Download WHAP Student Copy Empires - The Roman and Han

Empires: Roman and Han
WHAP/Napp
Objective: To identify and explain
similarities and differences of the
Roman and Han Empires
Do Now: Explain one lasting legacy of
either the Roman or Han Empires.
________________________________
Cues:
Notes:
I. Overview – Roman and Han
A. Flourished at roughly the ______ time (200 BCE-200CE)
B. Occupied a _______ area (approximately 1.5 million square miles)
C. ___________ of a similar size (50 to 60 million)
D. However, only dimly aware of each other Almost no direct contact
II. Rome
A. Began as a small city-state in Italian ________ in 8th century BCE
B. Originally ruled by king but aristocrats ________ around 509 BCE
C. Established a _______ - patricians, wealthy landowners, dominated
D. Two consuls exercised executive power  Advised by patrician
assembly – the _________
E. ________ between patricians and plebeians led to changes
1. Twelve Tables, Roman written ______, offered plebeians (common
people) some protections
2. Established office of tribune – _________ plebeians
F. Launched empire-building enterprise - took more than 500 years
1. _________ Italian peninsula (began 490s BCE)
2. Between 264 -146 BCE, ______ Wars with Carthage and victory
G. Wealth of the empire enriched a few with large estates and _______
H. A small group of ________ leaders (Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Julius
Caesar) depended on the poor
1. Brought _____ war to Rome during the first century BCE
2. When the civil war ended, power now was vested in an ________
a) Caesar Augustus (reigned 27 BCE – 14 CE)
b) The republic had ended – Rome was an empire
I. During the first two centuries CE, the empire provided security and
prosperity - ______ Romana
J. However, with new territories came new ____________
III. Han Dynasty
A. Did not create something new but restored something ____
1. The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties had existed ________
2. But by 500 BCE, unity _______ in the era of warring states
3. During the Qin Dynasty, Shihuangdi developed an
________bureaucracy, equipped his army with iron weapons, and
increased unity
Summaries:
Cues:
Notes:
a) Shihuangdi adopted Legalism
1. A philosophy based on _______ punishments to ensure obedience
2. Dissident scholars executed – Books ________
3. Ruled from 221 – 210 BCE
4. Called himself “first emperor”
5. Laid the foundations for a _______ Chinese state
6. A state that has endured with periodic interruptions to the
present
7. Began construction on _______ Wall of China
a) To keep invaders out – keep “barbarians” out
8. Erected a mausoleum as emperor’s final resting place with some
7,500 life-size ceramic ________
9. Imposed a ________ system of weights, measures, and currency
10. Standardized the _______ form of the Chinese language
B. The Han dynasty that followed (206 BCE – 220 CE)
1. Retained __________ features of Shihuangdi’s creation
2. Moderated the harshness of _____ policies
3. Consolidated state- established patterns that lasted -20th century
4. Established _____________ as the dominant philosophy
III. Similarities
A. Invested heavily in public works
1. Roads, bridges, aqueducts, _______, walls
B. Invoked supernatural sanctions to support rule
1. Romans began viewing deceased emperors as ______ and
established a religious cult to bolster authority of living emperors
2. Chinese-emperor Son of Heaven  Mandate of Heaven
C. Both absorbed a foreign _______ tradition
1. __________ developed slowly and by fourth century CE obtained
state support to help a declining empire with a common religion
2. Buddhism from _______ was introduced by Central Asian traders
-But little support from rulers
- Appealed to bewildered after the ________ of the Han dynasty
IV. Collapse of Empires
A. The Western part of the Roman Empire collapsed in 476 CE after a
decline of several centuries -The eastern part began the
_________ Empire (preserved Greek and Roman learning)
B. In China, many free peasants turned into impoverished tenant
farmers  Led to a major _______ revolt known as the Yellow
Turban Rebellion in 184 CE
C. Empires too big, too overextended, too expensive  __________
D. But China would be unified again while Europe  _____________
E. Europe would be a civilization without an encompassing imperial
state
Summaries:
Essential Question:
 How did Rome grow from a single city to the center of a huge empire?

How and why did the making of the Chinese Empire differ from that of the Roman
Empire?

In comparing the Roman and Chinese empires, which do you find more striking their similarities or their differences?

How did the collapse of empire play out differently in the Roman world and in
China?
1. Which of the following was NOT one of
Rome's cultural legacies?
(A) The Romans preserved Hellenic
philosophy.
(B) The Romans built roads and
fortifications that have lasted for centuries,
(C) The Romans adopted the Islamic faith
as the official faith of the empire.
(D) The Romans made Christianity the
official faith of the empire.
(E) The Romans adopted a legal code still in
some use today.
2. Why was the Zhou dynasty in China so
long-lived?
(A) It innovated technology and increased
China's political sophistication by obligating
the leader to rule fairly.
(B) Its leaders were ruthless.
(C) It did not have to contend with the
conflicting dictates of Confucianism.
(D) It prevented average people from
acquiring weapons.
(E) It actually was very short-lived.
3. Which of the following civilizations
afforded the greatest degree of citizen input
into government policy?
(A) Han
(B) Roman
(C) Sumerian
(D) Egyptian
(E) Gupta
4. Which of the following best describe
BOTH the Roman and Han empires?
(A) Neither empire was linked to the Silk
Roads.
(B) Both empires used the family as the
model for state organization.
(C) Mounting costs associated with
defending imperial frontiers led to economic
and political crises.
(D) New religions were easily assimilated
into existing imperial religious ideologies.
(E) Taxation of mercantile activity
accounted for most government revenue.
5. After the fall of Rome, the eastern half of
the empire became renamed the
(A) Holy Roman Empire
(B) Bactrian Empire
(C) Byzantine Empire
(D) Visigoth Kingdom
(E) Vandalistan
6. The Mandate of Heaven governed the
relationship between the ruler and the ruled
in
a) China
b) Japan
c) France
d) Ghana
e) Russia
Excerpt from Emperor Wu Di (jcu.edu)
Coming to power in 141 BC, Emperor Wu Di shares his legacy with the Han Dynasty. He
is known for numerous accomplishments during his 54-year reign, the most noteworthy,
and perhaps most influential, being the development of the Silk Road…
Known as the "Martial Emperor," Wu Di was a fierce ruler. He had harsh punishments,
and internally, and condemning court members for crimes was not beneath him.
Outwardly, in his pursuit for more territory, Wu Di showed the same indifference. He
allowed his irritation with the Xiong-nu invasions to turn into a military campaign against
them (Beck, par. 3). It would not be until 119 BC that the Xiong-nu's territory would be
taken by the Han dynasty.
The man Wu Di chose to lead the campaign, Chang Ch'ien, though he was not successful
in his goal of finding an alliance to fight the Xiong-nu, he was able to provide a great deal
of information about Central Asia and the Western world. Armed with this information,
Wu Di decided to pursue ties with the Western world, and began offering gifts of silk,
cattle, gold, and other similar items to Western diplomats. Soon, "the diplomatic missions
were dispatched regularly along with commercial trading [and] the traffic on the Silk Road
began to flourish as never before" (Silkroad Foundation, pars. 4-6).
With the Silk Road's success, it soon grew both eastward and westward, and the Chinese
began to import horses, cattle, cucumber, walnut, and even grapes for wine (Silkroad
Foundation, par. 12). The trade the Silk Road fostered truly was a remarkable
development in Chinese history because the Chinese civilization was not only introduced to
different cultures, but also was able to spread its knowledge and influence to other parts of
the continent.
Aside from his success with the Silk Road, Wu Di joined the Yellow River to Chang'an,
connecting two main centers of trade in China. He also created a network of granaries,
which "were designed to store excess grain in order to prevent starvation in times of flood
or drought" (Hooker, par. 8). Projects and innovations such as these that were completed
during Wu Di's reign really helped to bolster China's economy.
Though he was a powerful and terrible ruler, Wu Di did much to enhance China's
civilization, whether by expanding her territory or by providing means in which economy
and trade could flourish.