The Han Empire and the Roman Empire in Comparative Perspective – Viewing Guide

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Contents with Timecode

1. Why Study Empires [00:24]
2. Geographical Contexts [01:54]
3. Rise of the Empires [03:25]
4. Political Organization [06:12]
5. Emperor Wu of the Han expand into Central Asia [11:03]
6. Silk Roads as geographical routes between China and Rome across Eurasia [13:40]
7. Coinage used by two empires [16:33]
8. Buddhism and Christianity: religions that spread across the two empires [19:37]
9. Decline [22:44]
10. Legacies [25:45]
Conclusion

Outline of Presentation – with [Timecode] & Slide #

Comparative timeline #2

1. Why study empires [00:24]

Throughout history, empires rose and fell across the globe, covering significant parts of the world and its diverse populations; so the study of empires helps us understand human history and cross-cultural exchange
Comparing different empires also helps us further understand common patterns in historical developments and generate new questions we can ask of the past
The Han and Roman empires are especially apt for comparison since they were
- Around roughly at the same time,
- Had a similar population of perhaps 60 million or more at their height,
- And their legacies formed the political and cultural foundations of what was to follow in East Asia and Europe for the next two thousand years

2. Geography of Each Empire

Roman Empire [01:54] #3
The most distinguishing geographic feature was the Mediterranean Sea (which the Romans called Mare Nostrum or “Our Sea”), which served as a sort of internal highway for the empire, connecting distant regions of the vast empire together (travel by sea was much faster than travel over land)
Borders of the empire were formed by the Rhine and Danube Rivers in the north, and the Sahara Desert in the south
Han Empire [02:35] #4
No large inland seas like the Mediterranean
Instead, distant regions of the empire were connected by two major west-to-east flowing rivers that acted as transportation corridors:
- the Yellow River in northern China
- the Yangzi River in southern China
To the north and northwest, the Han Empire was bordered by deserts and the Eurasian Steppe
To the south and southwest were more mountainous regions
To the east was the ocean

3. Rise of Empire

Most often occurs through warfare, conquest and civil war
China [03:26] #5
- Warring States Period (fifth century to third century BCE): a few powerful states fought for supremacy in China #6–7
  - of these Warring States, the state of Qin in the west eventually triumphed;
  - unifying China under the rule of Qin Shi Huang, or the First Emperor, in 221 BCE
- Qin Dynasty was short-lived, in no small part due to its famously harsh, authoritarian laws and policies, and unraveled soon after the death of the First Emperor in 210 BCE
- In the civil wars that followed, the contest eventually came down to two individuals: Xiang Yu (Shee-ang You), a warlord of noble descent, and Liu Bang (Lee-o Bang/long a), previously a minor official from a more modest background
  - Liu Bang won, and founded the Han Empire in 202 BCE
- Han empire founded: 202 BCE
Rome [04:42] #8–9
In the fifth century BCE, Rome was not yet a major power
It had to conquer the Italian Peninsula, and defeat several other dominant powers in the Mediterranean including Carthage in the west and the successors of Alexander the Great’s empire in the east
Between the fifth and first centuries BCE, Rome waged numerous wars—including most notably against Carthage in the Punic Wars—and expanded gradually across the Mediterranean
By the first century BCE, Rome effectively controlled the Mediterranean Sea
- Julius Caesar took power in Rome and threatened to disrupt Rome’s republican system of government by seizing dictatorial power, but was assassinated in 44 BCE
- In the civil wars that followed, Augustus emerged as the victor
Augustus took control as the sole ruler of Rome, inaugurating the beginning of Rome as an empire in 27 BCE

4. Political Organization [06:12] #10

Han Empire [06:20]
- Western (Former) Han (206 BCE–9 CE) Capital: Chang’an (present-day Xi’an)
- Eastern (Later) Han (25–220 CE) Capital: Luoyang
- Preceding Qin Empire systematically organized all of its territories into commanderies staffed by an expansive bureaucracy with government officials appointed at all levels, from local to provincial to central
- Han Empire divided:
  - Into centrally administered commanderies in the west with the capital at Chang’an (present-day Xi’an) and
  - Semi-autonomous regional kingdoms in the east, initially granted to Liu Bang’s closest allies but soon came to be ruled by various members of the imperial family
- This hybrid system led to continuous friction between the imperial court and the princely kingdoms
  - By the end of the reign of Emperor Wu in the first century BCE, the regional kingdoms were essentially under the control of the central court
- Emperor Wu was one of the most significant and longest-reigning emperors of the Han dynasty
  - The transition to more centralized administrative rule in the Han Empire was solidified during Emperor Wu’s half-century of rule
  - Emperor Wu = 7th emperor of the Han, ruling from 141–87 BCE
  - Archaeological discovery: Haihunhou (Nanchang, Jiangxi Province) Tomb of the “Marquis of Haihun,” aka Liu He, grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han [07:39] #11
  - Tomb of Liu He (92–59 BCE), emperor for 27 days after Emperor Zhao, later deposed, demoted, exiled, and granted the title Marquis of Haihun
  - Tomb contained more than 100 kilograms of gold, approximately 2 million bronze coins weighing 10 tons, thousands of luxury burial goods in jade, glass, bronze ritual vessels, bamboo slips and wooden boards with Classical texts, and fine lacquerware including a lacquered mirror with the earliest known image of Confucius (“Confucius Dressing Mirror”) #12–13
  - Illustrates the staggering amount of wealth the Han imperial family and the Han Empire itself must have commanded
Roman Empire in comparison to the more centralized administration of the Han [09:22]
- When Augustus came to power in 27 BCE, he inherited the governing institutions of the Roman Republic
  - The Roman Republic was not a state ruled by a single ruler but was ruled jointly by members of the elite Roman Senate as well as leaders chosen by other popular assemblies
- Augustus preferred to keep these structures intact when he rose to power, at least nominally, and took the unofficial title princeps or “first citizen,” – suggesting he was the first among equals – though in reality he was the sole ruler
- Provinces of the Roman Empire were governed by governors chosen either by the emperor or the Senate with a degree of local autonomy in maintaining order, enforcing Roman laws, and collecting taxes
- The defense of the provinces was backstopped by the Roman military, which established numerous garrisons across the frontiers of the empire
- In each case, the organization of the two empires was influenced by what came before them

5. Emperor Wu of the Han (continued): Han Wudi (r. 141–86 BCE) [11:03] #14–17

One of the most significant and longest-reigning emperors of the Han dynasty
Transitioned to more centralized administrative rule
Confucianism was officially adopted as state ideology
Economic policies were instituted to increase the fiscal power of the state, including monopolizing the salt and iron industries and regulating grain prices
Aggressive military and imperialist foreign policy led to major conquests
- from parts of the Korean Peninsula to northern Vietnam and the Yunnan Province in the south
- the most important expansion was to the northwest into Central Asia
The Xiongnu and the northwestern expansion [12:12]
- Motivated by the need to secure allies and buffer zones in the fight against the Xiongnu
- The Xiongnu were a confederation of nomadic peoples north of the Han Empire who were skilled warriors on horseback
- Early Han emperors preferred to pursue a policy of appeasement (heqin, “harmony and kinship”) including gifts and marriage alliances with Han princesses
- This changed under Emperor Wu imperialist foreign policy, with many Han military campaigns launched between 135 and 119 BCE
- Zhang Qian (J-ang Chee-en) was a Han official sent in 138 BCE to establish diplomatic relations with the Xiongnu and returned more than a decade later with reports on western lands including Greco-Bactria, Parthia, Mesopotamia, and northern India

6. Silk Roads: geographical routes between China and Rome across Eurasia [13:40] #18

Not a single road but a network of routes, including maritime routes across the Indian Ocean, covering the Eurasian continent from East Asia to India and Europe
Central Asia was extremely important in facilitating cross-cultural exchange and the flow of goods and ideas
- The Bagram Treasure: Assemblage of artifacts from Roman glass to Chinese lacquerware and Greek and Indian sculptures demonstrating extensive cultural exchange [14:04] #19
- Gathering of Kings (Tang Dynasty): Depicts envoys from different countries along the Silk Roads visiting China, demonstrating cultural diversity [14:40] #20
The Han Empire’s political presence in Central Asia was established in the late second century BCE and continued into the first and second centuries CE [14:55]
Roman Empire was at its height with Pax Romana provided stability facilitating trade, including Red Sea trade between Egypt and India [15:08] #21–22
Direct contact between Roman and Han empires [15:50]
- Han accounts reference eastern parts of the Roman Empire
- Direct contact between the two empires is unlikely

7. Coinage used by the two empires [16:33] #23–24

Both empires utilized round metal coins, but Roman coins were minted in different denominations of silver, gold, and other metals;
the Han Empire only cast a single type of copper coin (banliang before Emperor Wu, and the new wuzhu introduced by Emperor Wu)
Roman coins depicted rulers or deities; Chinese coins bore inscriptions only
Central Asian coinage reflects both traditions, two examples of bilingual coins: [17:45]
- A coin from the oasis kingdom of Khotan (city along the Silk Road) with Indic script called Kharosthi on one side and Chinese characters on the other
- A coin from Kushan Empire (dominant in parts of Central Aisa and India in the 1^st and 4^th centuries) with bearing inscriptions in Greek and Kharosthi
This was a time when it was possible to traverse much of Eurasia through a small number of empires enforcing peace and facilitating the exchange of ideas [18:30] #25

8. Buddhism and Christianity

Han China and Buddhism [19:37] #26
- Buddhism originated in northern India around 500 BCE, around the same time Confucius was active in China
- By the time of the Han Empire, Buddhism already spreading far beyond India
  - Emperor Ming reportedly had a dream with a vision of the Buddha causing him to send an envoy to India on a fact finding mission
  - A century later, near the end of the Han dynasty, the first translations of Buddhist scriptures where produced near in the Han capital; the emperor made offerings to the Buddha
- While Buddhism only grew into a major Chinese religion after the Han, the seeds of Buddhism in China were sown during the Han, as Buddhist monks, scripture, and art traveled the Silk Roads
  - Archaeological site: Mawangdui and Wu Family Shrine [20:40]
  - Initially aspects if Buddhism were seen as similar to existing religious traditions (ancestral worship, Doaist tradition)
    - Wu Family Shrine stone relief (2^nd c CE)
    - Mawangdui silk funerary banner from the tomb of Lady Dai #27
Rome and Christianity [21:50] #28
- Christianity spread from present-day Israel (1^st c CE)
- Not a dominant religion in the empire until after the reign of Emperor Constantine; Christians were often persecuted before the fourth century CE
- Constantine’s had a dream before a battle in 312 CE; he credited victory in th is battle to the Christian God – he converted to Christianity prompting it to grown in the coming years

9. Decline

Han Empire [22:44] #29
- Wang Mang seized the throne in 9 CE; proclaimed new dynasty
  - Han restored after his death in 23 CE though weaker and the capital moved
- Infighting in imperial court was a persistent problem, towards the end of the Han dynasty many emperors were young or died early and often controlled by other figures in court
- Rebellions became widespread, most notably the Yellow Turban Rebellion that broke out in 184 CE; soon warlords were vying for power in destructive wars.
- Last Han emperor was forced to abdicate in 220 CE, ending the Han dynasty; the empire was broken into separate states
Roman Empire [24:24] #30
- Crisis of the Third Century: 50 years saw 20 emperors ad they were frequently raided and deposed by the military
- Emperor Diocletian restored order in late 3^rd c CE by dividing the empire in to east and west (later it became permanent)
- Roman Empire constantly fighting foreign peoples along its borders, including the powerful Parthian and Sassanian empires
- Fall of Western Roman Empire in 476 CE following westward migration of Germanic tribes and invasions by Atilla the Hun in the mid-5^th c CE

10. Legacy [25:45] #31

Roman
- Roman governance and law became a model for many Western states
- Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) persisted for another thousand years
Han
- In China, the Confucian imperial model of a single empire guided by an emperor educated in Confucian ideology endured for nearly two thousand years

Conclusion

Both empires left lasting cultural imprints in art, religion, and language – with the use of Latin throughout Europe paralleling the use of classical Chinese throughout East Asia. The end of the Han and Roman empires is sometimes viewed as the fall of civilization and the beginning of the dark ages, but we can identify many continuities between these empires and what followed, with their legacies going on to shape the course of history in East Asia and Europe.