Similarities And Differences Between The Rome And Han Empire

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The Han Dynasty of China from 206 B.C.E-220 C.E. and the Imperial Roman Empire from 31 B.C.E-474 C.E., are two well known classical empires. They both contained many similarities and differences between their imperial administrations. In the Classical Period, the Han Dynasty & Imperial Rome both used their governments to establish a state religion and centralized bureaucracy. However, one major difference was that while the Han was a family dynasty, Rome was a republic. Under the rule of the Han family, and under the rule of Theodosius & Constantine, the Han and Rome established state religions. The Han empire was a Confucianist society and incorporated Confucianism into its everyday ideals. The Han empire created a system of civil service …show more content…
The Han were a family dynasty, while Rome was a republic. In the Han empire, rulers were based on family lineage so once a ruler died, his son would take his place unless the family lost the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven stated that the emperor had to live a certain way to please his gods and citizens and if he failed his throne would be taken away from him and given to another family. The emperor was in charge of choosing officials and government leaders. This was similar to the Mauryan Empire, which was also a family legacy. The Mauryan Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, who passed his throne on to his son Bindusara, then his son Ashoka, and finally his son who was the last king of the Mauryan Empire. The king had an absolute rule in the empire and made all administrative decisions. He appointed officials, managed the economy, and signed off on public works. Both the Han and Mauryan were very different from the Roman Empire, that had its officials chosen by two consuls. Every year, Roman men would elect two new consuls to serve the emperor. These consuls were in charge of governmental decisions, choosing officials, and commanding the Roman army. The only things that had a higher authority that the consuls were the emperor’s commands, and the laws of the

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