1. The Fall of Classical Empires
Han, Gupta and Rome

2. Reasons for the Fall of the Han Empire
Social:
Landholding elite held all of the power
Disease
Political:
Political fighting between eunuchs, Confucian scholars and nobles
Government corruption and bribery
Power in the hands of local landholders and governors (decentralization)
Because of no centralized power, China was vulnerable
Political and Social:
Only wealthy elite could gain political position

3. Reasons for the Fall of the Han Empire
Cultural
Challenged by arrival of Buddhism
Economic:
Crop failure, flooding
-9 million die
Failure to implement land reform

4. Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire
Social:
Invasions from Germanic tribes
The expansion of slavery
Decline in Roman civic duty
Moral decay
The decline of patriotism

5. Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire
Cultural
State not united by religion or philosophy
Divided by language
Latin in west, Greek in east
Christianity challenges traditional Roman institutions

6. Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire
Economic:
Dependence on foreign products
Traditional work ethic declined
Decline of cities’ infrastructure
Trade deficit
The high cost of military, welfare and government
Class economic warfare between rich and poor
Unequal taxation
The small farm disappears

7. Reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire
Political:
Problems of succession (the next emperor)
Empire became too large for the government, and reform came too little and too late
Government became dominated by the rich and military elites
Citizens lost their interest in the government
The military lost its prestige

8. Reasons for the Fall of the Gupta Empire
Political
Inability to centralize the Raj princes
Because of decentralization, no Indian leaders to unify the subcontinent
Hun invaders from the North

9. Aftermath
Han
Confucianism is able to hold society together despite the collapse of the government
Note: 3 centuries before next united dynasty - Tang
Note: No such self-sacrificing mentality existed in the western Classical Empires

10. Aftermath
Roman
The Eastern Roman Empire would adopt Christianity as the state religion, and merge religion and politics.
The Western Empire did not do this, so their was constant fighting between the Pope and kings
The east was older, richer and more stable than the west, with larger and most prosperous cities
Trade and commerce flourish in the east
Law and order existed in the east prior to Roman government

11. The east did not have to deal with foreign invaders
The west had foreign mercenaries working in their military ranks

12. Aftermath Gupta Caste system holds society together
Hinduism gains against Buddhism
Economic prosperity continues
Regional factionalism prevents unification of sub-continent
Note: India not united until British Raj

13. Comparison of Collapse
Students should be able to discuss similarities and differences in the following areas:
Political corruption and infighting
Decentralization
Foreign invaders
Social decay
Disease (Han and Rome)
Change in religious or philosophical systems

14. So, what did they have in common?
Reasons for collapse of classical empires:
Economic
Social
Political
Environmental