Imperial Rome And Han China Essay

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The success for both Imperial Rome and Han China is directly related to powerful leadership and a strong military presence. The Republic of Rome was characterized by aristocratic rule in the Roman state, and Imperial Rome could also be considered a military dictatorship.1 The Senate was a group that prioritized the votes of the most privileged individuals and nobility of Imperial Roman society – wealthy males.2 With a dominating leadership there was also a strong military presence, which contributed greatly to the expansion of Rome across Italy and the Mediterranean.3 The structure of the Roman state encouraged war, and the leaders and military forces were greedy and acted aggressively for a larger empire.4 The amount of expansion started slowly and then gained momentum, and was primarily achieved through the use of military forces. The success in Han China can also be attributed to powerful leadership and military forces. The Han in China can be used as a term to designate a specific ethnicity …show more content…

Both Imperial Rome and China placed a great divide between two groups – the wealthy and the poor. In Rome the poor mans vote did not count as much as the wealthy mans vote did.10 The merchant class or lower class in China was viewed with suspicion and blamed for economic ills.11 They were given harsh punishments under the Legalist method – which saw humans as inherently evil by nature and in need of strict leadership.12 In Rome some citizens fought against this class system, but citizens also had greater chance for social mobility since the expansion of Rome brought in the need for new jobs related to increasing trade routes.13 In China some of the citizens adopted Buddhism, which challenged the social structure and went completely against the dominant Confucian

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