Economic Comparison of the Han China and Roman Empires It is interesting to discover that there were two hugely successful empires, located thousands of miles apart that flourished in ways never seen before in history, and that, although there is some evidence that they were slightly aware of each other’s existence, the two societies did not have regular contact. Yet both empires achieved similar economic and political greatness and developed comparable solutions to the problems they faced. These empires are the Han China and Roman Empires, lasting from 753 B.C.E. to 330 C.E. This paper will address the economic similarities and differences between the countries and the consequences of their actions which either brought down the empire or allowed it to survive. In the book The Earth and its Peoples, Richard Bulliet describes the Han dynasty as “a tradition of political and cultural unity and continuity that lasted into the early twentieth century and still has meaning for the different China of our time (158). The Han Empire came into …show more content…
The Han expanded agriculture, achieving success by utilizing irrigation and water conservation technologies. They increased the speed in which lands could be ploughed and seeded, using cattle and inventing farm tools. Industries expanded and production improved by the use of looms in weaving and iron-smelting (China Western Han Dynasty: Emperors, Politics, Economy, Culture). In order to help the poor, which ultimately helped the government, they lowered the taxes that had been forced on the peasants by the previous Qin Empire, imposing larger taxes on the merchant. Land was taken away from the elite and the peasants were able to use that land to plant more crops (Han Dynasty