In the Classical Era, the collapse of the Roman Empire was similar to the collapse of the Han Dynasty in that they both fell due to external and internal conflict. However, they differed in that the Roman Empire became politically and culturally fragmented while the Han Dynasty was reconstituted as a political and cultural whole.
The Roman Empire fell due to external and internal conflicts. The landscape of the empire was extremely mountainous. Historian Fernand Braudel argued that there was minimal contact between the people who lived in the mountains and those who did not. It became very hard for Roman officials to control these people and assimilate them to Roman culture. In addition, with Rome being in the heart of the Mediterranean,
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it was easy for them to conquer other regions. As a result of this, military elites rose to power. Their military was extremely powerful; however, they had a wide range of domestic issues. The Romans did not have a highly centralized government. Instead, they used local autonomy and the culture of the conquered people to rule. Rome was diverse to say the least, with people and cultures from all over Eurasia. This caused civil wars between rulers and the people. With a very weak state, Constantine adopted Christianity in order to standardize the empire in some way. The Edict of Milan recognized that the state would adopt Christianity. This caused problems because Rome was led by military leaders, not religious leaders. Edward Gibbon argued that Rome let their militaristic guard down when Christianity was adopted. Instead of focusing on the military, people were drawn to the religion. Since there was a bigger focus on the church than military, it gave the Germanic tribes the perfect opportunity to invade the empire. The Roman Empire ‘officially” fell in 476 CE when the last Roman leader was killed by the Germanic tribes. However, Henri Pirenne argued that the Roman Empire did not completely fall apart until the 7th century, when Mediterranean trade was completely cut off due to Arabic invasions. Once trade was cut off, the economy of the Western Roman Empire collapsed and it fell to the Arabs. Nevertheless, the Roman Empire fell to invaders, but was also weakened by their internal conflicts. Like the Roman Empire, the Han Dynasty fell due to external conflict.
Unlike the Roman Empire, the Han Dynasty was located on a steppe, so therefore they did not have natural protection from invasions. The scholars rose to power because the Han Dynasty greatly valued Confucian ideals. One of the things they venerated was agriculture, primarily because it would help the emperor to keep the Mandate of Heaven. As a result of their beliefs, they did not have a strong army to protect them from invaders. When the Xiongnu tribes invaded, they were unprepared, but they eventually came up with a solution: the Tribute System. They would exchange gifts using the Confucian idea of filial piety. The Han emperor would show his dominance over the tribes by setting an example for them, which meant giving the tribes extravagant gifts like silk. Like the Roman Empire, the Han Dynasty also fell in part to internal conflict. Their main internal problem was the Iron and Salt Debates between the Legalists and Confucians. The Legalists wanted to keep their iron and salt monopolies because they produced government funds for strengthening their military, which was their approach to border protection. The Confucians opposed this idea because it supported mercantile practices, which was not the ideal Confucian profession because it could potentially weaken the emperor’s legitimacy. The disagreement caused tension between the two groups, which eventually led to a decline in the quality of life of the
citizens. There were also rebellions, such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion which disrupted civilian life. The abolishment of the monopolies hurt the Tribute System because some of the salt and iron was used to appease the nomads. Similarly to how the Germanic tribes invaded the Roman Empire, nomadic tribes such as the Huns and the Xiongnu invaded the Han dynasty, which ultimately led to its collapse, along with internal issues. The fall of the Roman Empire led to a fragmented Europe. The Roman Empire were culturally diverse because they used military elites. As they conquered each area they did, they incorporated their culture into their own to keep the new citizens from uprising. There were many different languages spoken and religions practiced in the peak of the Roman Empire. For example, 3 obelisks now in Rome and Paris were originally from Egypt, and were brought back to the empire by Augustus’ army. Worshipping the goddess Isis became very popular among Roman women, and there were even temples built in honor of her. This is because Augustus had incorporated the Egyptian polytheism along with Persian beliefs into his own Roman polytheism, to keep his conquered people happy. Not only did Rome respect other religious values, but they also respected other cultures, mainly Greek culture. When the Roman Empire fell in 27 BC, it became fragmented because people differed culturally. After the empire fell, people would move and establish their own culture and traditions to a certain place, and all of its followers would do the same. The Roman empire was never reconstituted, despite efforts of Charlemange and other emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. Today, the land that was once the Roman empire is now made up of 40 Afro-Eurasian countries. As a result of the Roman empire not being one homogenous culture, it became politically and culturally fragmented. In contrast to the Roman Empire, when the Han dynasty fell, it was a political and cultural whole because they used status elites to run their empire. Using status elites, the people of the Han dynasty were all Confucian. Therefore, the Hans shared certain values and they did not tolerate other cultures -- status elites converted everyone to Confucianism. People were urged to practice filial piety and the 5 confucian relationships. Since status elites dominated the empire, social harmony was achieved, the empire had equilibrium and the emperor could keep the mandate of heaven. These actions taken by the emperor would ensure there to be no risk to his authority and his empire. Since the geography of the empire was mainly flat, this Confucian lifestyle was able to be spread. The entire empire was one under Confucius’ word. Their languages and measurements also stayed similar throughout the empire, so when the Han Dynasty fell, the common culture was acknowledged and then Han Dynasty remained intact, a unified state and was able to be reconstituted into the Sui Dynasty years later. The land that was once taken up by the Han Dynasty is now almost an exact replica of China’s political margins today. In the Classical Era from 600 BCE - 600 CE, the collapse of the Roman Empire was similar to the collapse of the Han Dynasty in that they both fell due to external and internal conflict. On the other hand, their collapses differed in that the Roman Empire became politically and culturally fragmented after it fell while the Han Dynasty was reconstituted as a political and cultural whole into the Sui Dynasty.
In a period of four centuries the Han, Roman, and Gupta empires fell. First in China, then in the Mediterranean, and lastly in India. The civilizations deteriorated from foreign invasion, internal conflicts, and internal weakness that made it to where invaders could invade and cause the decline of these major civilizations.
The Roman empire was a very large and successful empire, although like many things it had to come to an end. The three primary reasons that had most contributed to Rome's fall is foreign invasions, military weakness , and weak leadership.
Rome was once one of the world's greatest empire until around 200 BCE when Rome started to crumble. The Fall of Rome did not happen suddenly, it took about 1100 years to take place. The first two centuries as an empire were named the "Pax Romana", which meant the time of Roman peace. The Romans were living the life, without a worry in the world. So how and why did Rome start to collapse, if the empire was was doing so grand and magnificent? To answer that question, the primary reasons that Rome started to decline were that the Romans had difficulty with their government which caused social problems/decay, their military was falling behind on their duties and became indolent, and natural disasters.
Han China and Rome, despite having some political and cultural differences, fell in ways that were almost directly parallel to one another. Both civilizations experienced declines in everything from culture and population to economy and government, as well as both suffering from attacks by nomadic invaders. However, each civilization's fall had their own unique factors, and the lasting impact of their falls differed greatly.
The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were two grand empires that rose out of preexisting territories and provided relative peace over wide areas. The collapse of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE), which was the first great land-based empire in East Asia, came after a period of war, confusion, and tyrannical rule. Due to the political disorder that stemmed from the early dynastic activity, the emergence of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE- 228 CE) sprung to focus on restoring order. On the other hand, the rise of the Roman Empire (44 BCE- 476 CE) originated from consolidating authority over aristocratic landlords and overriding the democratic elements of the earlier Republic. Instead, the Roman Empire redefined the concept of “citizen” as subjects to the Roman emperor. Both empires shared similar agendas to exploit their vast territories and resources, which helped them expand their political dominance; however, despite having similar political goals and foundations, their government system, cultural ideologies and imperial expansionist natures diverged.
Tokugawa Japan and the Ming Dynasty are both very similar. For centuries Japan and China have shared their differences through their customs and traditions, but also share commonly a few similarities.They both share a unique history whether it’s technology, uniform or how they constructed their country to what it is today. There will be comparing and contrasting between Tokugawa Japan and the Ming dynasty, which through this essay marking the key topics of government, economy and religion.
...ther religions since they never really comitted to one main religion. Han China spread Confucianism by leading Confucius lives, they used Confucius ideas for their law codes and taught Confucius ideas to their children. The Confucian ideas spread by the Han helped rulers like Wudi have long reigns of power by embracing rule by morals and ethics. It also helped spread written exams as ways to determine peoples places and jobs in society based off of merit as opposed to putting anyone anywhere just to give people jobs. China also had a growing population of Daoists who believed in the power of nature. As time progressed both of their societies changed their religions. Rome slowly progressed from a basic Hellenistic polytheism to the once persecuted Christianity. Meanwhile China, which was mainly a Confucian and Daoist led society began to accept and embrace Buddhism.
The Han Dynasty was established in 221 BCE by the rebel leader of the peasants, Liu Bang. Religion not only played a role in the Han dynasty’s rise, but also in their fall through conversion. On the other side of the spectrum, the Roman Empire between 33 and 300, were also undergoing change through religious beliefs. Similarly, both the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire were built by a spread of religious beliefs. In my opinion, religion is the most significant difference between the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty China based on its effects on the political rule and nature of political authority during both eras. Religion is the most significant difference because societal practices and power structure of the two eras stem from the different beliefs. The Han Dynasty is built up from the spread of Confucianism. The Roman Empire is built up from the spread of Christianity. The two religion’s
Similarly to many ancient societies, the Chinese dynasties and societies flourished along the fertile land around rivers. The societies were based on agriculture, and engaged in trade networks along the Silk Road. The societies were ruled by semi-divine monarchies, with a class system. Unlike many of the other ancient societies, China’s rulers were chosen by The Mandate of Heaven, thus creating the dynastic cycle. China began to spread it’s ideals and products along the Silk Road, therefore influencing societies such as Persia, Greece and Rome.
To understand the fall of the Roman Empire, we first have to analyze the influence that had
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.
Confucianism became popular during the Han Dynasty as it was the state religion and had a great impact on East Asia (Confucianism 1, pg. 7). Born in 551 BCE in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Confucius himself absorbed the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha (Confucianism 1, pg. 2) He had a set of virtues that he believed a functioning society should stand by such as benevolence, love and rites. Confucius wanted China to return to the old days when people were loyal to their rulers and rulers were polite and caring towards their people. He believed rulers s...
There are so many powerful countries and governments today, but have you ever wondered what were the most powerful ancient empires and what happened to them over the years. The Roman Empire was at once a very flourishing and thriving place to live, but then all of a sudden it began to fall and decline until it was a weak and vulnerable empire. Historians debate the issue of why it declined and eventually fell. They ask themselves the question, what are the main reasons for the fall of Rome? The main reasons for the fall of Rome were their military struggles, political problems, and the disasters they encountered during that time period.
Ancient Egypt and Ancient China often seem like polar opposites in almost every way. However, in one way, they are more similar than most people think. The beliefs of both of these civilizations were remarkably parallel, yet perplexingly different at the same time. Religion before 600 B.C.E. varied from society to society all around the globe, with just a few major religions taking hold in large areas. In both Egyptian and Chinese religions, they adhered to a polytheistic religion. Boths religions believed there were many gods who individually ruled over the many different parts of life, instead of one god ruling over all. Both Egyptian and Chinese cultures believed in life after death. Each one of these religions believed in some form of
The Tang Dynasty (618 -907 A.D), also known as China’s glorious revelation, was a time of major change both politically and economically in the Chinese Empire. During this time period, trade became greater than ever. The military power strengthened. The population also increased during this time period from fifty million to eighty million in just two centuries with its large population base, the dynasty was able to raise professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers in dominating Inter Asia. The Tang also has a strong influence on its neighboring states such as Korea (which was at the time made if of three kingdoms) and Japan. During this time period the Silk Road expanded and trade