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Cover Slide
The Earth and
Its Peoples
3rd edition
Chapter 6
An Age of Empires:
Rome and
Han China,
753 B.C.E.-330 C.E.
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Augustus as imperator
Augustus as imperator
Augustus, dressed in breastplate and
uniform, emphasizes the imperial
majesty of Rome and his role as
imperator. The naked feet signify
Augustus's divinity; the small cupid
riding the dolphin alludes to Augustus's
claim that the Julian line descended from
Venus. The breastplate commemorates
his victory over the Parthians, the
triumph that ushered in the Augustan
Peace. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Bronze punic armor
Bronze punic armor
This bronze Punic armor is a breast- and backplate found in a third-century B.C.E.
tomb near Carthage. The ornamentation suggests an Italo-Greek origin. (Musee
national du Bardo)
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Catacombs of Rome
Catacombs of Rome
The catacombs just outside of Rome testify to the vitality of the new religion of Christianity
and pagan toleration of it. The early Christians used underground crypts and rock chambers to
bury their dead. The bodies were placed in these galleries and then sealed up. The catacombs
became places of pilgrimage, and in this way the dead continued to be united with the living.
(Catacombe di Priscilla, Rome/Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Coin of Julius Caesar
Coin of Julius Caesar
Upon his acquisition of power in 46
B.C.E., Caesar allowed a number of
extraordinary honors to be conferred
upon him. The Senate declared him
"father of his country" and had this
stamped on his coinage. He was the first
living Roman to be represented on a
coin, a sign both of his power and of the
break with tradition that he marked.
(Bibliotheque nationale de France)
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Colossal statue of Constantine
Colossal statue of Constantine
The head of Constantine is part of an
enormous sculpture of him seated that
was once originally placed in his
basilica. The entire statue was over 30
feet high; the head alone weighs over 8
tons. Head, arms, hands, legs and feet
were of marble. The drapery was
probably of bronze plates over a
masonry frame. The colossal head and
neck are superbly modeled, but the eyes,
which seem to be fixed on some spot
above our heads (perhaps on eternity),
seem overly large. Such a feature is
common in the early Christian period.
(Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Dagger depicting Taiyi
Dagger depicting Taiyi
Recent archaeological excavations of
manuscripts from the Warring States
Period (403-221 B.C.E.) have given us a
much clearer understanding of religious
beliefs and practices in early China. The
deity Taiyi ("Grand One"), depicted on
these drawings of a late-fourth-century
B.C.E. dagger, was the god of the pole
star. Sacrifices were made to Taiyi to
avert evil or gain his protection in battle.
(From Michael Loewe and Edward
Shaughnessy, ed., Cambridge History of
Ancient China (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1991))
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Diocletian's Tetrarchy
Diocletian's Tetrarchy
The emperor Diocletian's attempt to
reform the Roman Empire by dividing
rule among four men is represented in
this piece of sculpture, which in many
features illustrates the transition from
ancient to medieval art. Here the four
tetrarchs demonstrate their solidarity
by clasping one another on the
shoulder. Nonetheless each man has his
other hand on his sword--a gesture that
proved prophetic when Diocletian's
reign ended and another struggle for
power began. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Double portrait, Pompeii
Double portrait, Pompeii
This wall painting from a house joined
to a bakery in Pompeii depicts a
married couple, possibly the wealthy
baker P. Paquius Proculus and his wife.
The portraiture is realistic. The couple
carries symbols of education: she holds
wax tablets and a stylus (pen), while he
grasps a sealed scroll. (Scala/Art
Resource, NY)
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Floor littered with food
Floor littered with food
This mosaic is of a floor that can never be swept clean. It whimsically suggests what
a dining room floor looked like after a lavish dinner and also tells something about
the menu: a chicken head, a wishbone, and the remains of various seafood,
vegetables, and fruits are easily recognizable. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Gladiators, mosaic
Gladiators, mosaic
Gladiators--literally men who carried a
gladius (sword)--fought to the death in
the arena and enraptured the Roman
Empire. This mosaic from a Roman villa
in Germany depicts scenes from the area.
The illustration shows a retiarius (netand-trident bearer), fighting a betterarmed secutor (literally "pursuer") under
the watchful eyes of a lanista (trainer).
(Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz)
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Relief of farmers plowing with oxen
Relief of farmers plowing with oxen
Farmers in the Han dynasty (220-206
B.C.E.) began to use animal-drawn
plows, as depicted here in a stone relief.
Improvements in agricultural technology
in Han times aided the geographical
expansion of Chinese civilization and the
growth of the Chinese population. (From
Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Cambridge
Illustrated History of China, 1996)
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Roman amphitheater, Tunisia
Roman amphitheater, Tunisia
Amphitheaters where gladiatorial combats took place were as common in Italy and the Roman Empire as
skyscrapers are in a modern city. This amphitheater in the city of El Djem in modern Tunisia (the Roman
province of Africa) was built of high-quality local stone. It was meant to have sixty-four arches but was never
completed. The openings in the floor permitted animals to be released into the arena. This amphitheater held
at least thirty thousand spectators. (Adina Tovy/Robert Harding Picture Library)
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Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The site of the future Roman Forum,
the famous public square and center of
Roman political life, was originally the
cemetery of the small community of
early Romans. Under the Etruscans the
Forum began its history as a public
meeting place, a development parallel
to that of the Greek agora. (Josephine
Powell)
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Rubbing of salt mining
Rubbing of salt mining
Found in a Chinese tomb of the first century C.E., this rubbing illustrates a procedure for
mining salt. The tower on the left originally served as a derrick for drilling a deep hole through
dirt and rock. In this scene workers are hauling up buckets full of brine (saltwater) from
underground deposits. In the background are hunters in the mountains. (Courtesy of the
Trustees of the British Museum)
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Stamped brick: Tax collecting
Stamped brick: Tax collecting
This stamped brick, found in a tomb in western China, depicts, at center, a stooped peasant
pouring into a basket the grain demanded by the government. The tax collector, seated and
wearing fine clothing, clutches bamboo slips on which he keeps his records. A number of
pictorial elements--positioning in the composition, posture, clothing, and vehicles--contrast the
wealth, comfort, and superior social status of the government official with the poverty, toil, and
low status of the peasant. (Private Collection)
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The Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd
This ceiling painting comes from a
Christian catacomb in Rome dating
before 284 C.E. The pastoral image,
common in the early church, recalls
Christ's ministry. It symbolizes his
beneficence and his sacrifice, as well
as his closeness to ordinary people.
(Scala/Art Resource, NY)
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Tophet of Carthage
Tophet of Carthage
Here, from the seventh to second centuries B.C.E., the cremated bodies of sacrificed children were buried.
Archaeological excavation has confirmed the claim in ancient sources that the Carthaginians sacrificed
children to their gods at times of crisis. Stone markers, decorated with magical signs and symbols of
divinities as well as family names, were placed over ceramic urns containing the ashes and charred bones of
one or more infants or, occasionally, older children (Martha Cooper/Peter Arnold, Inc.)
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Map: The Economic Aspect of the Pax Romana
The Economic Aspect of the Pax Romana
The Roman Empire was not merely a political and military organization but also an intricate economic network through
which goods from Armenia and Syria were traded for Western products from as far away as Spain and Britain. (Copyright (c)
Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: The Han Empire
The Han Empire
The Han Dynasty asserted sovereignty over vast regions from Korea in the east to Central Asia in the west and Vietnam in
the south. Once garrisons were established, traders were quick to follow, leading to considerable spread of Chinese material
culture in East Asia. Chinese goods, especially silk, were in demand far beyond East Asia, promoting long-distance trade
across Eurasia. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: Italy and the City of Rome
Italy and the City of Rome
The geographical configuration of the Italian peninsula shows how Rome stood astride north-south communication routes
and how the state that united Italy stood poised to move into Sicily and northern Africa. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin
Company. All Rights Reserved.)
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Map: Roman Expansion During the Republic
Roman Expansion During the Republic
The main spurt of Roman expansion occurred between 264 and 133 B.C.E., when most of the Mediterranean fell to Rome,
followed by the conquest of Gaul and the eastern Mediterranean by 44 B.C.E. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All
Rights Reserved.)
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Map: Roman Expansion Under the Empire
Roman Expansion Under the Empire
Following Roman expansion during the republic, Augustus added vast tracts of Europe to the Roman Empire, which the
emperor Hadrian later enlarged by assuming control over parts of central Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.
(Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.