Download Chapter 5 An Age of Empires: Rome and Han China, 753 B.C.E.

Chapter 5
An Age of Empires: Rome and Han China, 753 B.C.E. – 600 C.E
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Rome’s Mediterranean Empire 753 B.C.E – 600 C.E
A Republic of Farmers 753-31 B.C.E
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According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 B.C.E by Romulus, who was raised by a she-wolf
along with his brother Remus. (Bulliet 125)
In early Rome, agriculture was the basis of wealth, and there was an elite group. The heads of these
wealthy families made up the “Council of Elders”, which was important in politics.
There were seven kings of Rome between 753 and 507 B.C.E, the last one being Tarquinius
Superbus. When Brutus and his followers overthrew Superbus, they established the res publica, or
republic.
The Roman Republic was not a democracy, although all male citizens could attend the assemblies,
the votes of the wealthy were important than that of the poor.
The center of power was the Roman Senate, which consisted of senator that served for life and
nominated their son public office.
The elite, patricians, and the majority population, plebeians, often argued and this led to the
publication of laws on twelve stone tablets. (Bulliet 127)
Roman society was based on paterfamilias,which was controlled by the oldest living male in each
family.
A patron/client relationship consisted of an individual protecting a family and the family would
follow the client into battle.
Women did not have a great amount of power in Roman society, but it still exceeded that of the
women in Greece.
Romans believed in numina, which was an invisible shapeless form, similar to a soul. The Romans
tried to maintained pax deorum, “peace of gods”, which was an agreement between the gods and
the Roman State.(Bulliet 128)
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Rome’s Mediterranean Empire 753 B.C.E – 600 C.E
Expansion in Italy and the Mediterranean /The Failure of the Republic
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Expansion in Rome had a slow start but it quickly sped up. The vast expansion was either due to greed
and aggressiveness, or the eagerness for leaders to gain military glory in their one year in office.
All male citizens that owned a certain amount of land were subject to serving the the military, which was
similar to that of the Greek hoplites.
Rome’s conquest of Italy was provoked by the hill tribes, and by the 5 th century B.C.E Rome gained
leadership over Italian cities organized for defense against the hill tribes of the Apennines.
Between 246 and 202 B.C.E Rome fought two wars against the Carthaginians, and between 200 and 146
B.C.E there was a series of wars between Rome and the Hellenistic kingdoms.
Rome’s first conquest in the heartland of Europe was the domination of the Celtics, which was led by
Gaius Julius Caesar, the greatest Roman general.
One reason why Rome expanded easily was because instead of totally dominating other lands, they
would grant rights to the people and assimilate the Roman culture and government into theirs.(Bulliet
128)
A government system between the indigenous elites of the conquered land and the Romans was
attempted, but the short terms and other factors resulted in experienced leaders as well as some
corruption.
The fall of the Republic began when farms were being bought off and replaced by latifundias, which led
to a poorer economy and an increase of poverty in the common people.(Bulliet 129)
The lack of peasant farmers also made less land owning males that had to complete military service, so
the armies became more private and loyal.
Between 88 and 31 B.C.E there were a series of civil wars between powerful military leaders and their
armies, which led to dictorial control. (Bulliet 132)
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Rome’s Mediterranean Empire 753 B.C.E – 600 C.E
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The Roman Prinicpate, 31 B.C.E – 330 C.E/ An Urban Empire
Julius Caesar's grandnephew and heir, Octavian or Augustus, eliminated all of his rivals by 31 B.C.E
and tried hard to edit the Roman system of government, while still maintaining the Republic.
He never claimed to be a king or emperor, but a princeps, “the first among equals”, in the restored
Republic, which led to the name of this period being the Roman Principate.
Augustus died in 14 C.E after 45 years of rule, even though almost nobody remembered the Republic
after his death, he left an expanded Rome, and restored power in Rome. (McCannon 65)
Augustus allied with the equites, which were a class of Italian merchants and landowners that became
the core of a new civil service that provided Rome with an honest administrative bureaucracy.
The original Law of the Twelve Tables was replaced by decrees of the Senate, bills, and proclamations
of the praetors. (Bulliet 132)
The Roman Empire was “urban” with many large, advanced cities like Alexandria, Antioch, and
Carthage. The upper classes lived in elegant town houses with atriums, private baths, and artwork, like
mosaic; while the poor lived in crowded slums.
New cities were organized as miniature replicas of the capital cities, and officials were elected to
govern and tax the cities. (Bulliet 133)
Tenant farmers began to appear, so the wealth would be concentrated in the cities.
Commerce was enhanced by the pax romana, “Roman Peace”, which ensured safety and stability
guaranteed by the might of the Roman Empire.
Romanization, the spread of Rome’s culture and Latin language, was a lasting legacy of Rome, and
Rome continued to absorb more civilizations. By 212 C.E Caracalla, gave citizenship to all free, adult,
male inhabitants of the Roman Empire. (Bulliet 134)
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Rome’s Mediterranean Empire 753 B.C.E – 600 C.E
The Rise of Christianity
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The Jewish homeland of Judaea, present day Israel, was taken under Roman control in 6 C.E, and
tensions between insensitive Roman governors and the Jews increased. The Jews awaited the arrival of
the Messiah , the “Anointed One”, which was thought to be a military leader that would save the Jews.
Jesus of Nazareth, was a Jewish teacher with a lot of charisma and claimed to be the Messiah.
(Armstrong 123)
Some saw Jesus as prophet that tried to prepare people for the apocalypse, while other viewed him as a
political revolutionary who wanted to drive out the Romans.
Jewish authorities in Jerusalem discovered Jesus and turned him over to the Roman governor, Pontius
Pilate, who had Jesus imprisoned, condemned, and crucified. But before his crucifixion he claimed to
come back from the dead before returning to God. (McCannon 97).
The Apostles, his followers, continued to spread his teaching and the idea that he was a Messiah, and
they even said that Jesus had been resurrected. (Bulliet 134)
Paul was a Jew from Tarsus, and from between 45 to 58 C.E, he spent his time and energy to spread the
word of Jesus as the Messiah. As he failed to convert Jews, he set his efforts on non-Jews, or gentiles,
and set up a string of Christianity, from the Greek word christos or “anointed one”.
In 66 C.E a revolt broke out due to the tensions in Roman Judaea, and it lasted until 73 C.E.
During the revolt, the Christian-based Jerusalem communities were lost, allowing for Paul to easily
convert the non-Jews.
At first, Christianity grew slowly amongst the lower groups like women, slaves, and the poor, but
eventually the religion expanded until it had priests, bishops, and churches.
Due to the fact that Christians were monotheistic and did not accept the emperor as a deity, they were
often persecuted by Roman official, but the religion managed to survive and remain with a decent-sized
minority in Rome consisting of many educated and prosperous people. (Bulliet 135)
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Rome’s Mediterranean Empire 753 B.C.E – 600 C.E
Technology and Transformation
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Romans were gifted engineers and architects that built roads, and fortification walls that allowed for safe
and easy travel, which in turn allowed for a trading economy and the spread of Christianity.
The Romans built the aqueduct, structures that carried water from one point to another depending solely
on the force of gravity, and concrete, a mixture of lime powder, sand, and water.
Since Roma had such huge borders, defending them with fortification was difficult, and Augustus even
advised to slow expansion to avoid the great costs.
During the “third-century crisis” (235-284 C.E) political, economical, and military problems almost
destroyed the Roman Empire, which was portrayed in the abundance of rulers in that time, and the use of
fortification walls. (Bulliet 135)
Due to poverty and a failing government, populations began to shift out of Rome during the “thirdcentury crisis.”
Just as the empire seemed hopeless, a man named Diocletian had saved Rome by rising through the ranks
in the army and gaining power in 284 C.E.
Diocletian used radical reform to save the economy, like freezing people into their professions and
requiring them to teach their sons, in order to ensure workers in several services. (Bulliet 136)
Diocletian resigned in 305 C.E. and was succeeded by Constantine who reunited the Roman Empire
under his single rule by 324 C.E.
During an important battle at the Milvian Bridge over the Tiber River, Constantine clamed to have seen a
cross in the sun, which made him to believe that the Christian God aided him in the battle. So, he
transferred to Christianity and was important in making Rome a mainly Christian empire.
In 324 C.E Constantine changed the capital from Rome to Byzantium, on the Bosporus strait, which later
got renamed Constantinople, which became and huge and wealthy city in knowledge, arts, and influence.
(Bulliet 138)
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Rome’s Mediterranean Empire 753 B.C.E – 600 C.E
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Byzantines and Germans
In between the eastern, Greek-speaking lands, and the western Germanic-influenced lands, was a land
controlled by Constantine that was called the Byzantine Empire.
In 325 C.E Constantine called hundreds of bishops to attend a council in Nicaea in order to resolve
disputes over the religious doctrine, which was mainly about the status of Jesus in religion.
Over the next several centuries, there were several disputes among the patriarchs of different cities, who
appointed bishops that would dedicate priests to their area of jurisdiction called a diocese.
Christianity continued to spread, but some polytheists, or pagans, were still worshipping old gods and
emperor Julian tried to restore the old polytheism as the main religion. But in 329 C.E, Theodosius
banned all pagan ceremonies.
Under the rule of emperor Justinian, legal scholars made a Latin compilation of Roman legal tradition,
the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law), which was studied in western Europe under Irneruis’s
influence. This became the foundation of many European legal systems. (Bulliet 138)
After 395 C.E Rome was separated into an eastern and western empire, which contrasted in well being
during the time of collapse of Rome.
Byzantine armies helped protect Rome, but in 410 C.E, Visigoths sacked Rome and in 476 C.E the last
Roman emperor was deposed.
By 530 C.E the Western Roman Empire was split into several kingdoms under Germanic rulers, and
Rome was no longer important in politics, but remained as the seat of the very influential position as
patriarch of Rome, which later became called Pope.
Some educated priests and monks still spoke and wrote a simple version of Latin, but the uneducated
majority began to speak the evolved versions of Latin, the Romance dialects.
The Romans viewed the uplift of the Germanic kingdoms as a victory of the barbarians, but these
societies were actually more dynamic than the Byzantine realm, which helped preserve much of the
Roman tradition. (Bulliet 139)
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The Origins of Imperial China, 221 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.
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Resources and Population/Hierarchy, Obedience, and Belief
Agriculture supported the Han institutions and the main tax was a percentage of the annual harvest.
The need to transport the southern crops to the north gave way to the construction of canals.
The government often conducted a census, and the results of 2 C.E. were 12 million households
with 60 million people, and in 140 C.E the population and the amount of households decreased.
During the Han times, the majority of the population shifted to the Yangzi River Valley. (Bulliet
139)
All male citizens had work one month a year for public work projects and provide two years of
military service. To keep track of the money and services due, officials updated registers of land
and households.
The Han people expanded into new areas due to population growths and shortages of food. This
expansion led to assimilation of cultures and technologies. (Bulliet 140)
The basic unit of Chinese society was the family, which included the living and past generations
because the Chinese believed that the ancestors maintained an interest in the fortunes of the family.
The teachings of Confucius were very influential in Imperial China and it set a code of conduct and
set a concept of family hierarchy that each person of the unit had a place and responsibility, which
carried out into the operations of the Chinese society. (Bulliet 141)
The appropriate conduct of women is displayed in an account of Mencius, which shows the
immense pressure and control over upper-class woman, unlike the women of lower classes.
The Chinese believed that divinity resided within nature, so they worshipped and tried to please the
nature forces.
The belief in feng shui, “earth divination”, caused the Chinese built graves and buildings on the
most favorable locations based on the opinion of feng shui experts. (Bulliet 142).
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The Origins of Imperial China, 221 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.
The First Chinese Empire, 221- 207 B.C.E.
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During the Warring State Period many states were fighting, and suddenly in the second half of the third
century B.C.E, the Qin suddenly took over the other states one by one, and became the first empire under,
marking the start of the imperial age.
The first Qin ruler was Shi Huangdi, meaning “First Emperor”, and the name China probably derived
from the word Qin.
Shi Huangdi and his his adviser Li Si, were able lead the Qin to victory because of the abundance of
strong peasants that could serve in army, and the strong control of the government.
The two leaders created a totalitarian structure, which governed the Qin individuals’ lives based on the
needs of the state.
The widely practiced Confucianism was replaced by Legalism, which included the ideas that the ruler
was supreme and that the people need discipline and obedience through reward and punishment
The Qin set out to eliminate any other competition for authority, the aristocracy, so the inheritance of
land was divided into many people so wealth couldn’t be centered and slavery was abolished. (Bulliet
142)
The Qin government created many standardizations which unified China, like standard weights,
measures, lengths of cart axles, coinage, a uniform law code, and a common writing system.
During this time the army was modernized with iron weapons, crossbows, and cavalry warfare.
(McCannon 66)
The Qin accomplished many engineering feats like building an extensive road and canal system, and
linking the frontier walls of old states to help create the Great Wall of China.
Due to the great amount of forced labor on the people, there were a series of rebellions after the death of
Shi Huangdi in 210 B.C.E., which brought an end to the relatively short lasting Qin dynasty. (Bulliet 143)
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The Origins of Imperial China, 221 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.
The Long Reign of the Han, 206 B.C.E. – 220 C.E
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After the fall of the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang rose to power and established the Han dynasty, and he
promised to reject the mistakes of the Qin, but Legalism was still practiced along with Confucianism.
After eighty years of imperial unification, Emperor Wu began a period of military expansion into Fuijan,
Guangdong, and Manchuria. They also sought to control the Silk Road.
The Han set up a tributary system in which they collected payments from the neighboring states that they
did not directly take over. (McCannon 67)
From 202 B.C.E to 8 C.E, in early Han, the capital was at Chang’an. This was a large, well organized city
that was surrounded by a wall of bricks, and was a very populated city with 246,000 inhabitants by 2
C.E.
The culture was often surrounded about art, music, and dance, especially for those of the upper-classes.
(Bulliet 143)
The emperor was the center of the government and society as the “Son of Heaven” , while the
government was run by a prime minister, a civil service, and nine ministers, along with the help of local
officials.
In order to lessen the power and political role of aristocrats, the emperors were allies with the gentry,
class below the aristocrats, and chose them as the local officials.
Due to the modified Confucianism amongst that provided a system to train the gentry to be intellectually
capable and morally worthy, there was an imperial university with about thirty thousand student.
A man from any class could eventually rise in the ranks and gain power in the state hierarchy.
Daoism became more popular during the Han dynasty, and it dealt with the Dao, or “path”, of nature and
reaching enlightenment through physical and mental discipline. (Bulliet 144)
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The Origins of Imperial China, 221 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.
Technology and Trade/ Decline of the Han Empire
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Some technology like bronze tools, to help clear forests, iron, and steel weapons allowed for the rise of
the Chinese empires.
Once the empires existed, cavalry and crossbows allowed for military conquest and defense, while
inventions like writing, water mills, and collars to improve conditions of pack animals, all helped
develop the economies.
The Qin and Han worked on the construction of an extensive road system that allowed for the spread of
products, armies, and ideas. Improved canal and shipping technology also contributed to travel.
A prized export that came from China was silk, and the Chinese guarded the secret of how to raise and
use silk worms.
The Han government put a lot of effort into maintaining the security of the borders and controlling the
lands of the farming people and nomadic groups, who could revolt and be difficult to control.
The nomadic groups would often attack farmers and were warlike and swift. They usually fought with
each other, but they sometimes revolted, so the government maintained a strong cavalry and soldierfarmers. (Bulliet 145)
Due to the tributary system and the great military expenses, defending the frontier of the empire took a
toll on the finances of the Han empire.
Aristocracies began to rise once more by controlling large amounts of land, and they took away taxes and
man-power from the government, which caused the Han to hire more foreign soldiers.
In 220 C.E the Han dynasty collapsed due to a failing economy, weak leadership, the attacks of foreign
groups, and the uprising of hungry and desperate peasants. (McCannon 67)
Rome and China are often considered parallels, especially due to the decline of both empires. After the
fall of the Han, China entered a period of political fragmentation that lasted until the rise of the Sui and
Tang dynasties in the late sixth century and seventh century C.E. (Bulliet 146)
Bibliography
Books
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McCannon, John. Barron's The Leader in Test Preperation AP World History. 3rd. Saskatoon,
Canada: Barron's, 2008. Print.
Armstrong, Monty. Cracking the AP World History Exam. 2010. New York: Random House, 2009.
Print.
Bulliet, Richard; The Earth and its Peoples. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Print.
Pictures (URL’s)
1. http://www.monasterystays.com/uploads/features/Rome_01.jpg
2. http://kbagdanov.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/roman-art-1.jpg
3. https://p9.secure.hostingprod.com/@www.ghandchi.com/ssl/KF/Pic-18-Julius__Caesar.jpg
4. http://projectionsystems.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/roman_augustus21.jpg
5. http://www.jesus-passion.com/ChristCarriesCrossArt1.jpg
6. http://www.kmkz.com/jonesj/gallery/Pont%20du%20Gard,%20Roman%20Aqueduct.jpg
7. http://historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/genseric_sacking_rome.jpg
8. http://www.asiasociety.org/files/confucius2.jpg
9. http://thewoow.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/great-wall-of-china1.jpg
10. http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/images/arbigimages/b4b689a6b713d6088ad0074d852153c3.jpg
11. http://media.photobucket.com/image/Han%20Dynasty%20cavalry/yhjow/hancavalry1.jpg