What are the major characteristics of a universalizing
religion, for the period from 300 to 600 CE? In what specific
ways do Christianity, Buddhism, and other religious
developments in this period fit this model? What traditions do
not?

1. What factors contributed to the “fall” of the Roman Empire in
   the west? How do Christianity and the rise of Byzantium
   challenge the notion that Rome “fell”?
2. Explain the role of the Sasanians and the Sogdians in
   fostering connections along the Silk Roads.
3. What are some of the ways in which Buddhism universalized
   this period, and what impact did this have on South Asia and
   East Asia?
4. In what ways did Teotihuacan and later the Mayans bring a
   degree of unity to parts of Mesoamerica? What factors
   impeded them?