Early Civilizations: Rome and CHina

Rome and China

• Governments

  • Rome

    • When it was a city-state, it was a monarchy (ruled by one person)

      • Overthrown by patricians (elites); 

    • Changed the government into a republic; citizens decided who was elected—annual elections in order to avoid corruption

      • Counsul: top office—there were 2 a year

      • Magistrates

    • Once someone served in office, they joined the senate (an advisory group to each year’s leaders)

    • Plebians: got two tribunes (vetoes) each year

    • After Expansion, there were political violence

      • Civil Wars

      • Assassinations

    • Republic ended, led to an empire—emperors were eventual seen as gods

  • China

    • Warring States 775 - 221 BCE

      • Time of instability and disurity; fighting amongst states, each ruler were racing to be the one to reunite China

    • Qin dynasty (multiple generations of a ruling family); 221 - 206 BCE

      • Reunited china by centralizing the authority

        • Legalism: Strict laws, harsh punishments

        • Standardized

          • Measures

          • Currency

          • Language

          • Thought

      • Revolt: it was overthrown

    • Han dynasty 206 BCE - 220 CE (model dynasty)

      • Had emperors, and ruled because they believed that they had the Mandate of Heaven (Divine Approval)

        • If Emperor had mandate of heaven: Stability, Prosperity, and Victory

        • If Emperor did not have mandate of heaven: Instability, Economic problems, and losses in war

          • Money went down, crime went up

          • Famine

          • Natural Disasters

        • Justified Revolts

Expansions

• Rome

  • Empire, conquests, alliances etc

  • The army was proffessional and full time

    • Emphisis on trading, discipline, and organized into units

  • Rome —> Italy —> Mediterranean Sea (had to beat carthage)

    • Mediterranean included Egypt, South West Asia, Greece, Spain, and [what is now known as] France and Britain

  • How it was governed despite large, diverse population

    • Tolerated existing traditions

    • Regional governors from Rome

    • Elite had citizenship

    • Had to submit taxes

• China (under Han)

  • Was already large—along with their culture,  and expanded north, west and south

  • Governed

    • Professional civil service

      • Wanted people (men) who were educated—mainly elite, however not exclusively elite

    • There was an exam system to become a government official

      • County

      • Province

      • Nation

Collapse

• Rome and Han China

  • Factors

    • Both became too large and too expensive for effective administration

    • Political instability—competitions for who would lead 

      • Led to violence, civil wars, assassinations, etc

    • Dieseases—small pox, measles, and different forms of plague

    • Led to deaths

      • influx of deaths led to disruption of economy and lack of confidence (lost Mandate of Heaven)

    • Border invasions from north

      • Rome: Germanic groups

      • China: Northern nomads (Xiongnu)

Effects

• Similarities

  • Decline in population

  • Decline in trade

  • Disunity 

    • Rome

      • Western europe became several different kingdoms

      • Eastern europe continued as the Byzantine empire

    • China

      • No new dynasty until 6th century CE

• Differences

  • China recovered and became reunified

  • Rome never reunified—broken up into competing states