The Fall of Classical Empires

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