Directions:

Questions about the material from chapters 15 and 16 are posted in this discussion board. Each question is in a separate discussion thread.

Each student is to make four posts:

• Two posts answer questions I pose in the discussion threads (Due Sunday 10/20). The posts that answer assigned questions are not full essays but contributions to answering parts of the question in least one paragraph.
• Two posts reply to a classmates (Due Tuesday 10/22). The replies must offer additional information, analysis, perspectives, and/or connections to today or other historical events and must also be at least one paragraph.

Discussion posts must:

1. Make an historical claim. (Why is a person or event important? How does this material connect to another topic of the class or current events? What was the cause and/or effect of someone or an idea or an event? etc.)

2. Support your claim with factual historical evidence. Using the textbook and/or online resources in the class is required. Including additional outside sources is optional; however, students are to use qualified, professional sources only.

3. Include proper citation of borrowed material (textbook, online lesson resources, outside resources).
a. You must include citation at the end of each sentence (or group of sentences) that contains quotes, paraphrasing, and / or statistics.
b. You must also include correct bibliographic information at the end of your post listing the sources you used, in alphabetic order.
**See “Citation Assistance Resources” in the “Syllabus & Course Information” page of the class website for online help with citation.**

**Students may not add additional discussion threads. Students may ask questions within the discussion threads and answer one another’s questions.**

Discussion Rubric: Maximum Score = 100 Points

*Each discussion is worth 100 points. (Up to 25 points will be assigned to each of the four posts in a discussion for a total of 100 points.) The rubric below is a guide for grading the posts in the discussions. Grading will be based on the quality of the work, not simply minimum word count for each post:

• Responds, meets requirements (minimum 125 word response), analyzes, uses examples from reading, but also opens discussion for further inquiry; offers new ideas, connections, or applications; responds with depth and insight: 20-25 points
• Responds, meets requirements, but also analyzes, uses examples from reading: 15-19 points
• Responds, meets requirements, but informs or simply reports: 12-15 points
• Responds but does not meet requirements: 0-11 points
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  2. Discuss the methods used by the Aztecs to create an empire: to consolidate power and maintain rule over such a large, diverse population.A- The Aztecs were able to form a large empire mainly due to a highly sophisticated agricultural system that included irrigation as well as them possessing a strong military. In 1428, the Aztecs formed a three-way alliance with the Texocans and Tabucans in order to establish dominance in the Mexican Basin (Sivers, Desnoyer, and Stow 345). The Aztecs formed a powerful military force by inheriting the Toltec’s weaponry, improving on it with the creation of new weapons such as bows and arrows, and creating military schools for elites as well as commoners; furthermore, it is estimated that this led to the formation of about a quarter of a million soldiers (Sivers, Desnoyer, and Stow 345). The large military allowed the empire to grow through conquests and fear of warfare which led to it adopting a form of imperialism in the region. This is similar to the Roman Empire’s use of military force in order to expand its empire while also maintaining social stability with the use of garrisons to suppress any form of rebellion in conquered areas. It is important to note that the Aztecs were able to maintain a large population through agricultural innovations such as irrigation.The Aztecs were devout to their gods and engaged in a wide array of ceremonies as well as rituals directed to them. They used a violent sacrificial system in order to please their gods; furthermore, Moctezuma, who began his rule in 1440 A.D., was known for using harsh ruling practices. During different times of the year, different groups had to provide sacrifices which was generally in the form of slaves or captives (History Channel 1). This may have evoked a sense of fear among the common people and allowed the empire’s leader to rule with fear and terror in order to create loyalty to the state. This rule by fear would be one of the main causes of the empire’s downfall during the “Expedition Era” as it would form opposition groups that would provide aid to Hernan Cortes in an attempt to “free themselves” from the harsh Aztec rule.3.Religion: Hapsburgs and OttomansCOLLAPSE
  

  Charles V of the Habsburg Empire, otherwise known as the Holy Roman Empire won by way of war, the title of Emperor from the Pope. This gave him power over all the German principalities and the monarchs of Western Christianity. This basically made him the political head for Western Christianity, which would have been the direct counterpart of the sultan. The Sultan claimed Caliphate which was the highest-ranking position in the empire. He ruled over the Ottoman empire which practiced the Islamic religion and would be referred to as Muslim. Because the Sultan was the powerhead of these Islamic peoples he was expected to be a devout Muslim and was given complete control. Even though these religions are very different their powerheads were treated in very similar ways. Both were given absolute authority over the empires they ruled because of their religious rules. However, the sultan seemed to be held to a much higher standard having to follow the laws of Islamic religion very seriously in order to take control of the Caliph. While Charles V earned the title from winning a war and being gifted the title from the Pope (394).