            Shi Huangdi was the ruler of China during its period of unification and he unified this great empire by applying Legalist ideas. He begun this process of unification by ending all internal battles among the different states in China, which helped make China stronger and more whole. Next, Shi Huangdi attacked northern invaders and came out victorious, making China double its original size. He did many unordinary things unlike the other empire rulers, such as killing hundreds of Confucian scholars, and burning their books and work. He did this because Confucianism disagrees with Legalism and Shi Huangdi believed that if there was no political opposition, then China would become more strong and unified.

All of the Persian Empire during Darius' rule.
https://espliego.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/darius-the-great/

 Darius was another great ruler, who ruled the Persian empire after his father’s death. Darius’ act of seizing the throne shows just how determined he was. He started his reign similar to Shi Huangdi’s by ending all internal revolts during the first three years of his ruling. Darius also focused on government, establishing an organized administration over the next few years of his reign. Just like Shi Huangdi he focused on making the empire unified before making his conquest. After he unified Persia he conquered lands in present-day Afghanistan and even the river valleys in some parts of India. Eventually, the Persian empire extended over 2,500 miles, controlling lands such as Egypt, Anatolia, and a part of India.

The city of Babylon and it's great hanging gardens

Nebuchadnezzar ruled the small Chaldean empire, that ruled after they defeated the Assyrians. Nebuchadnezzar started his time as ruler by unifying the Chaldean empire. He unified the Chaldeans by restoring the great city of Babylon. This city was surrounded by thick walls that protected the Chaldeans from invaders. This city’s highest building was a seven-tiered ziggurat with a height of over 300 feet. This great ziggurat shows how important religion was to the Chaldean empire. However, he didn’t do much conquering, which led to the downfall of the empire after shortly after his death.

            

Work Cited:

Holt McDougal Online, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=9780547521107.