Western Civilization I / Unit 1 WC1 0019 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Classifying Mesopotamian Rule: City-State, Extraction, Bureaucracy
The idea
The exam calls the Near East's political story political evolution, and this unit supplies its first three stages. A city-state is one city and its fields under a king and priesthood. An extraction empire conquers many cities and pumps their wealth to a capital by force. A bureaucratic empire holds many cities by offices, records and taxes. To classify a case, ask two questions: how many cities, and what holds them.
In practice
Four cases. A walled town whose king and priests share a patron god, at war with its neighbors every season: one city, held by its own god, so a city-state, the Uruk pattern. A conqueror who installs governors, keeps a standing army and boasts that thousands eat at his table: many cities, held by soldiers, so an extraction empire, the Sargon pattern. A dynasty with three tax regions, archives of every transaction and governors checked by generals: many cities, held by offices, so a bureaucratic empire, the Ur III pattern. A king who issues one code for all his cities and centers trade on his capital: many cities, held by law and administration, so bureaucratic again, the Babylonian pattern with a code added.
Where people slip
The stages overlap. Sargon used governors too, and Ur III still needed an army. Classify by what mainly holds the cities together, and expect the exam to test the contrast between force and office.
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