Decline of Classical Empires - Key Points

Themes of Empires

The expansion of empires; the integration of new territories; problems of integration; religious responses to the decline of the empires.

How to integrate new territories?

  • Central political values and institutions

  • Common cultures and values

  • (Make elites one of you) → integrate ruling elites

  • Commercial links

How was the problem of integration addressed in classical empires?

  • China: centralized, common language, moved people from north to south

  • India: expansion of Hinduism; allowed localized diversity

  • Rome: cultural values involved less of the population; local autonomy; tolerance; common law; citizenship for local elites; commercial interdependence

Decline in China

  • First: internal weakness

  • Invasion from Central Asia (Huns) due to perceived weaknesses

Internal decline in China

  • 100 CE100\,\mathrm{CE} decline begins

  • Bureaucrats corrupt; central power declines; local landlords gain power

  • Peasants taxed heavily; loss of farms; forced to work on estates

  • Daoism protests against government immorality (Yellow Turbans)

  • Political intrigue in court; disease; spread of Buddhism

Not all is lost!

  • Northern leaders drove out invaders (Sui dynasty)

  • Tang dynasty restores bureaucracy

  • Buddhism changes

  • Did not reinvent Chinese civilization; some invaders assimilated into Chinese political culture

Decline in India

  • Gupta internal problems unresolved; unable to control princes

  • Rajput regional princes; small, militarily powerful states

  • Buddhism declines; Hinduism grows; texts in vernacular

  • Emphasis on religion hurts scientific achievement; trade and science/math decline

  • Hinduism and caste system survive; economy remains prosperous

Decline in Rome

  • Decay started 180 CE180\,\mathrm{CE}

  • Army not effective; population down; declining food production

  • Brutal emperors (e.g., Commodus)

  • Tax collectors; weak emperors; military intervention in politics

  • Plagues; mercenary soldiers; taxation declines with production

There’s more!

  • Upper classes lose interest in noblesse oblige; luxury and pleasure take over; cultural life decays

  • Lack of innovation and new knowledge; art declines

  • Patron-client networks and taxation weaken; lower productivity

  • Independent farmers become tenants for protection; estates self-sufficient; lack economies of scale

  • Empire becomes an incredibly shrinking empire