The Han Empire : The Fall Of The Roman Empire

The fall of the Roman Empire was much more complex than fall Gupta India and Han China. There were many internal and external aspects that affected the decline of the Roman Empire, dealing with unrest between the people and unrest from outside sources of invasions as well. Many signs leading up to the fall of Rome began late in the second century. Population decreased and the death rate became higher than the birth rate. The reason populations started to dwindle is due to plagues taking place in the empire, and the diseases and death due to the plagues hurt the population and disrupted the economic situation. Since so many people were dying, there were less labor workers. Due to this the Romans had to hire Germanic soldiers, which negatively affected their civilization economically. The Germanic soldiers had to be paid for their duties, and it

While the fall of the Roman Empire is well known, the exact causes of why it fell can be difficult to pinpoint. Many historians believe that Rome 's downfall was due to poor leadership, weakened economics, or perhaps a combination of the two along with other seemingly unrelated factors. However, there is a string of evidence suggesting that there were three main components that took place to bring about the fall of the Roman Empire. These determinant attributes did not happen all at once, and there was a domino effect with each one directly influencing the others. The fall of Rome occurred after a series of preventable events, including unacceptable emperors, the heavy reliance on slaves, and the increasingly uncontrollable borders of Rome.

As you have read, many things attributed to the rise of the Empire. Many things also attributed to its fall as well. These included poor leadership, economic trouble, as well

The decline of China and Rome both shared similar economic strife in that they were both subject to barbarian and nomadic invasions, therefore having to spend large amounts of money on frontier defense; however, they differed in that the Han Empire collapsed in part due to the high taxes imposed on the peasant class resulting in a large peasant rebellion, such as the Yellow Turbans, while in Rome tax collections was in danger of abandonment as residents of the empire were few in number and in financial difficulty. In addition, the two empires were similar socially because of large epidemics, diseases, and plagues that caused a population decrease. Also, both experienced a

But, they were incapable of doing this so, they ended up getting murdered so that the eunuch power and influence could remain in the empire (Zhi). But, besides corruption and military issues, there was also the problem of high taxes. In the Roman empire “heavier and heavier taxes were required to support the vast government bureaucracy and huge military establishment” (Ellis and Ester, 151) while the Han empire was “burdened by heavy taxes and crushing debt” (Ellis and Ester, 96). This problem led to the downfall because high taxes increased the chances of rebellion, which actually occurred in the Han empire. The corruption, military issues and taxes were both major aspects which contributed to the downfalls of the empires and they did so, by causing uncertainty in power an unstable support system, and increasing chances of rebellion.

The Roman Empire is still known today as one of history’s most powerful period. Rome government had stick rules and policies. The Roman government at this point was known as the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was controlled by the roar Rome. Bureaucracy was ran throughout the region, but Rome did not want this nor could they afford it. However, they did allow small cities to run a lower level of government. The exercise of indirect rule thus became a basic principle of imperial government. The business of local administration and jurisdiction was delegated to the existing communities of city or tribe. This type of structure was deemed to be a weakness to some historians because of the consequences. Consequences that allow a third level government to enforce the emperor’s rules. Because of the expansion of the territory, this was the only reasonable way for it to function normally. The empire was a "commonwealth of cities" which acted as economic and cultural of the Roman world and were integrated into the administrative system as local foci of government. This imperial ruling was first implemented by Rome. It came about because of social trends and not the Roman strategic policies that was often changed by Romanized upper class citizens. These upper classman brought about firmness throughout the land with their strategic and educated planning.

The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 B.C.E to 220 A.D, and Polybius wrote his account of Rome around 200 B.C.E. Though the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire existed simultaneously, they were vastly different because they were separated by thousands of miles and high mountain ranges. It is widely agreed upon that the two empires had very little contact, especially in the years when Polybius wrote his account. Though separated, the two empires developed their own societies that were highly sophisticated and technologically advanced; they became the centers of trade in their regions of the world. Han China was developed with a larger emphasis on religion and nature whereas the Roman Empire was built on the principles of a strong military and political system.

The Roman and Han empires of the classical era both had varying attitudes towards technology. Although a majority of both Han and Roman government-related attitudes regarding technology were positive, there were some opinions from both Han and Roman government sources that were unfavorable towards technology as well. On the other spectrum, the patrician philosophers from the Han and Roman empires had both contrasting positions against each other on the attitudes towards technology.

As technology grew, it was viewed in many different ways. Both han and roman empires had state of the art technology developments and advancements, and they both adapted technology from other people. However, they had different views on technology. The Han empire had a more open and optimistic view on new technology, when on the other hand the Romans had more of a neutral look on technology.

The Roman Empire thrived for many generations until the influence of both people of Rome and those outside Rome. Rome had been an advanced society with stable government, large cities, beautiful architecture, and advanced technology. Unfortunately it did not last forever and the fall affected Western Europe who was greatly influenced by Rome. Western Europe went from a high functioning society to a land of may manors. The causes of Rome's fall varied from invasions, overgrowth, and poor leaders.

Rome needs money to strive and without it, it was more likely to collapse as the economy went down the drain. Due to deadly illnesses being transmitted to the Roman Empire, it allowed the economy to suffer severely. The illness, measles that had arrived from southern Asia, had decimated the population leaving 250,000 people left from a million in the Roman Empire (Doc. #8). Due to the military having to hire Germanic soldiers to guard their frontiers, they needed money to pay the troops. The demand for money to pay for these troops then added to the demands on the state’s budget, just as declining production cut into tax revenues. Taxes became severe on the citizens of the empire, wealthy men were treated more valuable than the poor and unprincipled men inflicted injuries on others (Doc. #6). The Roman Empire treating the wealthy with more respect could be due to their need for money in the state’s budget and hoping some of them would have the heart to donate money, preventing the fall of Rome. Taxes were raised for obvious reasons. The empire knew they were having money problems and needed to get more out of the citizens spending habits, also to prevent the fall of Rome. The natural disaster that struck the Roman Empire in 366 CE could also contribute economically to the fall of Rome since the there was a devastation left and all recoveries to the city cost money (Doc. #7). The

The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by many things, but one of the main things was corruption. Document E states, that many poor people, in Rome, were charged for crimes that the wealthy people escaped. No one wants to live in an unjust empire with a corrupted government. Document E also says the taxes were, “very severe.” People started to attack each other and very few people were OK with the Roman Government.

For example, there was unemployment throughout the empire. It was expensive for farmers who paid workmen to produce goods. Many of these farmers could not compete and lost or sold their farms, which left them without any jobs. Another reason the Roman economy suffered was because of inflation, which was the increase in prices. Flow of gold into the economy decreased, yet much gold was being spent to pay for

The Roman and Han empires flourished in culture, wealth, and technological advances at their pinnacle, leading not to future stability, but to greed, corruption, and ultimately their downfall.

The Roman Empire existed between 31 B.C.E to 476 C.E. and the Han Dynasty occurred 202 B.C.E. to 220 C.E. They existed at same times but were on opposite ends of Eurasia. They both had regions that were ruled by either kings, viceroys or governors in the name of the emperor. They were both similar in slavery, government, and their downfall. They also had their differences in religion, military, and center of power.