Why Empires Fall · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Why Empires Fall

History · World History · ages 13-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Rome and Han China both fell. What did their endings share?

    • The same invader on the same day
    • Identical laws and gods
    • Costly frontiers and hungry years

  2. Which three causes turn up in more than one collapse?

    • One lost battle and nothing else
    • Overstretch, disease, and bad harvests
    • A single unlucky comet

  3. A single dramatic event is usually enough to explain a collapse.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Maya cities and Rome both ended. Where did they differ?

    • They fell in the same year
    • They spoke the same language
    • Maya rule sat in many cities while Rome ruled as one

  5. An empire doubles its borders but its army stays the same. What strain grows?

    • Joy, since maps look nicer
    • Overstretch, since each soldier guards more land
    • Hunger, since soldiers eat maps

  6. Songhai fell to one single blow with no troubles before it.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Two writers explain a fall. One blames one battle, one lists five strains. Who convinces you?

    • The five strains writer, since falls need piled causes
    • The one battle writer, since short tales win
    • Neither, since falls have no causes

  8. A king dies with three heirs and no clear rule. What danger grows?

    • A broken succession, as heirs fight for the throne
    • A golden age, since kings multiply
    • A harvest, since fields rejoice
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Why Empires Fall W1-mt_ofR2rPlIkQ-s1

  1. Costly frontiers and hungry years · Both paid dearly for borders while harvests failed.
  2. Overstretch, disease, and bad harvests · Stretched lands, sickness, and failed harvests repeat across cases.
  3. False · One blow only lands because many strains already weakened the state.
  4. Maya rule sat in many cities while Rome ruled as one · Comparing shows one shared strain but different shapes of rule.
  5. Overstretch, since each soldier guards more land · More border per soldier means thin defence everywhere.
  6. False · Rebellions, invasion, civil war, and weak income piled first.
  7. The five strains writer, since falls need piled causes · Cases repeat the same strains, while single battles differ each time.
  8. A broken succession, as heirs fight for the throne · Unclear succession turns heirs into rivals and splits the state.
Worksheet · LightMySky