Similarities and Differences of Rome and Han China Essays

Similarities and Differences of Rome and Han China Essays Similarities and Differences of Rome and Han China Essay Similarities and Differences of Rome and Han China Essay Similarities and Differences of Rome and Han China Although Han China and Rome shared similarities in their techniques of imperial administration though military conquest and engineering’s aid toward the economy, they differed in their approach to land distribution. Rome and Han China shared similar techniques in their methods of military conquest in relation to their imperial administration. Both Rome and Han China established control of their territory though fighting and defending land. Testaments of this can be seen when Rome used legions that consisted of heavy infantry. Each legion had thousands of soldiers and was sent to the battlefield head first to fight. These legions were considered standing units and a professional army that were sent out wherever war came about. Rome also had numerous soldiers along all the borders as a means of defense. Similarly, Han China also had regiments consisting of thousands of soldiers that were sent out for military conquest. These regiments correspondingly were considered as well, professional armies known as standing units. Han China in the same way had an abundant number of soldiers along their borders even with the defense added on by the Great Wall of China. These similarities were key as each empire brought the provinces of their domains together though military conquest into regimes of unprecedented scale and thereby enhanced the integration of local worlds into a common legal and cultural framework. Rome conquered the Mediterranean using legions and forcing other regions and new lands to join them. Correspondingly they defended by putting out soldiers on all the borders in case of any attackers. In comparison, Han China conquered East Asia by taking over territories and using their regiments of thousands of soldiers to make the people join the empire as well. Using similar actions, Han China also followed by defending their borders through stationed soldiers and by even expanding the Great Wall of China to cover more area and form an even larger border. Rome and Han China pooled common links in their techniques of engineering and uses under imperial administration. Both Rome and Han China equivalently constructed similar roads, bridges, and water development systems all to trengthen their economy. Verifications of this can be seen when Rome fully realized the potential of arches and bridges in their road systems that spanned more than 400,000 km of roads that were used for trade. Correspondingly, they also built aqueducts as a form of water engineering to constantly bring in a flow of water to the cities and towns. Similarly, Han China built massive fortified roadways for tr ade and walls for fortification comparable to the Great Wall of China as a means of defense. Also in comparison to Roman aqueducts, Han China built water canals as means to direct water as they pleased. These similarities defined their engineering skills as these inventions and constructions were used to help strengthen their economies. Rome built and constructed roads to aid their trade systems and make easier routes of travel. Furthermore, they used aqueducts to get water into the city saving money and the need for human labor. Similarly, Han China used their fortified roads to trade much easier and as a means of safer travel. This went hand in hand with China’s water canals that also aided their economy by directing water where needed saving much money and limiting the need for human labor as well. Rome and Han China had relatively different approaches to land ownership as a means of imperial administration. Rome awarded large tracts of land to loyal soldiers, whereas China provided land to individual peasants. Evidence of this can be seen in the large country estates, latifundia that elite Romans owned. Soldiers who were awarded these estates usually managed them from large urban centers such as Rome. They would often hire foremen to manage them and sometimes rent property to tenant farmers. On the other hand, China seized land from wealthy landlords and divided the land among the peasants. These differences existed between Rome and China mainly because of taxes. Rome conquered the entire Mediterranean and gave citizenship to many newly conquered peoples which provided them with ample taxes. Furthermore a land redistribution policy was rejected during the previous era of the Republic. Conversely, China had not conquered vast amounts of territory when the Han assumed the throne, their territorial expansion came later. In order to generate enough taxes they redistributed land to create more tax payers and greater revenue.