Transcript The Fall of Classical Empires

The Fall of Classical Empires
HAN, GUPTA AND
ROME
SPEC
Why do empires fall?
 Try to think of three reasons an empire might
collapse…

The world today seems absolutely crackers.
With nuclear bombs to blow us all sky high.
There are fools and idiots sitting on the trigger.
It's depressing, and it's senseless, and that's
why...
So I like Chinese,
I like Chinese,
I like their tiny little trees,
Their Zen, their ping-pong, their
Yin and yang-ese.

I like Chinese,
I like Chinese,
They only come up to your knees,
Yet they're always friendly and they're ready to
please
I like Chinese thought,
The wisdom that Confucious taught,
If Darwin is anything to shout about,
The Chinese will survive us all without any doubt.

I like Chinese,
I like Chinese,
There's nine hundred million of them in the
world today,
You'd better learn to like them, that's what I say.
Chorus: I like Chinese,
I like Chinese,
They come from a long way overseas,
But they're cute and they're cuddly, and they're
ready to please.

I like Chinese food,
The waiters never are rude,
Think of the many things they've done to
impress,
There's Maoism, Taoism, I Ching and chess.
So I like Chinese,
I like Chinese,
They only come up to your knees,
Yet they're wise and they're witty,
and they're ready to please.
Emperor Wu was a hard act to follow!
 Known as the "Martial
Emperor," Wu Di was a
fierce ruler
 His aggressive military
policy resulted in the
development of the Silk
Road
 Under his rule the economy
and trade could flourish
Reasons for the Fall of the Han Empire
 Social
 Landholding elite held all of the power
 Disease
 Families were broken up as many joined the
“floating population” of landless peasants
 Tensions were relieved somewhat when Wang
Mang, the “Socialist Emperor “, seized power
 When the Yellow river (“China’s Sorrow”)
shifted its course many starved to death or were
killed in rebellions
Reasons for the Fall of the Han Empire
 Political:
 Weak rulers, often dominated by court officials, allowed
corruption to surface.
 Political fighting between eunuchs, Confucian scholargentry and nobles
 Bureaucratic corruption and bribery
 Power fell into the hands of local landholders and
governors (decentralization)
 Because of no centralized power, China was vulnerable to
the Xiongnu
 Political and Social:
 Only wealthy elite could gain political position
The ruins of an ancient Chinese watchtower from the Han Dynasty, part of a
line of rammed-earth fortifications built to repel the Xiongnu.
No one expects the
Xiongnu!
Reasons for the Fall of the Han Empire
 Cultural
 Challenged by arrival of Buddhism
 Daoist backlash to harsh treatment of peasantry

Yellow Turban Rebellion
 Economic
 Peasants abused by landlords, who avoided taxes
by shifting the burden to the poor.
 Some of the peasantry were forced into slavery
or into war bands by powerful nobles.
 A series of natural disasters further damaged
the quality of life and the economy


-9 million die
Failure to implement land reform
Reasons for the Fall of the Han Empire
 Many of the generals who
defeated rebels like the
Yellow Turbans ended up
with independent power and
armies more loyal to them
than the emperor.
 Three generals proclaimed
themselves emperor, and
the "Three Kingdoms" vied
against each other for 60
years.
Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire
Social:
 Invasions from Germanic tribes
 The institution of slavery
 Decline in the traditional Roman
civic duty
 Moral decay or decadence
 The decline of patriotism
http://vimeo.com/103013427
http://vimeo.com/50938453
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6ESsouohLg
Reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire
Political:
 Problems associated with succession- 25
emperors in 20 years!
 Empire became too large for the government,
and reform came too slowly and too late
 Government became dominated by the rich and
military elites
 Citizens lost their interest in the government
 The military lost its prestige
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
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
Reasons for the Fall of the Gupta
Empire
Political
 Inability to centralize the Raj princes
 Because of decentralization, no Indian leaders tried to
unify the subcontinent
 Hun invaders from the North
 Around 480 C.E., they launched a full-scale invasion and
were successful in capturing the northwestern part of the
empire
Aftermath - Han
Han
 Confucianism is able to hold society
together despite the collapse of the
government
Note: No such self-sacrificing mentality
existed in the western Classical Empires
 Note: 3 centuries before next united
dynasty - Tang
Aftermath-Gupta
Gupta
 Caste system holds society together
 Hinduism gains more ground while
Buddhism declines
 Huns become Hindu
 Even when Islam arrives in 7th Century,
Hinduism remains strong
 Economic prosperity continues
 Regional factionalism prevents
unification of sub-continent
 Note: India not united until British Raj
Aftermath- Rome
 The Eastern Roman Empire would adopt
Christianity as the state religion, and merge
religion and politics. Loyalty to one would yield
loyalty to both.
 The Western Empire would not do this, so their
was constant fighting between the Pope and state
 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 existing
 The east did not have to deal with foreign invaders
or send help to the west after the bifurcation of the
Empire
 The west had foreign mercenaries working in their
military ranks (Note: not replaced until rise of
nation states a millennium later)
What did the Romans ever give us?
(Life of Brian)
Reg: All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine,
education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the
fresh water system and public health, what have the
Romans ever done for us?
Attendee: Brought peace?
Reg: Oh, peace - shut up!
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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfe-eNq-Qyg