How Do Empires Establish Standardization?
Though many empires have come and gone some seem to endure through time longer than others while some dissolve even before they have a chance to get established. To understand this discrepancy, I will endeavor to show how an empires ability to establish standardization in every aspect of life and governance determines its longevity and stability and why large empires like the Hellenistic empire of Alexander the Great in contrast did not endure after his death.
When considering the longest ruling empire in the world China surpasses all with its interminable resilience of over 2000 years. The reason for such an enduring civilization was not just how China was positioned geographically but also because of the uniformity through different dynasties …show more content…
Their economy flourished because they continued the standardization of coins, weights and measures that the Qui dynasty established and were able to trade and profit greatly as a result within the empire and as far as the Caspian Sea in the west via the silk road. Architecture also thrived and the Great Wall was not only repaired but extended at the cost of many lives.
This unified mindset of the people of china combined with a very structured political and social system set them up to enjoy one of the longest thriving empires in ancient history. The succeeding empires like the Tang dynasty also continued the standardization implemented by their predecessors extending the longevity of this civilization.
In the west, another empire was taking root, King Philip, Alexander’s father conquered Macedonia in 338 BCE and unified the warring states of Greece. His next goal was to conquer the world as far as Persia in the east but did not live to accomplish this feat. His son Alexander vowed to finish what his father could not do and at a young age of 22 years he conquered Persia, then went on to conquer Egypt and reached as far as the Indus Valley. His empire though vast did not endure after his death because unlike the Dynasties of China, Alexander’s insatiable desire for more territory, lead to a need for more soldiers that drained Greece form her military and dispersed her men throughout the vast empire of the east, eventually making it difficult for Greece to defend itself later from a roman
When considering the longest ruling empire in the world China surpasses all with its interminable resilience of over 2000 years. The reason for such an enduring civilization was not just how China was positioned geographically but also because of the uniformity through different dynasties …show more content…
Their economy flourished because they continued the standardization of coins, weights and measures that the Qui dynasty established and were able to trade and profit greatly as a result within the empire and as far as the Caspian Sea in the west via the silk road. Architecture also thrived and the Great Wall was not only repaired but extended at the cost of many lives.
This unified mindset of the people of china combined with a very structured political and social system set them up to enjoy one of the longest thriving empires in ancient history. The succeeding empires like the Tang dynasty also continued the standardization implemented by their predecessors extending the longevity of this civilization.
In the west, another empire was taking root, King Philip, Alexander’s father conquered Macedonia in 338 BCE and unified the warring states of Greece. His next goal was to conquer the world as far as Persia in the east but did not live to accomplish this feat. His son Alexander vowed to finish what his father could not do and at a young age of 22 years he conquered Persia, then went on to conquer Egypt and reached as far as the Indus Valley. His empire though vast did not endure after his death because unlike the Dynasties of China, Alexander’s insatiable desire for more territory, lead to a need for more soldiers that drained Greece form her military and dispersed her men throughout the vast empire of the east, eventually making it difficult for Greece to defend itself later from a roman