compare and contrast the roman empire and the han dynasty
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COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE HAN DYNASTY
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Introduction
Both the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire rose, during their era, to become the
strongest and most powerful empires, in their epoch. However, the methods of achieving their
world power and dominance, varied immensely, as they applied different methods through their
political structures, which were anchored around their governments. The imperial Rome Empire
and the Han dynasty constructed distinctive techniques of social and political control. For
instance, to the Chinese, the Han dynasty applied a centerpiece, which monitored everything
referred to as Confucianism. The Roman Empire, on the other hand, was based on a monarchy
but offered its residents more rights as compared to the Han. However, the two empires had
similar political structures as the power was vested on the wealthy that were given the mandate
to control, the peasants concerning issues such as food support. The empires made id probable
for their subjects lead sustainable and peaceful as well as predictable lives as compared to the
past regimes. The wealthiest were in charge of social distribution and could easily influence
community perceptions and interactions among the residents. The Two empires, which existed
during the Classical age, had correlated and varied political, social, religious practices, as well as
economical values and practices. However, although the two empires were from the same epoch,
they shared both differences and similarities, in their economical and social perspectives.
Social features of the Roman Empire
The social system of the Roman Empire was rooted on heredity, affluence, autonomy,
citizenship and property as well as about men and women who were distinguished by their social
status. The womens position in society was defined by the status of their fathers and husbands1.
1 rnason, Jhann Pll, and Kurt A. Raaflaub. 2011. The Roman Empire in context historical and
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They were required to become housewives and lacked any freedom or independence to do as
they wished. This led to the boundaries of gender roles being wider and highly pronounced, as
women had no voice in society. The social perspective of the ancient Rome and that of the Han
China were similar in the perspective that they both embraced male dominance in their culture
and social existence. Male dominance was a significant aspect for both empires as they were
more concerned with male children while disregarding the female counterparts2. The two
empires cared for the birth of male offspring and almost entirely disregarded the women. Men
were deemed more significant and relevant than women within the Dynasties. In Han China, it
was more of a disgrace to bear or sire female offsprings, who had no position in society.
Furthermore, in the ancient Roman Empire the women were viewed to belong to the similar
social class echelon as children in their community. The father was the heart of a family and had
power over his children regardless of their age, which entitled to become the exclusive owner off
everything that was acquired by his sons. In this scenario, a son would endeavor to amass wealth,
but at the end of it all, it belonged to his father.
Marriages in the Roman Empire were arranged, but the mothers or daughters could have
some influence on the decisions reached. Girls were pressured to marry early while in their
comparativeperspectives.Chichester,WestSussex,U.K.:Wiley-Blackwell.
http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=644971.
2 Duncan-Jones, Richard. 2002. Structure and scale in the Roman economy. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
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young ages whereby the legal age for marriage was twelve years. However, the women could not
partake in public life, but they led a visible life, unlike the Han Dynasty3.
Furthermore, the social statuses were dominant to the extent that there were distinct
boundaries, on how people dressed in the Roman Empire. Members of various social classes
dressed distinctly, to differentiate their status from those of higher classes, and those below them.
The emperor was the only one who was permitted to dress in purple toga, while the other leaders
such as senators could dress in a white toga among others. However, although the classes and
ranks among people were strictly established there was a lot of interaction among people of
different classes. For instance, some freemen and slaves who worked in the houses of the
wealthy and upper class people interacted while soldiers also could mix with their officers4. The
dressing system as a mode of rank was also a factor, in the Han dynasty, where the system of
classes of people, was highly pronounced. The dynasty also had slaves, who were even branded
by slave marks, to differentiate for the other people in society, and their roles, were to serve their
masters until their demise. Slaves were acquired during warfare a bankrupt subject could sell
himself into slavery, and a father could as well sale his children into slavery, although selling
ones own children was illegal. Therefore, due to the high number of slaves during the empire
they became more visible as the rich mens homes were full of slaves. The Romans considered a
man who possessed more slaves as a man with immense status and prestige within their society.
The slaves were also obtained like any other piece of property.
3 rnason, Jhann Pll, and Kurt A. Raaflaub. 2011. The Roman Empire in context historical and
comparativeperspectives.Chichester,WestSussex,U.K.:Wiley-Blackwell.
4 Duncan-Jones, Richard. 2002. Structure and scale in the Roman economy. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
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Moreover, men who were wealthy in the Roman Empire acted as patron who led the
people who were from the lower classes. The wealthy offered generous food distributions as well
as entertainment. This was provided for by the Roman law, which was practiced in each town or
city through the empire. The laws made the family, the root of the roman social order. These
practices were also common among the Han Dynasty.
Furthermore, there was a theater in each roman town during the empire rule as well as an
amphitheater, whereby the Colosseum min Rome was the most famous. The Colosseum, which
is an entertainment facility, was used in hosting gladiatorial fights or games, whereby well-
trained men, mostly slaves fought, sometimes to their death, to thrill throngs of crowds, who
gathered to enjoy the games. Contrary, the Han Chinese elites, constructed outsized palace
complexes, to electrify and entertain themselves, and not necessarily for the broad public.
Oratory was also a significant social aspect in the Roman Empire, and it was passed on from the
Greeks, making it a common occurrence and practice among the Romans. However, in Han
China poetry, books and stories were common, as those from the upper class were required to be
versed in prose and poetry. They were expected to create a poem instantly as they played a
drinking game whereby the loser was required to formulate a poem immediately, or be forced to
consume a cup of wine.
Economic features of the Roman Empire
Concerning the economy, Rome comprised silver and gold coins, which were valued
highly as the possessed real value. Conversely, China had copper coins that possessed nominal
value, and was underpinned by administration reserves. This exposed Han weakness and left in
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to be susceptible to hyperinflation, and massively contributed to the rebellions witnessed against
the Han Emperors in the 2nd century AD5.
However, both ancient Rome and Han dynasty share economical perspectives as the basis
wealth of these two larger empires were agriculture, which provided them with some of the
products, which they traded. Nonetheless, Rome mostly exported glass metal-works while Han
Dynasty dominantly exported silk and bronze tools6. Furthermore, the two empires embarked in
collecting taxes from their people except the slaves within their empire7. The Roman Empire
embarked to develop its economy by supporting the city bourgeoisie.
The Roman Empire achieved a staggering transformation of scale, in the production of
agricultural, manufactured and mined products, in the Mediterranean region. Furthermore, they
constructed an unprecedented number of roads and drew up complicated maps with significant
roads and distances among towns. Furthermore, they coordinated road networks with sea routes
to support commerce flow in the region. Coinage was generated in immense quantities, to
facilitate the exchange of products. There was witnessed emergence of larger scale commercial
plantation agriculture, which specialized in cash crops for the urban market. This plantation
entailed that a larger number of slaves were required to offer labor services. The Rome
agriculture was self sufficient and covered most of the empire subjects. They enhanced their crop
5 Duncan-Jones, Richard. 2002. Structure and scale in the Roman economy. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
6 Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. 2011. The essential world history. Boston, MA:
Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
7 Duncan-Jones, Richard. 2002. Structure and scale in the Roman economy. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
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growing to produce form products. The existence of a freer market in Rome, which ensured that
the empire drove its money from campaigns, enhanced the wealthy of the empire and tribute
from its client kingdoms. Whereas the Roman Empire created roads and concrete for the
building, which enabled them to construct stronger buildings, the Han Dynasty invented tools
such as threw wheelbarrow, which has immense effect in trade and society.
The Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty was the second of its kind in china and was preceded by the Qin
dynasty. The empire was conceived through the campaigns of a rebel Luis Bang, whose actions
led to the creation of this influential dynasty. The rebellion was necessitated by the grievances of
the peasants who sought reforms on various issues, which affected their lives. This occurrence
influenced the social and economic features observed during this influential era. Contrary to
common perceptions, the dynasty consisted of two factions namely the western Han and the
eastern Han. The western Han gained prominence with its approach to involve the peasants into
government as opposed to the previous dynasty, which involved only the aristocrats. This
approach was successful since the western Han is considered to the first powerful and unified
empire in china. The empire like the Roman one had a significant influence in global history,
with its contribution on social, economic and political aspects, which were sustainable. This is
despite the empires being located at different places and eras.
Economic Features the Han Dynasty
One of the aspects that were prominent in the Han dynasty, like the Roman Empire, was
the economic features evident in this era. The economic activities in the dynasty were centered
on agriculture and trade. Currency was an integral part of trade as was evident in the Roman
Empire. The Han dynasty took up the coins used during the preceding era. However, the
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government of the Han dynasty stopped government minting promoting private production of
coins to be used as currency. However, this trend was reversed by the later emperors, who
resorted to the previous method of the government being responsible for minting of currency.
This was due to production of inferior and lighter coins, which necessitated the government to
resort to the government monopoly in coin mintage. This production was mandated to the
finance minister during the eastern Han. The use of the coins allowed easier circulation hence the
economy was vibrant. This is because employments of coins as currency were easy to transport
and standardize; hence, accurate valuing of goods was achieved.
The government generated revenue to support its operations through taxation. In the Han
dynasty, different types of taxation existed, and this included land tax, which required
landowners to submit a portion of their produce. This was facilitated with the removal of the
feudal system, which allowed landowners, regardless of their scale to contribute in taxation.
There were also the property and poll tax, which were paid using money.
Agriculture was encouraged with the end feudalism promoting free land ownership. This
increased the productivity of the empire bolstering the trade and economy in the region. In
addition, the government of the Han dynasty enacted reforms, which ensured that the farmers are
not shackled by debts. This was essential with the actuality that these demographic consisted of
the majority of shareholders. It was, therefore, imperative to address the situation. This included
resolutions like reducing taxes, providing temporary housing and employment for peasant
laborers and granting of loans to farmer. This ensured that the population was economically
empowered enhancing the economic situation of the region.
The Han dynastys trade was also influenced by the rich resources, which were abundant
in the region. This consisted of salt and iron deposits, which created rich businesspersons
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through its trade. These resources resulted in wealthy merchants employing large workforces to
serve in the mines since exploitation of the reserves led to massive profits for the merchants.
This was a problem for the government since it attracted peasants from agriculture depleting the
governments capability to collect revenue from land tax. This influence was eliminated by the
governments move to nationalize these resources, but allowed the merchants to act as officials
managing these resources. The government in this situation was seen to employ monopolistic
policies in its economy, as opposed to the Roman Empire where capitalism was encouraged. This
trend was refuted during the eastern dynasty where production by private and county ownership
was encouraged. Monopolistic policies were also evident in the liquor business whereby the
trade was nationalized. This was later reversed in favor of collection of property tax levied for
individuals trading in alcohol privately. Despite the different modes of taxation employed in the
Han dynasty, the aspect of taxation provides a similarity between the Han and roman empires
economic states.
Social Features the Han Dynasty
The social characteristic of the Han dynasty was significantly developed. There was
evidence of social stratification with different social classes being evident. The apex of the social
strata had the emperor8. There were also other royalty and nobles consisting of kings and nobles.
Eunuchs and regents were also esteemed and belonged to the elite class in the society. The
members of this class were immune to arrest unless, in the instance, the emperor instructed this.
Scholars, teachers and government also started identifying with this class enjoying the social
8 Ye, Lang, Zhenggang Fei, and Tianyou Wang. 2007. China: five thousand years of history and civilization.
Kowloon, Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press.
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privileges afforded to this class. The farmers followed in the social hierarchy. However, smaller
cultivators were held in lower esteem, and this included laborers, tenants and slaves. Artisans, on
the other hand, were considered to have social status that was between farmers and local
merchants9. The merchants who were registered by the government were required to dress in
white apparels and paid high taxes. Despite this, the gentry perceived them with contempt. The
powerful merchants, however, were the ones who networked their operations through cities and
were not government registered. This resulted in them amassing wealth that exceeded some
government official significantly and were more powerful. In addition, individuals like medical
practitioners, butchers and pig breeders enjoyed a social status, which was high.
Family was also an essential part of the social life of the Han dynasty. The families in the
dynasty consisted mostly of nuclear member sharing a homestead. Family beliefs and values
were based on the Confucian theory, which required different members to be afforded unique
respects and intimacy. During marriages, the union was arranged with the partners being chosen
by the parents. However, in this scenario, the fathers thoughts were considered to have more
weight than the mother. There was evidence of monogamous and polygamous marriages though
the latter only occurred when an individual could afford it. Both sexes were allowed to divorce,
and if willing, to remarry. Inheritance was divided equally among sons and daughters were not
included formally in the will. Women were expected to obey their male counterparts and were
9 Hardy, Grant, and Anne Behnke Kinney. 2005. The establishment of the Han empire and imperial China. Wesport:
Conn.
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involved in activities such as weaving and domestic chores. They also sold textile goods for
profit10.
Religion was also critical for the society with the Han participating in ritual sacrifices.
This occurred in temples and shrines, and it was believed that it would appease the supernatural.
There was a belief that people had two souls, whereby one enjoyed immortality, while the other
remained on earth, and the two could only be reunited through such rituals11.
Literature was a key aspect of the society and Confucianism was the vein of the
philosophies engaged by the society. The society was highly cultured, and law was observed.
Cases of rape, murder and physical harm were punished in courts. Women were allowed the
right to seek action against the men despite their social status. Some of the punishment afforded
for individuals guilty of misdemeanors included fines, forced labor and deaths by beheading. If
cases failed to be resolved, intervention of the higher officials and even the emperor was
sought12.
The society consumed foods, which included wheat rice, beans, barley and millet among
others. They obtained meat from domesticated animals such as cows, geese, sheep and pigs and
consumer various fruits and hunted game13. The clothes worn depicted the social status of the
10 Ye, Lang, Zhenggang Fei, and Tianyou Wang. 2007. China: five thousand years of history and civilization.
Kowloon, Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press.
11 Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. 2009. World history: to 1500. Australia: Wadsworth
Cengage.
12 Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. 2009. World history: to 1500. Australia: Wadsworth
Cengage.
13 Hardy, Grant, and Anne Behnke Kinney. 2005. The establishment of the Han empire and imperial China.
Wesport: Conn.
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individual, with silk representing the wealthy, while wool and skin clothes being used by
peasants for clothing.
Conclusion
Earths history has realized numerous civilizations. These civilizations have significantly
influenced the historical path of the planet. Examples of such include the Roman Empire and the
Han dynasty, which made significant influences to the social-economic landscape of the globe.
Despite both eons being influential, there are numerous contrast and similarities in the social and
economical scenarios of the two civilizations. It is, therefore, essential to distinguish these
scenarios in order to comprehend the extent of influence facilitated by these civilizations.
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Bibliography
rnason, Jhann Pll, and Kurt A. Raaflaub.. The Roman Empire in context historical and
comparativeperspectives.Chichester,WestSussex,U.K.:Wiley-Blackwell.2011.
http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=644971.
Duncan-Jones, Richard. Structure and scale in the Roman economy. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 2002.
Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. The essential world history. Boston, MA:
Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. 2011.
Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World history: to 1500. Australia: Wadsworth
Cengage. 2009.
Hardy, Grant, and Anne Behnke Kinney. The establishment of the Han empire and
imperial China. Wesport: Conn. 2005.
Ye, Lang, Zhenggang Fei, and Tianyou Wang. China: five thousand years of history and
civilization. Kowloon, Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press. 2007.