Task: Compare The Great Ming Empire, The Mughal Empire, The Safavid Empire, or  the Ottoman Empire. It could be any of them, but I need at least two.

For this essay assignment, you will compare and contrast any two of the empires discussed in this unit, discussing similarities and differences between them. Possible topics that you can consider for the comparison and contrast in the essay are strengths and weaknesses of the empires and/or rulers, economic policies, military systems, empire expansion efforts, wars and conquests, forms of government and/or administration, religious systems and policies, social and cultural developments, problems faced within the empire, empirical legacies, and interactions between the two empires, if any.

Expectations and Criteria for Success:

You should base your discussion with the information in the course content, but outside research is allowed if needed.  DO NOT use Wikipedia as a source.  As always, be sure to keep track of where you find your information so that you can provide citations in your final essay.  Essays should be typed in 12-point font with a simple, clean font such as Times New Roman. Use 1″ inch margins on all sides and double-space the text. Your essays should each be around 1000 words.

Successful essays should be carefully organized, with strong thesis statements and specific evidentiary support.  In your introduction, introduce both of the empires that you will be discussing and lay out the topic for the essay.  The body of the essay will include the comparison and the contrast of the empires.  Conclude by discussing which of the two empires you think was more effectively established or had a stronger foundation, including the reasons why you reached this conclusion.  Be sure to revise and edit carefully.