Conrad demarest model of han and rome

Some characteristic of well-run empires consist of: the building of roads, increased trade, the flourishing of education, effective bureaucracy, the use of a common and official language, the use of a system of justice, and citizenship. Rome demonstrated ideology by holding assemblies in which magistrates would be elected which gave citizens a sense of power and decision. Meanwhile, the Han allowed people to practice philosophies such as Daoism, and Confucianism while the empire was purely ran on Legalism and culture which bonded the empire together as a whole. The idea of ideology is to make the people of your empire feel patriotism towards said empire by allowing them to feel welcome. The Han made merchants more welcome by installing the silk roads which was initially used for the military but also served as a great means of trade and allowed trade to increase within the empire. Rome on the other hand, had coastal shipping and roadways that allowed for trade along the Mediterranean which increased trade within the Roman Empire. In conclusion transportation roads allowed for empires to increase trade and therefore prosper. Both The Roman and Han empires established cities that were based around education and culture.

The Han established an imperial university which encouraged the study of Confucianism, because the scholars would then be used to help make for well run government and bureaucracy which would allow for a more organized form of tax collection, law enforcement, coinage and communication. This study of Confucianism was based on the importance of education. Meanwhile, Roman citizens focused more on identifying themselves with gods derived from the Greek religion and later formed cults based around Christianity. Both empire consisted of aristocrats and bureaucrats whom over saw tax collection and ensured the obeying of the king or emperor’s rule. Both empires also used a system of coinage. All of these characteristics when put together made for a strong and organized government.

The Roman Empire had a common language based on the Latin alphabet for script. All Ramon government records and documents were in this script; this script served as a mean of communication. The script is phonetic and was derived from the Greek alphabet. Whereas, Qin Sjihuangdi established the use of the seal script which consisted of different symbols. The use of this script brought the Chinese states together as a whole. This script allowed for communication throughout China, because even people of different languages could read this same script. The languages created and mandated by the Roman and Han empires helped to have better communication throughout each empire. Another characteristic of a well-run empire includes a system of justice, and law for the entire empire. In Rome, laws were developed to stabilize the defense of private property. The Han Empire also had laws. However these laws were based around legalism.

The laws included severe punishment for small and petty crimes. Roman government was run by a senate elected by the people, while the Han government was run by Confucian officials that came from the Confucian universities. On the whole, an empire’s system of justice serves as an important characteristic, because it helps to have a more controlled government and prevent rebellions by taking out troublesome people. The last characteristic of a well-run empire is citizenship or rights extended in some degree to conquered peoples. The conquered people of Rome had most citizenship and were allowed to attend all forms of entertainment in the empire. In contrast, the people of the Han Empire had no citizenship and the people couldn’t even vote for officials.