Rome And Han China Comparative Analysis

Giselle Fiestan
Mr. Pelham
AP World History Period 2
Comparison Essay Rough Draft 1 Around 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. the empires of Rome and Han China flourished in the 1.5 million square miles. Each of their societies developed in vastly different lands. Separated from each other, Rome and China’s empires grew individually. Although separated by thousands of miles and differences of language, each society developed their own individual yet similar aspects. The societies of Ancient Rome and Han China were similar because of their patriarchal values which shaped their families and the status of their wealthy classes. Rome and China were different in their societies because of their individual uses of slavery and language. Since the agricultural
The upper classes were a distinct level of the social hierarchy. Rome and China both had a clearly defined high level social class. In Rome were the patricians. The patricians overthrew the monarchy and established the republic. The wealthy class dominated the government. Similar to the patricians were the landlord class. The landlord class of China held a vast amount of land bought from poor serfs and peasants. This landlord class had the ability to avoid taxes and mount own military if they wished to attack the emperor of China. In these ancient societies, wealth meant power because the upper classes could control the poor by monopolizing the ownership of land and sale of
The use of slavery varied between Rome and Han China. Rome’s population of slaves was large, whereas China had less slaves. In China, the population of the lower class/ peasants was higher. The large population of peasants lowered the need of slavery. The peasants could take the work of the slaves. Thus, slavery did not become a major source of labor for agriculture or manufacturing. However, in Rome slavery became an important element of the social structure. The population of slaves comprised of at least one third of the population. Slaves usually came from conquered lands, race did not determine slavery. The poor man’s slave was the ox, and even plebeians had some slaves. Slaves were the backbone of the economy in Rome. Roman slaves were regarded as barbarians. Soon, Romans began to see other people as slaves by nature. All occupations except for military service were available to slaves. Since slaves were more common in Rome, they became their own distinct class. In China, slavery was far less