CC Chapter 4
The Hans and Romans are two major systems that flourished around 200 B.C.E-200 C.E) that were vastly similar in political structures and beliefs but were also very much different in both of these topics. The Hans and The Romans were only aware of each other, never had direct contact but still flourished widely in their time and shaping the world to what it is today. They both used supernatural sanction to support their rule in the political society but different in many different areas from the way their legal systems were built to who and how they ran their dynasty. The Hans and Romans had also shared many belief systems using what is defined as “universal terms” but had different types of social classes
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amongst the religions. Both are very similar is in politics to religion but both convey different details in each of the structures. To start off, The Hans’ had characterized different political structures from the Romans.
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.
Even they show many different political structures they both are the same in many ways. They both had used supernatural sanctions to support their rule to and defined themselves in universal terms. As of course language did serve in the political views and made a way of establishing an effective control over regions and growing a civil system. The Hans and Romans both established answers for the questions that help them build a strong government and that the laws were food and inherited both Chinese and Roman
traditions. As for politics being a major part of these two systems, the belief of each system had played out a major part in both flourishing systems but had many differences within their beliefs .The Hans had many traditional practices during the dynasty and it set a tone for the imperial rule they were growing. Buddhism was one of the main religions during the time and only believing in one god was their thing. Emperors were the Sons of Heaven and were the chosen ones to “govern the mandate of Heaven. Many practices were performed among officers to keep the mandate of heaven and earth equal and not to disturb peace. As for the Romans, they were just of the different side or relationships to their own society. The Romans had input the Greek Gods into the beliefs which was very prestigious to the families. Greek education was a very important thing many officials sent their sons to learn and regard the literature and art of the Greeks. Rome had also grabbed the concept of Christianity’s religion and that it was born differently in a small corner of the empire. The Pax Romana and many of the roman roads were said to help the new religion spread among the poor and lower classes giving them hope for a better life. The Rituals of the Romans also caused it to be very attractive and the style of life was very different to the people it was very new to them The differences help set the similarities within the two systems. They are both similar in which they both have a heaven in their beliefs and also had used super natural ways to support their rule morally. Within the religions they had gods and had a conception of there is not a supreme place. For their religions they had leaders in the system and the leaders took a big part in it as leaders or as military officials when needed. Both came from foreign religions and both took in the major parts of sustaining a culture through troubled times. As a final point, both the Han and Roman dynasty are vastly similar and different in many types of ways. Even though the political systems may seem different de the way they have social classes and were the officials stand they both used super natural ways to support their rule and they way they govern the people. Also the belief system was vastly different due to its origins coming from foreign places and that they were remotely different having to now know. or see each other until trade began was just something they thought was different and that soon after the ways they believed under one god and the mandate of heaven was a huge similarity between the groups may not be the right similarity but it is one of the now and major contributor to the dynasties
One of the similarities between two civilizations in terms of religion affect political hierarchy would be how did the kings keep their power. First of all, most of the emperors of China started out as a general in the military and that is the same for the Aztecs because they believed that the best warrior shall be the ruler of the Aztecs. In order for the Aztec rulers to stay in power, they eat human flesh and the human heart just like their gods. They do this so they can be seen more like and god or more superior than the regular citizens. In China, they do not eat human flesh nor do they do anything to please their gods instead they follow the ways of the Mandate of Heaven and do the things that a good emperor or “son of heaven” should do. They are similar because they do things to make people consider them as partially “god” or a god.
Despite the social hierarchy and acceptance of position of the population in both societies, Han China and Classical Athens had disparities proportionate to their physical sizes. The geographical isolation from each other resulted in the differences in demographics, characteristics of government structures, individual duties and roles in government, and the general view of life.
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.
Han China and Ancient shared bureaucratic governments. This means that they had a government ruled by unelected officials, giving the people little to no say in government. In Rome the ruler was once a king but then their government transitioned to an oligarchy, which would put the rich people in the highest place in society. On the other hand in Han China, which was an imperial dynasty, and emperors were decided by the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate gave the common man a chance to become a major ruler during the Han period. The Han government was mainly influenced by confucian government while Romes was based on Roman law and the classics. The Han government spread Confucianism since that was the basis for their government. Rome also relied on local rulers to make sure that their many lands were following rules and not plotting against them. Both the Han and Rome shared a bureaucratic government which affected their social structures in different ways.
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
The Classical Era was a time of greatness. Great empires rose to power, the likes of which the world had never seen before. In the west, Rome emerged as the dominant power. Originating in the Italian peninsula, the Roman Empire would eventually stretch from Britain to Mesopotamia and Egypt, a huge empire maintained through a vast network of roads. This empire was made of hundreds of different cultures. In the east, the Han dynasty ruled China, Vietnam, and northern Korea. Han China was united not only by government, but also by culture. Confucianism, a belief system focused on maintaining order, was extremely influential, as was another belief system called Daoism, to a lesser extent. During the Classical Age, the creation of powerful empires allowed for safer trade. Safer trade allowed huge amounts of cross-cultural interaction, trade and the sharing of ideas. But as other empires had done before, and as many did after, the empires of Rome and Han China fell. Rome and Han China had both similarities and differences. The most important similarity was plagues and diseases, and the most important difference was the destruction of culture.
The Political Decay of the Roman Republic The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the first example in history on the collapse of a constitutional system which was caused by the internal decay in political, military, economics, and sociological issues. The government was becoming corrupt with bribery. Commanders of the Roman army turned their own army inward towards their own Constitutional systems, fueled by their own ruthless ambition. This paper will talk about how the violence and internal turmoil in 133 B.C.-27 B.C. was what provoked the economic stagnation in the city of Rome and to the end of the Republic and the many corrupt politicians and generals who only thought of nothing more than personal gains and glory. The senate lost control of the Roman military and the reason they rose against the senate was because the senate were no longer able to help manage the social problems or the military and administrative problems of the empire.
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.
Now you are probably wondering with all these similar factors that lead to the demise of the empires, how did China recover successfully? The Chinese empire unlike the Roman empire, held on to their cultural identity and tried not to accept diversity in cultures. This is also called cultural homogeneity. Cultural homogeneity create a sense of togetherness. This creates less organization and religious drama. China also had more advanced technological breakthroughs in the fields of agriculture and metallurgy. This is needed to progress and recover so you have ways of keeping up with the economy. The Chinese empire also had one common religion that mostly held up. Confucianism. Having mostly the same religion unifies most people, which is also needed for a recovery. With these main factors, the Chinese empire recovered successfully.
The Roman Republic had an upstanding infrastructure, a stable social system, and a balanced constitution that solidified Rome’s greatness. Regardless of its achievements, however, the Roman Republic owes much of its success to classical Greek cultures. These cultures, in conjunction with the fundamental values of Roman society, certified Rome as one of the most significant powers the world has ever seen.
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
The Han Dynasty governed China for more than four hundred years. It rose to power in 206 BC and stayed until 220 AC. The Han Dynasty played a vital role in China’s development. This dynasty pioneered a political system and social structure that lasted in China for almost 2,000 years. The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were considered two of the most strongest civilizations at that time. The Roman Empire lasted from 27 BC to 393 AD. This empire changed the way Romans lived. The Romans made rapid advancements in science and technology. Both of these civilizations successfully took control of their countries. While they both have an abundant amount of similarities, they is an overwhelming amount of differences that set these two empires apart. The decline of these two civilizations were both caused by internal affairs. The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire both ruled close to the same time span, they both had highly centralized political systems, and they both were the most advanced civilizations in their region of the world. Their similarities did not overshadow their differences however. The Roman Empire had a senate that served as their legislative body and in China, the emperors ruled over the city. The Han Dynasty implemented national equality, and used Confucianism thoughts to keep the country united, while the Romans divided their citizens into different social classes and kept ethic discrimination. While both civilizations had strong social class separators, the Roman Empire made their’s more apparent. Both civilizations were strong and advanced for their time, however, they both ruled their countries differently.
The system of government we have today was starting to developed centuries ago by the Athenians and Romans. Both governments were established with the intent to give power to the people, even though it did not always play out that way in society. The Athenian democracy and the Roman republic were two very different governments in practice, but also maintained similar characteristics in both systems of government.
The Roman Republic began approximately around 509 B.C. when the nobles drove the King and his family out of Rome. This monumental incident helped shape the start to the transformation of the monarchy into a republican governmental system. This is known to have begun by that of the Roman nobles trying to hold their power that they had gained. The Republic was “[a] city-state [which] was the foundation of Greek society in the Hellenic Age; in the Hellenistic Age, Greek cities became subordinate to kingdoms, larder political units ruled by autocratic monarchs” (Perry 105)
Making comparisons: I would describe these political thinking and practiced expressed as something that took a lot of knowledge about the world and people behavior. These two writings share their ideas first and how they think things will turn out. This makes me think that all these people took a long thought process before offical establishing it. Though those people might not agree with one another, because they had their own unique ideal ruling. For example, Pericles, and Aristides might agree with Ashoka, because they have the belief of equality, and they might learn a little bit from each other. While Han Fei would be the only disagreeing, because he does not believe in soft punishment.