Rise And Fall Of Rome Essay

Discussion 5

Rome was established in the 8th century BC supposedly by two brothers named Romulus and Remus. At first it was just one city on the banks of the Tiber river, but it soon spread out throughout all of Italy. As they expanded their government became more complex, such as going from a monarchy to a senate of elected officials. It countinued to grow and expand not only in borders, but in culture. In 27 BC to 14 AD Augustus helped transform the Roman republic Into an empire. An empire that would, at it's peak (around 127AD) reach from what is now Spain

To the Persian gulf. But it couldn't last forever, and western Rome fell to the Vandals in 476 AD. But the eastern part of Rome (it was split in 285 AD by emperor Diocletian) countinued for nearly another 1000 years (it collapsed in 1453 AD).

The Han dynasty was seen as a golden age for China, with innovations such as the water powered hammer, the wheel barrow, and most importantly of all paper. The Han dynasty also opened the Sillk Road, a series of trade routes that stretched from China to modern day Turkey (over 4000 miles). Like the Roman empire, the dynasty couldn't last forever. After a series of natural disasters, the Han government became corrupt, and thousands of people protested the goverment. Some of the most vocal opponents of the govermrnt were Confucius scholars. Now the Confucius scholars were apart of a new form of civilian leaders, trained up in schools that taught about Confucius and the natural world. Eventually they formed their own powerful class that worked close with the other branchs of Han dynasty. But In 190 AD a war lord named Dong Zhou took control, and put a child (Liu Xie) on the throne (making cracks in the system). And in 220 AD, Liu Xie abdicated. Causing the complete collapse of the dynasty. China wouldn't be unified again for 350