Essay 2

884 Words2 Pages

The Roman and Chinese empire, once established, shared a number of common features as well as differences. For this reason, I picked these two empires for my essay. My focus for this essay is to differentiate between the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire, also state the similarities that these two empires had or might have had. Main points that I will use to differentiate these two empires are religion, origins of empire, economics, and agriculture. Based on these four points I will be able to get an idea on how these two empires ruled, as well as see what made the Chinese and Roman Empire the wonderful and unique empire that they were. Roman and Chinese Empire/ Similarities As stated, one of the many similarities these two prodigious empires had was that they both defined themselves in universal terms. Roman writer Polybius spoke of bringing “almost the entire world” under the control of Rome. The Chinese state was said to encompass “all under heaven.” What this reveals to me is that the Romans were greedy with power. They wanted to have the entire world under their rule. This might have been the reason for the fall of the Roman Empire. In document 3.2, “The Roman Oration,” you read about Aristides and how he delivered to the imperial court and in front of the emperor, Antonius, a formal speech of praise and gratitude, known as a panegyric, celebrating the virtues and achievements of the Roman Empire. In document 3.3, The Writings of Master Han Fei, this talks about governing China. Origins of Empires/ Politics The two empires obviously had different origins. Politically, both empires established effective centralized control over vast regions and huge populations, but the Chinese, far more than the Romans, developed and... ... middle of paper ... ...anded, especially to the south, it actively assimilated the non-Chinese or “barbarian” people. Both of these empires, though, helped shape helped shaped the societies in each civilization. Roman geography impacted the civilization by giving defense transportation and water Geographic location impacted Roman civilization because where they were located made it easy for travel and trade. Rome was located on the Tyrrhenian Sea, and on the Tiber River. This made it easy to get all around the European area. They were also located on a place with fertile soil, which made it easy for farming. Also, Rome was surrounded by mountains, which provided them with places to hide, and gave them protection. Geographic barriers such as mountains or seas separated china from other land. As a result, the Chinese had little knowledge of civilizations of Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome.

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