Han Dynasty China arose in 202 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ. after a peasant rebellion overthrew the previous emperor of the Qin; the Han stressed confucian values and reduced previous repression. The Roman Empire arose in 27 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ. when a civil war over power led to the rise of Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus; Rome had never experienced an Emperor previous to Caesar Augustus. These two Classical Empires coexisted for about 200 years, and with the Silk Road having routes stretching to Rome it’s reasonable to conclude that there may be both similarities and differences between the Empires. While both Rome and Han China had centralized governments, they were different in that the Roman Empire had a less complex bureaucracy than that of the Han, most likely because of social standards. Additionally, while Han China and the Roman Empire were alike in that they both had provinces in order to facilitate the ruling of the emperor, they differed in that Rome enforced their Emperor’s rule more than Han China because of their differing philosophies. …show more content…
For Han China, the previous dynasty, the Qin, already had a centralized government established by the “First Emperor”, Qin Shi Huang. After the peasant rebellion when the Han Dynasty arose, that centralized authority was maintained. In the Roman Empire, there was also a centralized government with the Emperor as the ultimate authority; this was mainly established in 27 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ. by Rome’s first emperor, Caesar Augustus. This centralized government in Rome was supported by the military and although it maintained the Republic’s institutions, the Roman Senate was not as influential as it used to
The Han Dynasty of China from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E. and the Imperial Roman Empire from 21 B.C.E. to 476 C.E. were large empires that dominated during their time periods.
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
Two of the earliest empires in Chinese history were the Qin Dynasty (221- 206 BCE) and the Han Dynasty (202 BCE- 220 CE). They both successfully unified the vast nation of China. Both Empires allowed government to not only influence politics, but also economy, philosophy, and social life. The empires ruled China distinctively differently. The Qin was a very fierce and brutal dynasty, while the Han dynasty tried to reduce the repression of the people brought by the Qin Dynasty. They also both used two distinctive government styles, the Qin used Legalism, a style based on based on effective institutional structures, and the Han used Huang-Lao which combined legalism with Daoist and Confucian ideals. While both empires and schools of thought had their strengths and weaknesses, both subsequently fell.
The third social similarity that both civilizations cherished was that the emperor was given a religious meaning. In the Roman Empire the emperor was has worshipped like a god, and in China the emperor was said to have been chosen from heaven in a concept known as the Mandate of Heaven. In the world of economics both classical giants shared similarities. For instance, both empires heavily relied on the mastering of agriculture to supply the empire with income and food. Secondly, both empires avoided isolationism and did practice trading with other factions. For both Rome and China the epicenter for their trade routes was in the Middle East. Both empires created complex trade routes in the Middle East and beyond and even trading with one another through the Middle East during the prime of the Silk Road trading. As similarities did exist, there were also major differences in politics, social life, and economic foundation for both empires. The first political difference amongst the two empires was that the Chinese established provincial bureaucracies to apply provincial-political action, but the Romans did not have bureaucracies, but they had a Senate which collected and appointed and dealt with
There are many differences and similarities between the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty like their technological achievements, social classes, and political leaders. In the Han Dynasty a leader’s actions were backed up by the Mandate of Heaven and if they lost the Mandate a new leader would come to power. However in early Rome there was a struggle between the elites and the plebeians; the majority of the population. Romans expanded on the concept of arches, created concrete, and aqueducts while Han used many canals. Both the Han and Romans broaden the use and creation of roads. The Han society was
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.
There was many dynasties and empires to come about between 200 BCE and 600 CE. One specific dynasty was the Han dynasty. This dynasty was involved in the unification of China. This dynasty was formed by Lia Bang and lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE, with an interruption phase from 9 CE to 23 CE.The Han dynasty was between decentralized and centralized. Han Wudi was the greatest emperor of this dynasty, who pursued centralization and expansion. There was constant attacks from Xiongnu nomads of C. Asia; however, Han Wudi briefly came to control Xiongnu. Wang Mang, the regent for a two year old emperor, took power himself. He tried to redistribute land, but the wealthier people that did not want to get some of their land taken away assassinated him. In the later Han dynasty, emperors manage with struggles to control resentment. Another succession to come about was the Roman empire. The Roman empire started out as a republic, but soon Julius Caesar Seized Rome in 49 B.C.E. Julius Caesar centralized control but was eventually assassinated in 44 B.C.E. After Julius came Octavian, who ran a monarchy that was disguised as a republic. Octavian continued expansion and integration of the empire. There was an extreme amount of poor people; in fact, one third of the population was in slavery. One of the only things that was attempted was giving them bread and circuses to distract them. There was no policy developed for them. The Roman empire went through many rulers. Although these
The Han dynasty, instead, viewed their government bureaucracy in more high esteem. The origins of the Han dynasty bureaucracy were in the preceding Qin dynasty. This is described in one passage by Sima Qian, a Han historian, where he describes the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. In these writings he describes the first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, as a very cruel despot who burned important writings, imposed cruel penalties, and was very arrogant.(FOOTNOTE). However, even Sima Qian acknowledges that he unified China through the appointment of officials to rule provinces, and standardizing their measurements and writing system.(FOOTNOTE). When the Qin dynasty ended in 202 BCE, however their bureaucratic system survived through the Han dynasty.(FOOTNOTE). This is significant because even though the Han viewed the Qin dynasty very poorly, they still enacted a bureaucracy that was very similar. The unique attributes of this bureaucracy was that it was more centralized, and cohesive then that of the Roman empire. Also, as mentioned earlier, it was better staffed and more equipped.
The Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty civilizations both arose around the same time. While both civilizations had their highs in wealth and battle, they also had low points. They both eventually had problems that led to the fall of their society.
When It comes to political control between Han China and Imperial Rome there are many similarities and differences recorded between the two. They may have been on opposite sides of the continent, but they were in many ways alike, and although they are in the same time period, Han China, 206 BCE - 220 CE and Imperial Rome, 31 BCE - 476 CE, they are very different. Han China and Imperial Rome were very similar (starting point, end of the period) but , there were also very different (government type, leaders).
Since the dawn of civilizations, empires have risen and crumbled across the globe. While the technology and means of rule has evolved immensely in the past 5,000 odd years, the structures and methods have remained much the same. Of the countless great empires of the past, two stand out as exemplary models of how to obtain and subsequently maintain an empire of millions. The imperial Han Dynasty of China and the Ancient Roman Empire are the epitome of empires, ruling for roughly 400 years each and conquering what was then, their world. By far the most interesting idea when considering the two nations is their incredible similarities in methodology, despite a lack of interaction. The parallels between the isolated empires and the questions they
The Qin and the Han are two equally important dynasties that greatly expanded in their reign, although both the Qin and the Han had its own ideas on expansion. In fifteen years, the Qin Dynasty united the seven warring states. Emperor Qin’s rule resulted in the isolation of China from foreigners and brought upon strict rules and the removal of freedom. Under Emperor Qin’s rule, any action people took which angered the ruler could result in harsh punishment. Consequently, people were unhappy and often suffered from poverty. On the other hand, The Han dynasty lasted 426 years and managed to conquer more land, which gradually expanded and formed what China now is today. While isolation from the outside world was still present
In addition the Roman Empire gained Christianity but on the other hand the Romans begin to fail as they could not hold onto their empire and so the Empire's capital was moved to Byzantium by Constantine in which he granted the preaching of Christianity. On the other hand Imperial China also relied on agriculture to improve its civilization but it's Foundation was made because of its people who were always ready for labor . Also because of the periodic censuses which ensured a ready supply of labor for public workers and Public Works. The shin Dynasty established the first Empire and unified the Chinese civilization subordinating the individual to the state to standardize everything from laws to riding a standardization that contributed to the accomplishment of massive Public Works and so under the shin the Chinese civilization began strive but the Chinese civilization grew under the Han Dynasty in which in which religions like Taoism begin to gain more popularity with it's common people and so the shin and hun so huge technological
The Han dynasty and the Roman Empire under Augustus share many strategies that made their empires successful. The most important of these similarities is the centralization of the government and the empires people. Both the Han and Augustus were focused on making a centralized empire by giving providences their own governments and sending government officials that the Han emperor had chosen or a governor Augustus had chosen. These city states still were under the
Rome and China were some of the oldest and most well-known countries in the ancient world. The Han dynasty was a long-lasting dynasty in China's history, and the Roman Empire had a long and strong rule. Like the rules of these empires, the falls of these empires were very impressive. Several similarities to the falls of these empires are apparent. One is the fact that they were both invaded by other tribes that threatened their power. Another was the government corruption that weakened them from the inside. And the last, yet very common is historical societies was taxes and economic reasons.