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Similarities Between Rome And Han China

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The Period from 600 BCE to 600 CE was a time of imperial expansion and consolidation. Two of the most powerful and prominent empires during this time period were the Roman Empire and Han China. While on opposite sides of the world, both experienced a common over-expansion of empires and states, coupled with accompanying instability in government and external threats by rival states or so-called barbarian peoples. During the Classical period, power was defined by land, so empires and states focused on accumulating and controlling as much land as possible. While this tactic initially contributed to the power of the states, it ultimately led to their decline, as the expanse of empires became too much for the state to control. From 600 BCE to …show more content…

Both governments had a difficulty securing their borders with their own armed forces, this caused them to rely on mercenaries who weren’t loyal to those who hired them. In the Roman Empire, Germanic tribes, as well as the Huns, threatened the stability of the empire. As Rome expanded to the boundaries of other civilizations, they threatened the expansive tactics of the empire. In Han China, endless conflicting powers and invasions of barbarians people, disrupted the stability in the bureaucratic system. Both regions struggled with maintaining stability in their precarious state and were met with threats from outside and within. The northern nomadic peoples were able to establish themselves into China despite efforts by the Han army and the Great Wall.

Although both Han China and the Roman Empire were similar in their instability and eroded imperial authority, they differed in China’s ability to reassemble because of their common cultures. China was unified by Chinese script, Confucianism, and a bureaucratic government. Rome however, did not a common religion or culture like in China, so they had no unifying factor to hold them together. By 479 CE Rome had divided into various political systems, and the rise of Christianity came too late to unify them. When the empire had grown so vast that it could no longer be governed from Rome, Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into two halves. The

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