Throughout history, there were various empires which developed into great, powerful forces. These empires expanded their lands to new places but, these empires ultimately came to an end. Amongst these great empires, were the Han and the Roman empire. Both were great in power but, due to political, social, and economic causes, they came to an end. Although they do partake in the equal shares of corruption and problems with the military, they also had fair shares of differences, regarding their declines. For example, the Han empire had decentralization and rebellion while Rome had shifted in interests and developed war issues. These differences and similarities are bits of history which help to comprehend why these empires are no longer
The decline of China and Rome both shared similar economic strife in that they were both subject to barbarian and nomadic invasions, therefore having to spend large amounts of money on frontier defense; however, they differed in that the Han Empire collapsed in part due to the high taxes imposed on the peasant class resulting in a large peasant rebellion, such as the Yellow Turbans, while in Rome tax collections was in danger of abandonment as residents of the empire were few in number and in financial difficulty. In addition, the two empires were similar socially because of large epidemics, diseases, and plagues that caused a population decrease. Also, both experienced a
The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire both had a great influence not only on its people but the world as a whole. The two had similar and different methods of political control. Both ruled their people under a bureaucracy, they had civil servants to maintain their large empires, and their foundations were made of great and strong rulers. Aside from the similarities they also had several differences. Take China for example, they focused more on Confucianism and they had a Mandate of Heaven. Rome on the other hand used entertainment to distract and control the masses of its population.
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.
To begin with, one of the main problems of the Roman Empire was their economic problems and corruption. For example, in an excerpt of a historical text written by Priscus, which was a Roman ambassador to the Huns in 449 C.E, he reported a conversation he had with a former citizen whose land had been conquered by the Huns. In their conversation the former Roman citizen stated, “ The conditions of [Roman] subjects in time of peace [is worse than war]...taxes are very severe, and unprincipled men inflict injuries on others… A [wealthy lawbreaker] … is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man … undergoes the legal penalty… The climax of misery is to have to pay in order to obtain justice…” This supports that one main problem that ended the Roman empire was economic problems and corruption because it shows that if rich people in Rome committed a crime they would only have to bribe their way out of trouble while on the other hand poor people will have to face their consequences which is unfair so when they got invaded by the Huns they decided that it was best if they conquered than to join the military to help their empire. In addition another economic problem is that the the Roman Emperors had to pay their own soldiers to stay loyal which lead to emperors having to mint more coins which is further supported by BrainPop which states, “Roman emperors often bribed their soldiers with money to make sure they remained loyal. And when emperors didn’t have enough to pay their troops, they would mint cheaper coins. This caused the value of Roman money to plummet.” This also supports that one important cause that caused the Roman Empire to decline was the corruption and economic problems because in order for a empire or a civilization to function efficiently, they need to respect all people
The Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty were both some of the greatest empires in their time. The fall of the Roman Empire was followed by the fall of the Han Dynasty. Three major things that contributed to these empires falling were the economic troubles these empires were going through at the time, taxation was a huge trouble for some of these empires, trade was also a big contribution, and being economically weak had an impact as well. Political reasons were a major of why these empires fell, both these empires had problems when it came down to their rulers, both these empires also split into two at a point, as well as the gap between the rich and the poor.
The Western Roman Empire fell due to the loss of ambition, economic issues, and a despairing military. The Western Roman Empire was powerful empire with astounding achievements. Their overpower and greatness brought complication as time went on. The change of government leaders and religion had a big impact on the fall of the Western Roman Empire. As the issues began to rise the powerful empire began to fall.
The Roman Empire Fell because of internal and external problems. The primary causes for the fall of Rome were because of government corruption, weak military, and disaster & disease. Government corruption was a great contributor to the fall of Rome. From 235-285 C, there were 19 Roman Emperors and 13 of the emperors were assassinated (Doc A). The people
The great Romans fell to the hands of the Huns. Rome was a worldwide phenomenon, ready to destroy anything in their territory. The Roman Empire fell because of inside corruption along with, a weak military being attacked by multiple outside groups. They fell because of a lack of dedication to keep the Empire going.
The Western Roman Empire is historically known for their drastic fall. Before they were an empire, 509 BC to 27 BC, they were a republic. The republic ended when Octavian changed his name to Augustus and took control. The empire was preserved from Augustus’s reign in 27 BC to the fall in 476 AD. What caused the fall of the empire? The social and cultural aspect in the Western Roman Empire was declining, as was the economy, which led to the weakening of the military- all causing the fall of the Roman Empire. The Roman culture was being changed dramatically, including the old Roman virtues. The economy was in trouble with jobs and therefore, money. And lastly, what some believe to be the main cause, the inability of the army to hold back the invaders.
An additional cause for the fall of the Roman Empire was the constant change in emperors. The document says, “For the next forty-nine years , the Roman imperials throne was occupied by anyone military strength to seize it -- a total of twenty-two emperors.”(Doc 1, 3-5). In short this means that they would let anyone with military experience came to power. The effect of the decision is that the majority of the emperors either died in battle or was assassinated . The Empire didn’t have a stable leader which is why the Empire fell. They needed a leader that would stay in power for a long time to keep the Empire from breaking into chaos. This compares to the Han Dynasty because they also didn’t have stable emperors which caused the society
The Han Dynasty and Roman Empire both ruled for considerably long periods, spanning over four centuries around the same time. The Zhou Dynasty, an early Chinese empire, ruled to around the beginning of the Han Dynasty. Their government was based on feudalism; this giving power to the rich in their society. Overextension led to the fall of their rule, leading to the rise of Confucianism and Legalism. These beliefs along with Taoism led to the warring states period, these views leading to the start of the Qin Dynasty and then to the Confucianist Han Dynasty. Like the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Roman Empire began with nobility rule. A difference would be that the Roman Republic's fall had more to do with the tension between the classes. This leading to Julius Caesar's rule, like Qin Shi Huangdi the Emperor of the Qin Shi Dynasty. Caesar's assassination lead to the rise of the Roman Empire. The beginning of their regions early powers began around the same period and spanned for around the same length, this provided for similarities between the two, such as tension between classes, and expansion of their trade routes, a difference being the succession of leaders in both of their governments.
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
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.
Over this millennium, there are several political similarities between empires established in 500 CE and 1500 CE. According to Mark Lewis, one major reason why the Han Dynasty collapsed in 220 CE is due to the government’s inability to stabilize its frontier. The population near the frontier was in serious decline, and this shows the government’s weakness. Similarly, in in “The Road to Defeat,” Conor Perkins explains the Roman Empire, which fell in the fifth century, lacked stability due to their inefficiency to collect taxes. This was detrimental because the strength of their army depended on the taxpayers’ money. Again, this highlights the lack of inefficiency in a government that was experienced in both the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty. Similarly, several centuries later, the Mongol Empire collapsed in 1368 due to internal issues. Court factionalism resulted in a series of civil wars that rocked the