1. 1. Leadership
1.1. Han China
1.1.1. Liu Bang
1.1.1.1. Liu Bang was the first Han Emperor who had rose form rags to riches
1.1.1.2. Administered a strong centralized government after a brief experiment with a decentralized government
1.1.1.3. Realized that a decentralized government does not work after almost getting captured and killed by the Xiongnu
1.1.2. Han Wudi
1.1.2.1. Earned the honorable title of Martial Emperor
1.1.2.2. Reformed education throughout the Han empire; built schools all over Han China so that the people can receive an education
1.1.2.3. Defeated the Xiongnu, who are strong nomadic warriors that mount raids on cities of Han China
1.1.2.4. Han Wudi's success over the Xiongnu made China's economy weak
1.1.3. Wang Mang
1.1.3.1. Wang Mang was known as the Socialist Emperor
1.1.3.2. He made reforms that were supposed to help the poor but coordinated his plans poorly which resulted in rebellion and revolution
1.1.3.3. Even though he was a very learned scholar, he was known as The Usurper when he was crowned king because he had broken the royal Han line before him
1.2. Achaemenid Empire
1.2.1. Cyrus
1.2.1.1. In 559 BCE, Cyrus united the Medians and the Persians
1.2.1.2. Cyrus was known to have created the largest empire of that time (Nickname: Cyrus The Elder)
1.2.1.3. Cyrus made major expansions to his empire: He conquered the Neo-Babylonian, Median, and Lydian empire
1.2.2. Darius
1.2.2.1. Darius was the third king of the Achaemenid empire
1.2.2.2. Darius proposed the idea of Satraps throughout his empire which resembles the decentralized structure of government in Zhou China
1.2.2.3. To keep regional landlords from not rebelling, Darius had a check system; Various spies checked the records and activities of each landlord to make sure there were no signs of rebellion
1.2.2.4. Darius made a mistake by attacking the Athenians; he had underestimated their capabilities and he quickly retreated.
1.2.3. Xerxes
1.2.3.1. Xerxes was the son of Darius and sought to take revenge on the Athenians for defeating his father; this proved to be a grave mistake
1.2.3.2. Xerxes also retreated after his navy was destroyed at the Battle of Salamis
1.2.3.3. Also, in the battle of Thermopylae, Xerxes suffered the loss of many men even he won he battle; this battle made him consider if going on with the invasion was a good idea or not
2. 2. Public Works/Infrastructure (Roads, bridges, canals, courier system)
2.1. Han China
2.1.1. One great road that was made was the Silk Road which facilitated trade with northern and eastern civilization
2.1.2. Government workshops were established throughout town which contain trinkets, common foods, and miscellaneous items
2.1.3. The Zhengguo Canal was one originally built by the Qin dynasty but suffered major damages during the chaotic end of the Qin dynasty; Han emperors mad major reforms to this canal
2.1.4. 107 km of roads were built during the Han dynasty to facilitate transportation of both men and goods
2.1.5. The courier system included numerous relay stations that were built throughout the empire for couriers to send mail and carry messages
2.1.6. The rehabilitation of the Han capital Luoyang included the construction of five major bridges and 64 new buildings to make the city into a metropolis
2.2. Achaemenid Empire
2.2.1. River civilization next to the Tigris River which uses a complex irrigation system involving above ground passageways to control the flow of water to water the numerous farms
2.2.2. The courier system included couriers who report information, carry messages, and convey emails throughout relay building built throughout the empire; this courier system was one of the most complex when comparing it to those of other empires
2.2.3. The Persians were the the people who had invented roads, coins, and postal systems and used all three throughout the empire
2.2.4. The Persians were the first to invent canal buildings; they soon built the Suez Canal which efficiently distributed their water supply throughout the empire
2.2.5. Since various religions were allowed to be practiced in the Achaemenid empire, there were various temples built throughout the empire
3. THESIS: Even though some similarities can be found between the Achemenid empire and Han China, obvious differences in government, religion, and culture can be drawn and found throughout these empires
4. 3. Economic Foundations(Agriculture and Trade)
4.1. Han China
4.1.1. They had levied taxes on agricultural goods
4.1.2. There was an unprecedented growth in industry and trade
4.1.2.1. Traded consumables, clothing and clothing material, raw material and other goods
4.1.2.2. The bronze material was used for items like domestic wares, military equipment and other goods
4.1.2.2.1. Han Dynasty bronze helmet
4.1.2.3. Heqin agreement between the Han and the Xiongnu stipulated a transfer of goods
4.1.3. If you were an agriculturalist in the East it was prohibited to be a mercantile trader as well
4.1.4. The Chinese sometimes used gold as currency, but many accepted silk for payment
4.1.5. Standardized taxation
4.2. Achaemenid Empire
4.2.1. The majority of the lands economy was agricultural
4.2.2. Royal Road
4.2.2.1. 2,400 km and stretched from Sardis to Susa
4.2.2.2. Created by the Persian king Darius
4.2.2.3. The largest caravan route
4.2.3. Darius created a silver and gold coinage system
4.2.4. Extensive trade
4.2.4.1. Trade was one of the Empire's main source of revenue
4.2.4.2. Under the Achaemenids trading became much more efficient in Persia
4.2.4.3. They had conquered many trade points
5. 5. Social Organization and Norms
5.1. Han China
5.1.1. Han China had one, unified culture. China had been unted into one peole, and if you didn't follow Chinese culture you were an 'other' An other is a group of people such as Xin Ongonu, nomads to the north of China.
5.2. Achaemenid Empire
5.2.1. The Achaemenid Empire had many cultures involed in their empire. No specific culture was foced upon the people.
6. 6. Religion
6.1. Achaemenid Empire
6.1.1. Like Han China, The Achaemenid Empire had no official religion. When under the rule of this empire, you were allowed to follow any culture or religion. These philosophies played a large role in Han government, as they dictated how the goverment was structured and how they interacted with the poeple.
6.2. Han China
6.2.1. Han China contained no specific religion, but had three main phiolosophies. These philosophies were Confucianism, Legalism, and Doaism. The main philosophy was Confucianism, and had a large role in the government.
7. 4. Government Structure
7.1. Han Dynasty
7.1.1. had a strong central gov.-rejected feudalism
7.1.1.1. Emporor was the highest official in controll of all
7.1.1.2. their were many advisors under the emporor
7.1.1.3. after the advisors was a large beuacracy that included the govenor like officials of the many provinces in china
7.1.1.4. the governments duty was to keep a strong grip over the people by having strict policies and many methods of controll
7.1.2. The Han Synthesis
7.1.2.1. the han dynasty was able to adapt to the needs of thier empire
7.1.2.1.1. there were many state sanctioned iron production facilities that allowed for a stable supply of iron
7.1.2.1.2. merged legalist and confucian doctrines to best fit the needs of their people
7.1.2.1.3. officials were appointed by higher up officials not the citezens
7.1.2.1.4. state sanctioned education system use dto train qualified governmental workers
7.2. Achaemenid Empire
7.2.1. strong administration used to align smaller local government systems
7.2.1.1. persia acted as the federal government does today; they regulated from a distance while still allowing satraps to remain unique and best suited to thier population
7.2.1.2. satraps were a localized provincial government
7.2.1.2.1. these satraps had a head govenor like official apinted by the persians
7.2.1.2.2. the remaining positions were open to locals
7.2.1.3. standardized taxation through entire persian empire
7.2.1.4. there were several universal laws set in place by the central government
7.2.1.4.1. satraps were also allowed to create their own culture/region specific laws as long as they didnt contradict the centralized laws