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Q10. What might have been the advantages and challenges of ruling a large empire in the absence of modern communication systems?
Concept
How Were Empires Administered?
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Suggested answer / synthesis:
this question requires interpretation or application. The answer below is built from the chapter evidence.
- Advantage: dividing a large territory into provinces, divisions, districts and villages allowed administration to be handled at several levels instead of every matter reaching the king.
- Advantage: the chapter shows district officers consulting important residents, and in several later kingdoms village institutions handled major local functions. This would make local administration more practical.
- Challenge: without modern communication, orders and information would travel slowly across distant regions, making coordination more difficult.
- Challenge: rulers therefore had to depend heavily on provincial, district and local officers and institutions to carry out administration away from the centre.
Revision: Question 10
Advantage
Levels of administration shared the work
Advantage
Local officers and village bodies handled local matters
Challenge
Orders travelled slowly; heavy reliance on officials
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Layered administration was the answer to governing distance without fast communication
