Similarities And Differences Between Octavian And Han China

Han China and Imperial Rome are two classical civilizations that flourished within the time period 600 BCE to 600 CE. Both great empire kept political control through the centralization of government after land expansion, which was accomplished through the standardization of religion. However, the two empires had large differences on how they ruled, such as the forms of government.

Most societies that developed in ancient civilizations were centered around some form of imperial administration and Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E.-476 C.E.) and Han China (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) were no different in this sense. Both civilizations had a network of cities and roads, with similar technologies that catalyzed cultural amalgamation and upgraded the standard of living, along with comparable organizational structures. Additionally, both civilizations had problems managing their borders and used similar tactics for defense. However, the Chinese Emperor was interpreted as a God while the Roman Emperor was a lugal, or big man, who had to fight not only to gain power, but to push through his initiatives. The similarities and differences

Some people may think the Han Empire and Roman Empire are complementary, and very alike. Some only know that empires are large, have giant armies, and access to lots of power. They did have some other similarities, they both lasted for around 400 years! Not to mention, they both had a population of 50 million people, with a very large land space. However, they were very different. Han Empire and Roman empire ran their governments different, both empires placed people into social classes, but they practiced different religions.

Primarily, the style of governments was principally different. Han China favored a Legalist and Confucian mix, due to Emperor Gaozu abolishing only some of the previous Legalist ways, and introducing strategic measures to keep the people happy, such as cutting costs to reduce taxes and storing grain in times of shortage. Imperial Rome, however, implied a principate and military dictatorial form of government. Augustus still maintained the the offices, senate, and many functions of the old republic, while using the military to secure his control. Although he never called himself an emperor, he chose to be “princeps.” Just as well, both governments inforced different types of labor. Han China was popular for it’s forced labor, like for the Great Wall construction, while Rome relied on slave labor for the fieldwork in farming and doing the lower, more laborious jobs. Relating to the class system, the government in Han China also suppressed the merchants while Rome was dependent on them. Han Chinese gentry members and advisers blamed merchants for many of the economic problems, and prohibited them and their children from holding government positions. However, in Rome, the empire experienced a “pax romana” where its merchants are traders were particularly successful in providing wealth to the Roman government, which in return deployed military members along trade routes to ensure the safety of

Although Han China and Rome shared similarities in their techniques of imperial administration though military conquest and engineering’s aid toward the economy, they differed in their approach to land distribution.

The Han and Roman empires thrived during the Classical Period, in which rose the first great empires and a heavier influence of religion, due to increased trade and the spread of not only goods, but ideas and knowledge. From second century BCE to second century CE the Han Empires’ attitude toward new technology, in general, was more positive and centered toward themselves than the Romans. The Romans even adopted the motto “gravitas” or seriousness towards all matters, not solely technology, which caused the Romans to have a more neutral and lower attitude of technology than Han China. Han China was proud of their technology and viewed themselves as the greatest empirical entity at the time. A Han government official wrote to local officials

Although the foundation of both empires was built upon political integration, their organization of government differed. The Han Dynasty’s centralized power and administration was based on a bureaucratic system while the Roman Empire’s imperial power was based on a one-man sovereign. In order to improve Chinese society, which was under tyrannical rule under the Qin Dynasty, the Han Empire centralized their government with the synthesis between an imperial family and the new scholar-gentry class under a bureaucratic system. By securing power to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang provided lands to those military supporters who helped with the task. From the land grants given, the royal families and supporters were entitled

Han China and Rome are actually very similar in their geographical conquests. First of all, both civilizations were the largest and most expansive in their areas. Rome stretched from Spain, England, and France to Mesopotamia and North Africa. The Han dynasty expanded to Korea, china, and central Asia. These huge areas allowed a feeling of power and more economic stability, but also had a few downfall's. Even though the Roman Empire had close to 60 million people in the lands, the population began to dwindle by the end of its empire, they could no longer supply enough people to protect its borders, so they had to turn to outside sources for its military. These outside sources had distrusting loyalties, so, Rome’s borders were not so well protected and eventually fell to complete invasion. Han Dynasty fell to its fate. Both the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire's weakened so much that they both crippled under the weight of outside invasions. A huge difference between the two civilizations, however, was their level of isolation. Being in China, the Han Dynasty was on the east side and was much more isolated than Rome, which was a peninsula and quite open to everywhere. Though

When comparing Han China and Classical Rome, many political, geographical, and religious similarities can be found, though many differences are also prevalent. Though Roman and Han political structures both emphasized bureaucracies, they came to them quite differently. Through copious amounts of expansion, both societies spread culture and earned money, though expansion was eventually their downfalls. Their religions differed immensely, with Rome emphasizing polytheism and Han China focusing on Confucianism. The differences and similarities between these two civilizations are to be discussed in this essay.

The Roman Empire is still known today as one of history’s most powerful period. Rome government had stick rules and policies. The Roman government at this point was known as the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was controlled by the roar Rome. Bureaucracy was ran throughout the region, but Rome did not want this nor could they afford it. However, they did allow small cities to run a lower level of government. The exercise of indirect rule thus became a basic principle of imperial government. The business of local administration and jurisdiction was delegated to the existing communities of city or tribe. This type of structure was deemed to be a weakness to some historians because of the consequences. Consequences that allow a third level government to enforce the emperor’s rules. Because of the expansion of the territory, this was the only reasonable way for it to function normally. The empire was a "commonwealth of cities" which acted as economic and cultural of the Roman world and were integrated into the administrative system as local foci of government. This imperial ruling was first implemented by Rome. It came about because of social trends and not the Roman strategic policies that was often changed by Romanized upper class citizens. These upper classman brought about firmness throughout the land with their strategic and educated planning.

Numerous land-based empires and regional states had existed before 3rd century BC. However, none of these empires could be compared to the Han Dynasty in China and the Imperial Rome. The cultural identity built during the Han Dynasty such as the family-organized ancestor worship and culture centered on the Classic Confucian teachings had been influential for the development of China for several centuries . On the other hand, the Roman Empire had shown their authority over the Mediterranean Region and introduced the concept of “citizen” which influenced the development of states even after its fall . In general, both of these empires became powerful and influential forces during their times.

The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire vary in their political development and achievements. The Roman’s developed two different codes of law, one that applied to citizens and another that applied to non-citizens. Rome’s trade routes were built using stone, which made it very easy for merchants to travel from one city to another over a vast amount of land. China, however, used a single code of law for all their citizens and conquered peoples, and used a long and treacherous trail in their trade; that lead to the Middle East. Even though these two civilizations held many differences, they also shared rulers who personally oversaw their governments to prevent numerous dilemmas and used expansive trade routes to build up their economies and

Han dynasty emerged into power back in 221BCE after the fall of Qin dynasty 206BCE. They were the original pioneers when it comes to political systems and structure of the society that lasted more than 2000 years in China. On the other hand, the Roman Empire controlled the western Mediterranean and they had various advancements in technology and science. The Romans had different engineering accomplishments considered to be different from those of the Han kingdom. They formed the basis of the establishment of the western legal codes. This research is aimed towards analysis the similarities and the differences between the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire. The consequences of their differences are also analyzed in this research.

To begin with, both Imperial Rome and Han China were ruled under a bureaucracy. In Rome the emperor was the ultimate authority. The

Empires on their outside may seem very different and unique. However, when you get down to their fundamentals, you begin to truly realize how similar they are. Just as the imposing pine tree and humble tomato plant may seem vastly different, their start from a lowly seed and craving for water and sunlight to survive unifies them. Such is also true with the Han and Roman empires. While key differences may be present, their social structures, influencing religions, and causes of collapse unify them.