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, …show more content…
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
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.
Both Han China and Rome had to deal with a weakening government, which in both cases led to landlords ruling over the peasants. The landlords' demands were added to the heavy taxes peasants also had to pay, leading to extreme poverty. The two civilizations faced declining cultural innovation, caused by scholars not creating
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.
The Hans’ had shown a very characteristic feudal structure. They had emperor run the head of government and the emperor had to create the laws id the people, lead the arming force and as a chief executive officer when needed. They had also adopted the political system of the legalist and made the rules clear and harsh. Many tried to unify China through military and were able to defend and defeat other warring states around them. Their efforts were able to keep the formation but did not use brutal military forces and also tried building a wall known as “the Great Wall of China”. Soon later they were able to have positivity influence throughout china and sent standards for the Chinese written language and different stuff like currency, weights, and even measurements. Rome on the other hand was not your typical “rags to riches” story. Their empire’s political system had used Chinese domestic repercussions but had a brief transition into roman culture and did not last long. They governed small city states and always were watching the minority growth within the empire. They also had granted citizenship with very clear advantages and have things like a public office. Military units were big here to be known as legions and here the assimilation were kind and were offered to subject people.
To understand the fall of the Roman Empire, we first have to analyze the influence that had
According to Document One, the fall of Han China was because “the central government imposed increasingly heavy taxes on the peasants in the north”. This increase in taxes lead to flight and revolt of the people, and the Chinese central government lost power to private land-owning groups. The continuation of this issue is explained in Document Two, where we see that these powerful leaders created private
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.
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.
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
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...
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
...e seen as angry manifestations of heavens, of divine powers. After this things began to unravel. Eunuchs obtained more power turning court officials into a bloody political field. Peasant uprising called the Yellow Turban Rebellion threatened the imperial Capital. Then in 190 CE a war lord, Dong Zhou, took control of the imperial capital and placed a child, Liu Xie, as ruler. Although Liu Xie was a member of the Han family as he was placed there by Dong Zhou he was the one with true control. He killed the eunuchs and burned Luoyang. After time battle after battle to the imperial order until Liu Xie was removed from the throne in 220 CE, the last years of the Han dynasty. Wars continued and China would not be unified for another 350 years. This was the vast history of the Han dynasty that had unified china for over 400 years and paved the way for future generations.
Both the Han and Roman empires emphasized on territorial expansions. By utilizing their powerful militaries, they consolidated their power within and across borders, which created stable trade networks for their economic bases. Land equated to wealth and power. Through integration of the local domains, both empires succeeded in political stability. For the Han Empire, their expansion abroad pushed through ecological limits under Emperor Wu Di ( 181-87 BCE), who made military service compulsory. The army expanded bordered into northern Vietnam and southeastern China. Although there were military threats from the Xiongnu, the nomadic people of the north, Wu launched defense attacks that made ...
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.