Note that neither the Han dynasty nor the Tang dynasty started out occupying as much territory as the maps from part A show. The maps show the dynasties’ territories only at the height of each empire. In about 50 to 100 words, explain what you think likely helped each empire spread over so much territory. Was it trade, conquest, or some mixture of both? Be sure to support your answer with evidence, and don’t hesitate to look up additional information if you need help with your answer.

- "sack of constantinople, (april 1204). the diversion of the fourth crusade from the holy land to attack, capture, and pillage the byzantine city of constantinople divided and dissipated the efforts of the christians to maintain the war against the muslims. the fourth crusade was corrupted from its purpose early on."

- "the crusades were a series of religious wars undertaken by the latin church. the first crusade arose after a call to arms in 1095 sermons by pope urban ii. the first crusade unleashed a wave of impassioned, pious catholic fury, which was of constantinople, the capital of the christian-controlled byzantine empire."

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chronological thinking is an indispensable tool to structure a historical narrative and to give meaning to a sequence of events. the final section presents the results of a survey to test the chronological thinking of lower secondary school students carried out by the educational research institute.