印度India
The Indus Valley （印度河流域）had long been divided into rival kingdoms.（互相竞争的王国）  In 321 BCE., Chandragupta Maurya （旃（同“毡”）陀罗笈多，生卒年月不详，即“月护王”，印度摩揭陀国孔雀王朝的缔造者，以武力结束希腊对旁遮普省的统治，建立古代印度第一个统一的帝国）founded the Maurya dynasty. （孔雀王朝公元前321-184年） The Mauryan Empire had a strong central government and an proficient bureaucracy, （职业官僚机构）a system of operating government through departments run （管理、运行）by officials.

罗马帝国Roman Empire
By 270 BCE, （公元前）Rome controlled all of Italy.  They also conquered most of southern Europe and parts of Asia Minor. （小亚细亚，亚洲西部一半岛，属土耳其）This expansion led to a civil war （内战）and the end of the Republic when Julius Caesar took power in 48 BCE.  After his murder, Caesar's grandnephew, Augustus,（奥古斯都，罗马帝国第一代皇帝，原名屋大维，元老院奉之以“奥古斯都”，在位时扩充版图，改革政治，奖励文化艺术） became Emperor.  Under Augustus, a 200 year long peace began, which is called the Pax Romana.（罗马帝国治下的和平）  The Pax Romana became a time of cultural and intellectual achievements for Rome, and saw the return of the monarchy to Rome.（君主制在罗马的回归）

During the Middle Ages,（中世纪，公元500—1500年左右） kings and strong nobles（贵族） battled with the Roman Catholic Church for supreme power.  Beginning in England and France, kings began to strengthen their central power, and restrict the Church.

The struggle grew especially fierce over lay investiture, （世俗权力）or the power to name Bishops（主教） and other church officials within the country.  This fighting later resulted in the foundation of nation-states, under many different political systems.In Spain, England, France, Austria, Prussia and Russia, absolute monarchies （专制君主制）were established.  Each had a different level of success.  Absolute monarchies also existed in Mughal India（莫卧儿帝国：莫卧儿人即印度的穆斯林，尤指16世纪征服印度而建立穆斯林帝国的蒙古人） and Ottoman（奥斯曼土耳其人、奥斯曼帝国的、奥斯曼王朝的） Asia Minor & Africa.

European Feudalism
About 500 CE,（Christian Era公元，AD应该是拉丁语缩写）much of western Europe was left without a strong centralized government due to the breakdown of the Roman Empire. （公元前27年至公元476年罗马奴隶制国家） With little organized resistance, Germanic invaders raided western European cities and monasteries.（monastery修道院）  Because kings were often too weak to repel the invaders, many city dwellers moved into the countryside in hopes of greater safety.  As a result of the invasions, and a weak central government, a new social and political system known as feudalism developed.  Strong local lords formed a strict code of behavior and allegiances which became the foundation of feudal life. （封地的、领地的、封建的）For example, the king controlled huge tracts of land.  He would give his support and a large piece of land, called a fief, （封地、采邑）to a powerful lord in return for loyalty and military support. This meant the lord was now a vassal （诸侯、封臣）of the king.
Feudal Japan
Japan's feudal period lasted from the 12th century until the 19th century.  During this period, society was divided in different classes.  At the top, was the Emperor, although he had little real power.  Japan was ruled by the Shogun, who was a military leader with near absolute control. The most successful was the Tokugawa Shogunate, （德川：创建日本德川幕府的德川家族，1603年由德川家康创建，统一全国）which ruled Japan from 1603 until 1868.In Japan, the real political and military power was in the hands of the shogun.  （幕府将军）Much like in Europe, the shogun distributed lands to his loyal vassals, who were called daimyo.  （大名：日本封建时代的大领主）The daimyo then granted lands to their warriors, the samurai. （日本武士） Japanese warriors lived according to a code of conduct known as bushido, （武士道精神）which was even stricter than that in Europe. A disgraced samurai was expected to perform seppuku (切腹自杀commit suicide) in order to maintain his family's honor.