Decline of Empire

Decline of Empires (Upshur) Complete the Chart China India Rome Dynastic Succession Disuptes led to coups Bureaucratic Corruption Inequitable Economic Burdens Regional, racial, or ethnic tensions Decline of martial spirit Costly technology Moral Decline Religion External enemies

COLLAPSE IN INDIA Guptan Dynasty Dynasty’s worries Lacked strong central government Provinces only owed tribute, tax, respect to central ruler Provincial rulers viewed emperor as related to gods But local areas largely self-governing Relied on provincial rule, type of feudalism Regional leaders often stronger than emperor Dynasty’s worries Civil war between regional leaders Invasions by Central Asian nomads including White Huns Beaten off by Guptas but seriously weakened empire Continued raids by Huns, Central Asians kept empire in turmoil Large scale migrations from Northern India to Southern parts Dynasty ceased to exist; attempted revival failed Regional states broke off, constant warfare follows

HAN TROUBLES Expeditions consumed the empire's surplus Raised taxes and confiscated land of some wealthy individuals Taxes, land confiscations discouraged investment Much of defense consumed on defending against nomads Social tensions, stratification between the poor and rich Problems of land distribution Early Han supported land redistribution Economic difficulties forced some small landowners to sell property Some sold themselves or their families into slavery Lands accumulated in the hands of a few No land reform, because Han needed cooperation of large landowners The reign of Wang Mang A powerful Han minister Dethroned the baby emperor, claimed imperial title himself, 9 C.E. Land reforms - the "socialist emperor" Overthrown by revolts, 23 C.E.

The reign of Wang Mang A powerful Han minister Dethroned the baby emperor, claimed imperial title himself, 9 C.E. Land reforms - the "socialist emperor" Overthrown by revolts, 23 C.E.

LOSS OF THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN Collapse of the Han Factions at court paralyzed the central government Han empire dissolved China was divided into regional kingdoms Devastated by plague Invaded by Huns and other nomadic forces

ROMAN Decline: Government Structure Imperial system Emperorship not hereditary Emperor selected arbitrarily Elite form imperial bureaucracy The Crisis Succession crises, many civil wars Many military coups Declining Loyalty to State Politicized generals Corruption, graft common Eastern, Western Empires too much to manage.

ROMAN Decline: Military Structure “All volunteer army” Poor, foreigners, criminals Citizens avoid military service Problems Politicized Generals, Incompetent Troops loyal to paying leader Troops largely “barbarians” Persia Major enemy Romans fight wrong force Roman troops in East

ROMAN Decline: Economics Economic Structure Capitalistic, mercantilistic Some command economy Commercial agriculture: grains, export Heavy reliance on slave labor Industry not wide-spread Problems Economic Stagnation, collapse Agriculture disrupted, famines Currency devalued, worthless Trade, commerce collapse Peasants overtaxed Feudalism on Rise

ROMAN Decline: Religion Original Roman Faith Traditions Nationalistic, ritualistic Unemotional Rise of Philosophies, Mystery Religions Rise of Christianity Christianity spreading, vibrant Attracts poor, women, slaves Good Romans enter Church Problem for Rome Loyalty to God, church, faith Christians live in East, urban areas Church is state within a state

ROMAN Decline: The Germans Homeland Overpopulated, hunger for land Migrated to East, SE Europe Spread of agriculture Tribal Structure War-like kings led tribes Well-led, loyalty to leader Rule of king not rule of law Interactions: War, Faith, Diplomacy Enjoyed war, part of their code Superior in cavalry, archers Often strong Arian Christians Allied with Huns, Romans Turned on both in end Kings assign lands after conquest to loyal supporters

Decline of Empires Empires too big—costly to defend the frontiers Burden of taxes on the poor, some flee to evade taxes, as maintaining the grows more costly—taxes go up, few new sources of revenue, religious groups and nobility exempt Slavery in Roman so oppressive less productive, fewer new sources, less technological development

Decline of Empires (continued) Administrative problems succession—court intrigue, barrack emperors failing bureaucracies—corruption of examination system, lack of civic responsibility Roman—bread and circuses to forestall revolts Eroding economies—decline in trade when roads not repaired or safe Religion—Christianity a factor in the decline of Rome, but not Buddhism in the decline of the Han Dynasty.

Decline of Empires (continued) Plagues—hit both empires hard, especially in cities of Roman empire Pressure from nomads—Huns, Xiongnu, Germanic

Why did the west fall harder? More multiethnic Han Chinese—a true nation that can endure beyond the dynasty. In Roman empire most live outside Italy. State and society not bonded together with the same glue—China, Confucianism offers both order for family, society and state—not true of Romans Better assimilation of “barbarians” by China, Germanic dismembered Roman empire, while nomads absorbed by Chinese Common language—Latin never really replaced Greek in much of the empire

Why did the western Roman empire fall and not the eastern? Deep, ingrained civilization in the east—Greeks and before East less impacted by nomadic invasion—maybe because many enduring cities, large populations Tribes on eastern borders were disorganized and unmotivated After separation of empire, east no longer has to send any help to West Even with changing political structure , little threat to social, economic or cultural continuity No cities in the west German soldiers fill the ranks of Roman legions When west cut from wealth of East, the tax base dwindled

Stearns Chapters 5 Review: Decline of Empires What conditions led each empire to fall? What conditions for decline and fall are similar? China Greco-Roman China & Greece/Rome China & India All 3 cultures share these similarities: India

ESSAY: What were 5 causes for the collapse of the Classical Empires of Rome, and Han China? How were their collapses similar and different? Which region had the hardest fall and why?