Similarities Between Han And Roman Empires

Roman and Han Empires
Nick Concutelli
There are many similarities and differences between the Roman and Han Empires. The similarities range from parts of the world they control to how they affected other parts of the world. The differences include who they had conflicts with, and how they settled them. But the main point to compare and contrast is the fall of the empires.
Firstly, one of the major similarities would be the way both empires fell. They were both very powerful and ruled large portions of the world. The main reason of their decline was their leaders being weak and not being able to support and lead them. Individuals who solely wanted power hurt both empires. They were both hurt by the frequent attacks from various tribes, and they were too spread out to regenerate what they had lost because they didn’t have as much control in some places as they did in others. You could say that the main reason of their downfall was their lack of leadership, and that lack of leadership is what still kills societies today.
Although the Roman and Han empires were both successful economically in trade, the decline in trade affected Rome more than the Han.
Many Chinese communities were very self sufficient, and most trade was done between communities. In Rome the Roman’s economy dependent almost solely on trade, and as their trade routes were destroyed, pirates and bandits began stealing goods from the local merchants which created a decline in both trade and in profits. The decline in trade lessened the amount of taxes that were going back to the government. The Roman and Han Empires increased their taxes to fund their armies. Since rich landowners in both empires were not required to pay taxes, many of the poor went to these landlords for help and protection. In Rome, these taxes affected trade by making the tax on different goods go up, which caused
inflation.
Secondly, both the Roman and Han Empires went through social distress throughout their collapse. The poor and lower class became angry at the raise in taxes and started to riot in China. The Chinese used their military to put and end to the riots, but they were running out of soldiers. The Han government made many farmers fight; this generated a large group of angered citizens and it led to the reluctance of warriors. Although, the Romans did not have an issue with riots but instead their problems were based on religion. As the Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, officials attempted to put a to stop it. Head officials made laws that banned Christianity and any other religion with the options of punishment being cruel punishment and in most cases, death. As a last final effort, the emperor declared himself the supreme god. Christianity continued to spread, and it crippled the empire.
Thirdly, when you take both empires into account, and how they affected the world you will see that they are very similar in the way they controlled their people. They both used military to bully their way around, and that’s how they grew their empires.