Download The Roman Empire and Han China: A close comparison

A close comparison
 Both
lasted approximately 400 years
 Both had population of about 50 million
Han China built on earlier imperial
traditions started by the Qin and Zhou
Rome was built on controlling aristocratic
landlords and a certain element of democracy
Roman Empire
Han China
 Massive
road
building projects
linked crucial parts
of the empires
 Roads facilitated
communication,
economic activity,
access to resources,
and movement of
military.
 Confucianism
identified principles
necessary for political
and social order
 Emphasized the
emperors divine
majesty
 Developed a
sophisticated
bureaucracy with gov
representatives in the
provinces
Literature – writers were
eager to sing the praises
of the emperor and the
imperial system
 Bureaucracy less complex
than Han, but greater
emphasis on the legal
system
 Monuments and triumphal
processions played up the
glory and grandeur of the
empire itself and its rulers

•
Both systems expanded the
functions of government,
using considerable powers
of bureaucracy and taxation
to provision major cities.
•
Both governments were
actively engaged in a
certain level of economic
activity designed to ensure
a stable social and political
order.
 Large
colonies of
northern Chinese
were planted in
newly conquered
territories
 Use of Mandarin
language required
by the elite and
bureaucrats and
pushed heavily on
all classes

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Colonies were smaller,
basically military outposts
not intended for population
integration
Latin was encouraged but
never supplanted Greek in
the east
Expansion of Roman
citizenship was emphasized
Rome was content to
establish looser control on
provinces and rely on local
autonomy
Imperial Rome
Han China

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Pushed boundaries far
beyond Middle Kingdom,
but when the Han
Empire reached a large
geographical area,
Had difficulty
maintaining large land
border
did not feel the need to
continue expansion
Stopped expansion

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Rome’s appetite for expansion
was unbounded
A more militaristic culture
Romans needed additional
territory to reward generals
and soldiers
They needed a continuing
supply of slaves for their labor
system
Rome began to fade after 180
CE when expansion became
impossible
 Rome’s
literature, art,
and architecture
was derived
from the Greeks
 Classical China
was more
creative in the
area of
technology (e.g.
gunpowder)
Han emphasized
Confucianism and Rome’s
emphasis was on civic
religion
 Both emphases called
attention to rituals and
themes that would bring
loyalty to the empire, but
neither was intensely
spiritual
 Both are exposed to new
religions late in the
Classical Period

 Military
was encouraged
by both, but more so by
Rome
 Rome known for tight
discipline and
organization of the
infantry known as the
legions
 China known more for
military philosophy: Sun
Tzu’s The Art of War
still considered one of
the great works on
military strategy
Han
Rome


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
corrupt thinking, and inability to
continue tax collections
A series of weak/incompetent emperors
and invasions
Once the western portion of Roman
empire falls it will be remembered and
borrowed from but never restored
Rome dynasty was destroyed, but its
institutions and traditions were revived
by later regimes

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corrupt thinking, and inability to
continue tax collections
rich land owners grew more
powerful by buying there own
private armies and avoiding
taxes
Living conditions and life for the
peasantry was getting worse,
and the rich land owners grew
more powerful by buying there
own private armies and avoiding
taxes.
The peasants finally revolted