The Great Roman and Hans Empires essays

The Great Roman and Hans Empires essays Without a doubt, the Roman and the Han empires can be considered two of the greatest civilizations in world history. Both became very powerful and dominant in their respective areas. However, the Roman Empire developed into a higher, more advanced society because of its strong economic system, military prowess, and their free social structure. While both the Romans and the Hans developed complex economic systems, the system the Romans used was clearly superior. Though both the Romans and the Hans were obviously dependent of agriculture, the vast spread of the Roman Empire into different regions allowed for the trade of different goods such as European wine and African grains. Each individual area specialized in certain products, and these products could be taken by way of the Mediterranean to anywhere else in the empire. While they also had some variety of goods, the Hans, with their smaller empire, was limited to growing wheat and rice. Water transportation was crucial to the econom y of the Roman region, as it allowed fast and efficient movement of goods. Another aspect of the Roman economy was the use of slave labor, which is something that the Hans did not utilize. The Romans used their prisoners as slaves. The use of slaves, while not considered humane today, was an intelligent way of improving the economy because it provided a larger workforce. This increased workforce produced larger yields and more goods to trade. The Hans on the other hand, themselves worked the fields, and they saw no need for slaves. Both the Romans and the Hans demanded taxes from their citizens, but the Hans took large amounts of taxes even from the poor peasants. Both societies also employed the Silk Road as a means of trade with faraway lands, but the Hans, with their silk products, dominated this trade route. Overall, the Romans had a superior economic system when compared to the Hans. The power of an empire in ancient times depended solely on the pow...