Classical Empires Han Dynasty, Roman Empire and Guptan Empire

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Classical EmpiresHan Dynasty, Roman Empire and
Guptan Empire

• Characteristics of Empires
• Greek, Roman and Chinese Traditions
• Han and Roman Empires
• Reasons for Decline

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THE CLASSICAL Empires(1000 BCE - 600 CE)

• During this era, world history was shaped by the
  rise of several large civilizations that grew
  from areas where the earlier civilizations
  thrived.
• kept more accurate records, so historical
  information about them is much more abundant
• provide many direct links to today's world, so
  that we may refer to them as root societiesones
  that modern societies have grown from
• expansionistdeliberately conquering lands around
  them to create large empires

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Common Features of Classical Civilizations

• Each civ developed their own beliefs,
  lifestyles, political institutions, and social
  structures however, there were important
  similarities
• Patriarchal family structures - Like the river
  valley societies earlier, the classical
  civilizations valued male authority within
  families, as well as in most other areas of life.
  
• Agricultural-based economies - Despite more
  sophisticated and complex job specialization, the
  most common occupation in all areas was
  farmingtherefore most lived where?
• Complex governments
• Expanding trade base

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Characteristics of Classical Empires

• Powerful military
• Effective government bureaucracy
• Control large territory-multiethnic and
  multicultural
• Uniform currency and weights and measures
• Service of citizens (civic duty)
• Advancement of military technology
• Uniform legal codes
• Public works
• Lavish public monuments
• Patronize the arts and scholarship
• Slavery? everywhere but

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Trade continued
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Greco-Roman Traditions

• Active participation in politics
• Greek city-state, Roman republic
• Aristocracy
• Republic
• philosopher kings
• Rule by law
• codified, movement towards equitable law
• Polytheism (though Christianity makes extensive
  gains during the late Roman Empire)
• Slave Labor

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East Asian Traditions

• Ancestor Worship
• Dynastic Cycle (will be discussed later)
• Legalism and Confucianism
• Reinforced social hierarchy and male dominance
• Meritocracy
• Established by Qin merit (hard work) enabled
  (limited) upward social mobility

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Han and Roman Empire Similarities

• Highly stratified societies
• Patriarchal families Confucianism, pater
  familias
• Agricultural base free peasants-small farms or
  tenant farmers, heavy dependency on slavery and
  latifundias (estates)
• Educated civil service Confucian trained scholar
  bureaucrats, civic responsibility
• Highly centralized state

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Han and Roman continued

• Multicultural empires most conquered
  assimilated, citizenship offered to best,
  extension of Roman law
• Extensive road systems and urban communities
• Subordinated women
• Powerful armies maintain the empire

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Direct Comparisons

1. Rome
2. Well organized bureaucracy founded on Roman law
   and classical learning
3. Emphasis on family pater familias
4. Reliance on patricians women gained power and
   property rights within families
5. Engineering roads, aqueducts, amphitheatres,
   domes, sewage systems, central heating
6. Inventions concrete, the arch (probably
   Etruscan), insulae (apartment buildings)
7. Religion Emperor as god, paganism, mystery
   religions, introduction of Christianity

1. Han
2. Well organized bureaucracy founded on Confucian
   ideals and education
3. Emphasis on family, ancestors patriarchal
4. Reliance on gentry as support good marriages
   afforded women more rights
5. Engineering roads, canals, the Great Wall
6. Inventions wheelbarrow, gunpowder, printing
   press, compass, paper, paper currency (all before
   1000 ce)
7. Religion Confucianism, Daoism, native gods,
   introduction of Buddhism

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Decline of Empires

• Han and Roman

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Decline

• Empires too big costly to defend the frontiers
• Burden of taxes on the poor,
• some flee to evade taxes, as maintaining the
  empire grows more costly
• taxes go up, few new sources of revenue,
  religious groups and nobility exempt
• Slavery in Rome (supply and demand???)
• Hurts working class Romans
• Oppressive ? less productive,
• fewer new sources,
• less technological development

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Decline (Continued)

• Administrative problems
• succession corruption, weak emperors
• failing bureaucracies corruption of examination
  system, lack of civic responsibility
• In Rome bread and circuses to forestall revolts
• Eroding economies decline in trade when roads
  not repaired or safe

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Decline (Continued)

• Religion Christianity a factor in Rome, but
  Buddhism is not
• Plagueshit both hard, especially in cities of
  Roman empire
• Pressure from nomads Huns, Xiongnu, Germanic

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Dynastic Cycle in China
Emperor reforms government and makes more
efficient
New dynasty comes to power
Start
Lives of common people improved, taxes reduced,
farming encouraged
Rebel unite under strong leader and attack emperor
Poor lose respect for govt, join rebels, attack
landlords
Problems begin (wars, invasions, drought etc
Taxes increase, men forced to work for army,
farming neglected.
Govt increases spending, corruption ensues
Droughts, floods, famine, continued war etc
strains dynasty
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Why did the west fall harder?

• Han Chinese more multiethnic a true nation that
  can endure beyond the dynasty In Roman empire
  most live outside Italy
• State and society not bound together with the
  same glue In China, Confucianism offers both
  order for family, society and state not true of
  Romans
• Rome employed a mercenary army- loyalty issues!
• Better assimilation of barbarians by China,
  Germanic tribes dismembered Roman empire, while
  nomads absorbed by Chinese
• Common language Roman (vulgate Latin) never
  replaced Greek in much of the empire
• Dynastic Cycles

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Why western Roman empire and not eastern?

• Deep, engrained civilization in the east Greeks
  and before
• East less impacted by nomadic invasion maybe
  because many enduring cities, large populations
• Tribes on eastern borders were disorganized and
  unmotivated
• After separation of empire, east no longer has to
  send any help to West
• When west cut from wealth of East, the tax base
  dwindled

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