China. A series of uprisings against the Qin Empire erupts, led by regional elites, disgruntled commoners, and even some imperial officials. The Qin Empire was probably the most ambitious totalitarian experiment in pre-modern human history, before the modern era (which saw Stalin, Ceausescu, Hitler, Kim Il Sung, Pol Pot, and so on). It attempted to regiment tens of millions of people according to rigid military standards, provoking widespread popular discontent.
