Chapter 5: An Age of
Empires: Rome and Han
China, 753 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.
Jae Hwi Kim, Joe Rayray
AP World Civilization 10, period. 4
Mrs. Paiaina
September 23, 2011
Roman empire’s geography
 Roman empire encompassed all the lands surrounding
the Mediterranean sea as well as portions of continental
Europe and the Middle East.
Republic
 Rome’s Republic lasted from 507 to 31 B.C.E., which Senates
played a dominant role in the politics of the Roma state.
Class and Social Relations
 Roman women did not have much
power, but they were less
constrained than their Greek
counterparts and over time they
gained greater freedom and
power.
 The basic unit of Roman society
was the family
 In Rome, complex ties of
obligation such as patron/client
relationship bounded together
individuals of different classes.
Roman religion
 Romans equated their deities with Greek gods, such as Jupiter
with Greek Zeus, and Mars with Greek Ares.
Expansion of Rome
 Rome expanded slowly at first, but later gained momentum
and reached a peak in the second centuries B.C.E.
The Failure of the Republic and
Civil Wars
 Between 88 and 31 B.C.E., a series of ambitious individuals –
Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian –
commanded armies more loyal to them than to the states and led
bloody civil wars.
Chronology
Octavian
 Julius Caesar’s grandnephew and heir, Octavian, also known as
Augustus, changed the Roman system of government.
 Octavian eliminated all rivals and made many allies with equites,
the class of well-to-do Italian merchants and landowners.
Life in the Cities and Countryside
 The upper classes of Rome lived in
elegant townhouses on hills and houses
were centered around atrium, a
rectangular courtyard with an open
skylight that let in light and rainwater.
 The wealth was
concentrated in the cities but
was based on the
productivity of rural laborers.
Commerce
 Roman commerce was greatly enhanced by the pax romana,
which guaranteed the safety and stability of trade.
Romanization
 There was Romanization which is the spread of the Latin
language and Roman way of life which influenced many
other languages of Europe and others.
The Rise of Christianity
 Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, sought to reform Jewish beliefs
and practices, and he was executed as a revolutionary by the Romans.
 Paul established churches and preached the new religion.
 Christians were first persecuted by Roman officials, but the church
continued to grow and expand.
Technology and Transformation
 Romans built Aqueducts, which
brought water from a source to an
urban center using force of gravity.
 The Roman army was
reorganized and
redeployed to reflect the
shift from an offensive to
a defensive strategy.
Third-Century Crisis and its restore
 From 235 to 284 C.E.,
there were political,
military, and economic
problems which nearly
destroyed the Roman
empire.
 Diocletian implemented radical reforms that
saved the Roman state by transforming it.
Constantine became ruler after Diocletian
resigned in 305, and Constantine made
Christianity a favored religion after reuniting
the Roman Empire.
Qin unification of China
 Qin defeated its rivals and
became the ultimate winner,
and Zheng became the
emperor at the age of thirteen
with the title of Shi Huangdi.
 Shi Huangdi
attacked
nomads, but it
had huge
consequence
which posed
huge military
threat.
 After the fall of
the Qin, Shi
Huangdi was
buried with a
great bond of
earth.
Gaozu
 Even after the overthrow of the Qin, fighting continued.
 The dynasty of Han was inaugurated, and Gaozu, the new
emperor, courted popularity and consolidated their rule by
denouncing Qin and Qin’s laws.
Wu
 After Gaozu’s death, We
became the successor of the
throne and he increased the
owner of the emperor.
 Sima Qian composed
a monumental history
of China. He is also
called “the father of
history”.
Chinese Society
 Woman’s status
depended on her
“location” within
various social
institutions, women
could be influential
political figure if the
women are from
royal family.
 The fundamental unit was the family,
and within the family was a clear-cut
hierarchy headed by the oldest male.
Chang’an
 Chang’an was the city in the Wei Valley in eastern China which became
the capital of the Qin and early Ham Empires.
 Chang’an was imitated in the cities and towns.
New Forms of Thought and Belief
 There were inventions and new thoughts of
watermill, horse collar, paper, seismometer, and
large scale roads.
Decline of the Han
 When Wang
Mang seized the
power in 9-23
C.E., he
implemented
major reforms to
address serious
economic
problems and to
cement his
popularity with
the common
people, but flood
and uprising
caused imperial
court to be
plagued by weak
leadership and
court intrigue.
 Many other
factors support
the fall of the
Han, such as
continuous
military vigilance,
increased power
of aristocracy,
and civil wars.
End