Classical empires were the inception of organised civilisations. These were defined by their economy, government, religion, and infrastructure. Whether it was the Romans, the Chinese dynasties. Or the Mauryans in India, all of the classical empires shared a multitude of similarities in the benefits afforded to their people. Safety, education, and an organised government were some of the benefits afforded by these empires to their people. However, these benefits were accompanied by difficulties in maintaining the empire, one of these being the mismanagement of money. Safety was one of the benefits given to the people. In India, for example, its massive military force provided security from invasions and/or wars. Megasthenes stated that, “the
Post Classical politics first came to be when Kong Fuzi or Confucius brought it up during the classical era. Confucius was an educator and a political advisor. At the time, China was experiencing problems and Confucius helped to settle everything. He passed his knowledge on to students who then created analects which are political and cultural traditions that Confucius had taught. Confucius was a very wise man. He did not answer philosophical questions because it did not help to solve the problems at hands and he refused to answer religious question because it was too complex for mere human beings to understand. He believed that political and social harmony came from appropriate arrangements of human relationships with one another. To him, the country should not have been ruled by someone born into power, but to someone who was erudite and incredibly meticulous. When the post classical era came around Yang Jian brought China back to an un-centralized rule after their collapse during the Han dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty they came up with the “bureaucracy based on merit” (Bentley and Zeigler, p. 378) or by recruiting government officials.
The Han dynasty and the Roman Empire were both powerful empires during their era. However, the ways they obtained their power varied greatly because they used different methods that involved their political structures, which revolved around their centralized governments. The Han dynasty and the Roman Empire acquired very unique techniques that allowed them to control social and political. For example, the Han dynasty adopted a religion known as Confucianism, which monitored everything in the lives of the Chinese. Contrary, the Roman Empire established a monarchy but allowed its residents more freedom as compared to the Han. Nevertheless, the two empires were similar in political structures in that the power was depended on the wealthy that were in authority, the peasants struggled with their lives because of concerning issues such as food supply. The empires were able to create and preserve a peaceful and sustainable lives for a long time, unlike the past empires. Social distribution were under the control of the wealthiest and they could effortlessly impact community viewpoints and interactions among the residents. These two empires existed during the Classical Period had comparable and various social, political, religions, as well as economical values and practices. However, they both possessed differences and similarities in their economic and social perspectives even though the two empires were established around the same era.
The Baroque era spanned the times of about 1600 to 1750 and was characterized by ornate melodies and characterized by the many religious musical forms such as the oratorio and cantina. The Classical era spanned from about 1743 to about 1820 and more or less built upon the previous period, the Baroque period. Instrumentally the Baroque era introduced the sonata, symphony and concerto in which there was a small group of instruments accompanying several soloists. On the other hand within the classical period the configuration of the concert was that of a single soloist with and orchestra consisting of strings and brass would accompany this soloist. The musical styles and use of it within operas also differed between these two eras. For example within the Baroque era there would be two or more singers
Many empires have risen and fallen from the beginning of human origins, they all have mutual features that led to their success. The river valley of Ancient Egypt in Northern Africa thrived from 3200 BCE to 1640 BCE. Right above that The Ancient Greece empire began in 750 BCE and ended in 338 BCE. The Aksum empire started its reign in 100 CE and ended in 750 CE. All three of these empires rose and fell because of geography, which demonstrates how geography truly is the mother of history. The river valley of Ancient Egypt had plentiful resources and a stable river that delivered steady supply of silt. Ancient Greece had control over the sea and land that led them to great prosperity. The Aksum empire was an economic powerhouse because of its strategic location and resources. These three prosperous societies all owed their success to one thing, geography.
There were several strengths of the Roman Empire which enabled it to survive for more than four hundred years. These strengths included a strong foundation, having been built off of the Roman Republic; the standardization across the empire of many aspects of life, such as language, law, and especially the extension of citizenship, which made the empire more cohesive and easier to rule; and strong leaders, who were able to utilize the manipulation of the upper class and Senate, and the management of the military.
when the Gupta empire was at its height” (Exhibit A : The Gupta Empire 320-550 CE ). Chandragupta II was able to obtain success by ensuing both beneficial military alliances and an aggressive expansionist policy or expansion of territorial base or economic influence. Consequently, Chandragupta was able to control the vast Empire.In addition, as we come to learn that a Golden Age requires a lot of wealth, the government of the Gupta Dynasty regulated taxed trade and earned money from the land it owned in order to be able to fund many inventions. Also in “Exhibit B: Trade, Prosperity, and Wealth” it stated “ As evidence of the Gupta government’s control and support for trade in the economy, archaeologists have unearthed many coins created by the Gupta government. The coins show that the Gupta had the technology and power to mass-produce them, and the power needed to get merchants to use them”. This exemplifies how the Gupta Dynasty was able to experience a Golden Age because they first had a basis of a strong central government as demonstrated by the fact that they were able to influence and enforce a whole population of people to use the same coin to buy and sell goods. This also conveys how they were able reach a
Over time, ever-increasing taxation placed a massive burden on the Roman people with the majority of these taxes falling on the poorest members of society. The plight of the masses slowly ate away at the foundation of the Roman economy, especially following the final division of the empire in 395. The Roman economy in the West simply lost the ability to function in the face of overwhelming exterior and interior pressures”. This shows that to the author of this article, the economy played one of the bigger roles in the collapse of the Roman Empire. It also shows that the failing of the military, and the economic downfall were linked, the military gradually declined, and thus so did the economy of
The Mauryan Empire was a very intriguing empire, with rulers of different beliefs and ways of ruling, as well as antithetical ways that the rulers gained and maintained their power. Important events occurred during this period of time that affected future generations. The Empire’s people mainly had a Buddhist religion. The people of the Mauryan Empire contributed greatly to the fields of art, and architecture. The Mauryan Empire was very important to India’s way of life.
Most of the civilizations throughout history have been taken over or replaced by other civilizations due to disunity and chaos. Although an empire might seem prosperous, the decline and fall of empires are sometimes inevitable. Even though an empire might seem invincible, there are many factors that could lead to the sudden decline or fall of an empire. Over many centuries, historians have composed many reasons, such as weak militaries, economic burdens, dynastic successions, and external enemies, which have been known to contribute to the rise and fall of many once successful empires.
Throughout all of history, there has never been a single benevolent empire. Yes, some empires may have shown qualities of benevolence, but the keyword here is sustainability. It is impossible to sustain a benevolent empire because the indigenous population cannot be protected nor preserved, its economic needs cannot be supported, and self-government leads to rebellion.
During the era known as the time of the classical civilizations, there were numerous noticeable changes occurring in many civilizations and city-states around the world. In India, China, and Persia in particular, one could see the influence of religion and philosophy on the political and social structure of the time.
The great empires that flourished between 300 B.C.E and 200 B.C.E. can all be broken down into the four factors the contributed to their rise. Although each empire faced prolonged periods of conflict, all four empires succeeded in imposing unity and order among the people. The rise of these empires can be attributed to four specific factors crucial to their construction. The factors crucial to the rise of the great empires included having a centralized form of leadership with enforced uniform legal codes, having powerful military forces, a strong economy, and technological advances. Ultimately an efficiently run, centralized government along side powerful military forces caused the success of the empires however in the same not a decentralized form of leadership and weakened military attributed to the great empires eventual collapse.
Looking back through history on the classic civilizations, one will observe many strong and powerful empires. Empires such as the Romans, Greeks, Gupta, and the Han, all seemed so dominate and indestructible. However, as time has told, all these great empires have fallen into the history books as greatness that has passed. What is it that caused these great empires to fall, was it the results of external factors such as invasion, or the spread of a dominating religion, or was it due to internal factors such as political or economic issues. The answer to this question is found by examining two of the greatest classic empires, the Romans and the Hans. While there is no one single point of failure that caused these empires to collapse, after examination of these two empires it will become clear that the driving force that caused these empires to fall was due to internal issues. Issues such as failed political systems and economic issues were the main culprits in these empires’ demise.
Humanity found it’s footing in the fertile land area in Southwest Asia known as Mesopotamia. From this subtle piece of land came arising empires that held control over thousands of years. These civilizations managed to slowly develop into complex, highly efficient societies. Only by creating well thought out, organized, and maintained governments could these cities have flourished. Flowing through time, every ruler of every empire left a lasting effect on humanity’s development, from Assyria to Egypt to Persia.
What is an Empire? The definition of an empire is the extension of political rule by one people over another, different peoples. The extension of political rule usually comes through warfare. One group forcibly dictating it’s rule over another group. In my paper I will look at how Rome, China, and India extended their rule over their neighbors. I will also compare and contrast their hierarchical structures, historical literature, and emphasis on armed forces.