Rome, during its later years, formed control through emperors, military generals who took control of the state through military force. Their soldiers became more and more loyal to them instead of the state, encouraged by promises of land in the empire. This led to Rome’s continuous land expansion, as they needed more and more areas to give to their loyal fighters. However, forces soon spread too thinly across Rome’s great many borders, and the empire could not protect itself as much as it needed to, for maintaining so many borders was expensive. Han China ruled through a well organized bureaucracy, with the leading family being the Hans. The government, however, becoming corrupt and inefficient, coupled with natural disasters, led to peasant farmers revolting. The military soon had to use farmers to fight these angry farmers, which, as you might expect, led to only larger amounts of angry, hungry, revolting peasant farmers. The empire became decentralized and on the verge of collapse, many subjects unimpressed by the government’s rule. While the governments were falling apart, foreign peoples took notice, and started to invade both crumbling empires. Rome became under threat to the Germanic tribes. Trade routes, which Rome so desperately depended on to keep their empire going, stated collapsing. Heavy inflation on goods soon occurred, which peasants could not afford. Farmers and laborers relied on powerful local landowners to protect them, not the state. This decentralization surely doomed the empire. The invaders soon dismembered Rome, causing the empire to collapse, except for the distinctly non-Roman eastern area, centered in Constantinople, later becoming the Byzantine Empire. In China, a confederacy of Turkic peoples, known as the Xiognu, placed an extreme pressure on the Han. The Han became overrun by the invaders, who- unlike the Germanic tribes that dismembered Rome- integrated themselves into Chinese culture. Yes, temporary chaos ensued, but China persevered, not lost forever, but returning as an imperial force to be reckoned with later on. Understanding the difference in ideals between the Romans and the Hans brings light to their differences as empires. The Roman Empire centered in Europe used Latin as their primary language, although Greek and many other languages were already used in the area. Han China, however, was unified in its common language; the Han did not bring a new language, rather, they had continued the language being
Rome, during its later years, formed control through emperors, military generals who took control of the state through military force. Their soldiers became more and more loyal to them instead of the state, encouraged by promises of land in the empire. This led to Rome’s continuous land expansion, as they needed more and more areas to give to their loyal fighters. However, forces soon spread too thinly across Rome’s great many borders, and the empire could not protect itself as much as it needed to, for maintaining so many borders was expensive. Han China ruled through a well organized bureaucracy, with the leading family being the Hans. The government, however, becoming corrupt and inefficient, coupled with natural disasters, led to peasant farmers revolting. The military soon had to use farmers to fight these angry farmers, which, as you might expect, led to only larger amounts of angry, hungry, revolting peasant farmers. The empire became decentralized and on the verge of collapse, many subjects unimpressed by the government’s rule. While the governments were falling apart, foreign peoples took notice, and started to invade both crumbling empires. Rome became under threat to the Germanic tribes. Trade routes, which Rome so desperately depended on to keep their empire going, stated collapsing. Heavy inflation on goods soon occurred, which peasants could not afford. Farmers and laborers relied on powerful local landowners to protect them, not the state. This decentralization surely doomed the empire. The invaders soon dismembered Rome, causing the empire to collapse, except for the distinctly non-Roman eastern area, centered in Constantinople, later becoming the Byzantine Empire. In China, a confederacy of Turkic peoples, known as the Xiognu, placed an extreme pressure on the Han. The Han became overrun by the invaders, who- unlike the Germanic tribes that dismembered Rome- integrated themselves into Chinese culture. Yes, temporary chaos ensued, but China persevered, not lost forever, but returning as an imperial force to be reckoned with later on. Understanding the difference in ideals between the Romans and the Hans brings light to their differences as empires. The Roman Empire centered in Europe used Latin as their primary language, although Greek and many other languages were already used in the area. Han China, however, was unified in its common language; the Han did not bring a new language, rather, they had continued the language being