Comparison between Roman and Han Empires. Political Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 2. ADThe Roman Empire and Han Dynasty were both powerful influential forces in their heyday. They pioneered a political system and social structure in China that lasted for almost 2,0. They rapidly advanced Chinese technology, and created the cultural and political foundations for much of East Asia. Their influence is so profound that the majority of China's people still refer to themselves as . The Roman people made unprecedented advances in science and technology, and organized an economy that was hitherto unprecedented in the Mediterranean. The Romans had different engineering accomplishments, than that of the Han. They laid down a legal code that forms the basis of most western legal codes. They left institutions, technology and infrastructure that would influence successors for centuries to come. However, the Romans organized their economy in a way that was hitherto unprecedented in the Mediterranean. For once, agriculture became centered on large plantations called latifundia . The decline and fall of roman empire vol 4 6 volumes 5 edward gibbon PDF. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, Rome was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to. Crops were produced regionally; vineyards sprung up in Gaul, olive oil was produced in North Africa and Spain, and wheat was imported from Egypt. Although agriculture was important, so was trade: An extensive road network, along with massive amounts of coinage, were issued to facilitate trade. In order to make trade and travel easier, many maps were drawn, specifying distances before cities . Evidence of this prosperity was shown in an account of the Han official Gan Ying who stated about the Roman Empire: This country produces plenty of gold, silver, and precious jewels, luminous jade, bright moon pearls, fighting cocks, rhinoceroses, coral, yellow amber, opaque glass, whitish chalcedony, 8 red cinnabar, green gemstones, drawn gold- threaded and multi- coloured embroideries, woven gold- threaded net,delicate polychrome silks painted with gold, and asbestos cloth. They also have a fie cloth which some people say is made from the down of . They blend all sorts of fragrances, and by boiling the juice, make storax. They have all the precious and rare things that come from the various foreign kingdoms. They make gold and silver coins. Comparison between Roman and Han Empires. Roman technology and engineering Essays and Term Papers. Ten silver coins are worth one gold coin. They trade with Anxi (Parthia) and Tianzhu (Northwestern India) by sea. The profit margin is ten to one. The Roman Empire's network of roads made it very easy for traders to travel throughout the territory of the Roman Empire. The presence of the Mediterranean made it easy for sea travel to shuttle goods throughout the Empire. However, this was a fragile network; once the Pax Romana ended, the trade networks began to collapse as merchants could no longer be sure whether their goods would arrive safely. The end of the Pax Romana, and with it expansion, also resulted in the loss of loot from conquests, farther accelerating the collapse of the economy. Roman political instability was also a factor; in order to finance their projects, different emperors would frequently .
The lack of a budgetary system and restraints on issuing currency caused the devaluation of the currency, wreaking havoc on the Roman economy; By the fifth century, the Roman economy had collapsed and large areas were depopulated. The state invested large amounts into agricultural production in order to expand its revenues. As agriculture shifted from self- sufficient manors to free farmers producing goods that were in demand, landowners began to use contracts and money to strike bargains with laborers and with each other. In order to facilitate trade and promote unity among the people, the Qin dynasty standardized measurements for weights, coins, writing, and even the length of wheels. Coinage was issued in large amounts; however, since China lacked silver, the basic issue were bronze coins along with the rare but more valuable silver coins. These standards were all different in the individual states during the warring states period. This greatly helped trade, which was already flourishing during the warring states period. Farmers and traders using contracts replaced ties of blood as dominant in public and private affairs. A new class of merchants grew as long- distance trade expanded, aided by the new roads and canals built by the Qin dynasty. The Qin state, however, believed trade produced nothing of lasting value and encouraged the production of crops over trade. This policy was reverted after the coming of the Han. Also, Chinese victories against the Xiongnu enabled trade to the west. This gave the Chinese an advantage because their goods were in high demand in the Roman cities, while Roman glassware was exported to China. Relative stability at the court(the empire remained within the rule of one family), as well as the laissez- faire policies of the early Han emperors(see rule of Wen and Jing), allowed the Chinese economy to prosper. Taxes on agriculture were reduced from 1/1. Qin dynasty to 1/3. Forced labour by peasants for the state was reduced from one month a year to ten days every three years. Chinese innovations in agriculture were also important; the introduction of the cow- driven plow, iron farm tools, water mills, the wheelbarrow and other technologies greatly improved the agriculture of the Han. In order to further improve the crop, the state invested heavily in large irrigation projects in areas such as Shanxi. The surplus of grain made available by these advances made the empire very stable compared to other ancient states; during the rule of the Jin emperor, it was recorded that so much grain and silver was stored in the imperial treasury that: the ropes used to hang the bags of coins were breaking apart due to the weight, and bags of grain which had been stored for several years were rotting because they had been neglected and not eaten. Revenue was also to a large extent sustained by state monopolies of salt and iron. However, in the later stages of the Han empire, a major problem arose: the Han landowners' accumulation of land, along with the state's taxes, resulted in a large horde of landless peasants from which costly rebellions occurred. These rebellions had the same effect as Roman civil wars had, as they disrupted the Chinese trade networks and deprived the state of a major source of taxation revenue. This caused the Han economy to retrograde to a partially feudal, local economy, which would lay the seeds for the four centuries of strife that followed the collapse of the Han. Cursive numbers not directly given by the authors; they are obtained by multiplying the respective value of GDP per capita by estimated population size. Italy is considered the richest region, due to tax transfers from the provinces and the concentration of elite income in the heartland; its GDP per capita is estimated at having been around 4. There has been significant reserach done on Roman metallurgical production while research on the Han is relatively scarce. There have been some rough estimates of the Han industry based on the metallurgical production of later dynasties and time periods. Annual metal output in metric tons. Iron. Copper. Lead. Silver. Gold. Roman Empire. Many institutions were set up to settle legal disputes, and Roman law appeared in every town governed by the empire. The influence of Roman law would long outlast the empire. The basis of Roman society, as proclaimed by the laws, was the family, headed by a pater familias, who had power over his dependents. However, Roman women were quite free and had greater control over their wealth and property than preceding states in the Mediterranean. One key difference from the Han was an extensive institution of slavery, in which slave laborers were used in large numbers to produce goods. Each social group had well- defined roles. Birth was an important indicator of social position. While the elite could enjoy a relatively wealthy life and could expect to become officials and hold high positions, lower classes could not expect such luxury. In trials, the Roman elite was better privileged; they received preferential treatment from imperial courts. They could not be subject to cruel punishments. For the lower classes, the fastest way to advance socially was the army or trade. The basis of this society were free peasants, who formed the base of the tax revenues of the state and who produced most of the agricultural crop. Governing them were the scholar- officials, educated men who were interpreters of the empire's official ideology, Confucianism. These men also helped link the central government with local society. Merchants were also a class, but they were subject to controls by the state and often forced to partner with the state, who also took monopolies in salt, steel and wine, further restricting merchants. At the bottom of society were convicts, beggars and slaves, who formed a small part of the population. For wealthy families, life was good; they displayed their wealth in lavish meals, and lived in large homes in which women lived in the inner quarters. Poorer farmers and tenant laborers worked on their fields. Women in poorer families did not have such luxury and often worked in the fields with their husbands or acted as entertainers. Silk clothes were abundant and worn by all classes. Music and entertainment were separated from rituals, with the exception of funeral rites which were taken very seriously. The legalist thought believed at least in theory that everyone was equal under the emperor. Therefore, punishments for the same crimes were the same in writing, though this was not always carried out. Social mobility was also relatively great, especially in the military. Some Han generals such as Wei Qin and Hui Zhu Bing began their lives as servants' sons. Confucianism also asserted that . A rich nobleman, even though he may been born well, can by his acts be called shameful. This thought had the effect of weakening the nobility and strengthening the emperor.
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