Similarities Between Han China And Imperial Rome

Each member of the group is expected to post 2 similarities on the Group's homepage discussion board.

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

Though they were both able to trade due to their expansions and coasts, Rome did much more trade than Han China. Also, due to this vastness, both societies’ cultures were spread all over the world (which led to other civilizations forming) and their economies were boosted (which led to better conditions for the people).

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

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.

As you can see the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire possessed many differences both politically and through their accomplishments. That being said, they also shared an extensive variety of similarities. They varied in government, but

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

Rome and Han were similar in terms of military techniques and methods. The similarity was the way the two kingdoms had imperial administrations. Both Rome and Han established their territories through defending and fighting for their land. This can be proved from the way the Romans used various legions that had heavy infantry in the warfare. The Han dynasty had the same legions which they used in their warfare. Each legion had thousands of soldiers and they were sent to the battlefield in order to fight.

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.

They want to emphasize individual virtuous behavior, both by the ruler and the ruled as well as highly recommending obedience and respect, “people should know their place, even under bad rulers.” Even the Han emperors decided to implement Confucius ideas after looking at their doctrine called The Analects. The book shows Confucian political value and social order which states that the aristocrats and the educated are of the highest degree, and then comes farmers, and finally, the merchants. Although both Confucianism and Legalism call for governmental hierarchy, Confucianism possessed an optimistic view of human potential while Legalists believe that a powerful government is necessary along with a carefully devised law rewarding for good deeds and punishing for bad

The two great civilizations of Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E. - 476 C.E.) and Han China (206 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.) were both two of the greatest civilizations ever built.In addition to the great advancements these two dynasties made, the governments of these civilizations each had ways of maintaining political control over their subjects. Although the two dynasties ways of political control were very similar, there were also major differences. The use of centralized government and military were both political power similarities among both civilizations. A major difference was that Han China was based on Confucianism, which emphasized the family unit and order while Rome was based on law and order. Another major difference between the two nations was their citizenship policies. These differences and similarities are what made these nations what they were.

In China, bureaucrats were appointed by the emperor, in which the emperor would usually choose aristocrats. In Imperial Rome, the upper class could influence the political structure. However, the aristocrats were not the only ones who were able to participate

The Roman and Han Empires were among the greatest empires in history. The Han prospered in 202 BCE - 220 C.E and the Roman Empire in 27 BCE- 476 C.E. By the early second century CE, Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean coastline and had to use military force to set up borders against their adversaries, the Huns. During the Han, colonies were established in Korea and military campaigns were mounted in order to control their neighbors, the Xiongnu. Both of these empires had similar rises by using strong military power and expansion, which helped them both strive in economic trade. Although there are many similarities in the reasons that contributed to the rise of these empires, there are also several contrasting reasons for their decline. These two empires differ because Rome allowed plague to end their empire while the Han kept ruling.

The two Empires had different originality. Han Dynasty was formed from earlier dynastic activities in classical China. The main aim for them was to restore political order in the dynasty in China. Roman Empire was formed with the aim of controlling of aristocratic landlords. It was politically motivated, with a hope of having the entire universe to be under its control.

The Roman and Chinese Empires both absorbed foreign religions, were centralized, had large populations and had a major impact on the environment. Although, the Chinese were much less culturally diverse than the Roman Empire. After the collapse of both the Han and Roman Empires, the Chinese were able to " reassemble under the Sui" (page 140) but, the Roman Empire was never "successfully reestablished" (page 140). One of the major reasons the Chinese were able to recentralize their government was because of the "cultural homogeneity of Chinese civilization." (page 140)