Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires

III. Unique social and economic dimensions developed in imperial societies in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas. A. [blank_start]Cities[blank_end] were extremely important to the economic, political, and cultural life of empires. [blank_start]Administrative[blank_end] centers, or what we would call [blank_start]capital cities[blank_end], were sometimes themselves monuments to the power of the state. The monumental buildings of [blank_start]Persepolis[blank_end] and Rome, for example, conveyed the power and awe of the Persian and Roman Empires, respectively. Cites were also important centers for trade. [blank_start]Chang'an[blank_end], the imperial capital of China (remained Xi'an during the Ming Dynasty) was an important trade center, situated as it was on the eastern end of the Silk Roads.

B. Social hierarchies and stratification that formed in foundational civilizations became more complex in large empires. In classical India, the caste system evolved in order to accommodate the growing complexity of Gupta society. Castes divided into subcastes, or jati, which soon became the backbone of Indian society. Jati formed their own courts through which Indian society was regulated in the absence of a strong central government. Thus Indian families tended to associate closely with other families involved in the same occupations as themselves. Although there was some variation, most classical societies could be represented in the following way:

C. Because the production of large [blank_start]surpluses[blank_end] of agriculture was necessary for the specialization of labor and large armies, empires developed methods to extract [blank_start]maximum[blank_end] productivity from land. Some slavery was practiced in all classical civilizations, but the [blank_start]Mediterranean[blank_end] world clearly exceeded [blank_start]Asia[blank_end] in the development of this institution. Slaves may have comprised as much as [blank_start]one third[blank_end] of the Roman Empire.[12] Another common form of [blank_start]labor[blank_end] sponsored by empires was the [blank_start]Corvée[blank_end] System. In this system, governments required subjects, usually peasants, to provide labor as a payment of [blank_start]tax[blank_end]. A specified number of labor days had to be offered to the state as an [blank_start]obligatory[blank_end] taxation. Many large [blank_start]imperial[blank_end] projects were completed using the corvée system. The [blank_start]Qin[blank_end] built their defensive wall using it; in 130 B.C.E. the [blank_start]Han[blank_end] built a canal to better move grain to the capital city using corvée labor.[13] Under [blank_start]Jeraboam[blank_end], the Hebrew kingdom of Israel used the corvée system first with conquered Cananites, then on their own population.[14]

D. Despite changes that occurred in class, caste and [blank_start]labor[blank_end] during the classical age, all empires continued to practice [blank_start]patriarchy[blank_end]. In some societies it was very [blank_start]harsh[blank_end]; in other societies [blank_start]women[blank_end] could advance and engage in [blank_start]business[blank_end]. Indeed, belief systems certainly gave shape to how it was practiced in day to day life in every society. But without exception, political, social and economic life in [blank_start]imperial[blank_end] civilizations remained [blank_start]dominated[blank_end] by males throughout this period.

IV. The Roman, Han, Persian, Mauryan and Gupta empires created political, cultural, and administrative difficulties that they could not manage, which eventually led to their decline, collapse, and transformation into successor empires or states. Between 200 and 600 C.E. all of the classical civilizations had [blank_start]fallen[blank_end] (the Han around 220, Western Rome in 476, and the Gupta in 550). There are several elements in common to the fall of these civilizations: Political corruption and deterioration - The politics of all classical ages became [blank_start]corrupt[blank_end] and given over to [blank_start]factions[blank_end] and divisions. [blank_start]Bribery[blank_end] and favoritism were rife. Provinces came under the control of local leaders and empires [blank_start]decentralized[blank_end]. The migration of the Huns - [blank_start]Droughts[blank_end] in central Asia forced a nomadic group called the [blank_start]Huns[blank_end] to migrate [blank_start]south[blank_end] and west during this time period. This brought them in [blank_start]contact[blank_end] with the settled classical civilizations. They placed pressure on the Han and Gupta, [blank_start]attacking[blank_end] their frontiers and [blank_start]raiding[blank_end] their lands. As they pushed [blank_start]westward[blank_end], they forced [blank_start]Germanic[blank_end] peoples to put pressure on the [blank_start]Roman[blank_end] Empire. Over-extension of borders - All empires found that their [blank_start]borders[blank_end] had grown so large that their military had trouble [blank_start]guarding[blank_end] them. Their [blank_start]imperial[blank_end] ambition out-stripped their [blank_start]resources[blank_end]. The Chinese could not effectively man the Great Wall with [blank_start]soldiers[blank_end] to keep out the Huns. [blank_start]Rome[blank_end] grew so large they could not raise the armies to protect its frontiers. The spread of epidemics and disease - The [blank_start]trade routes[blank_end] that connected civilizations and allowed them to [blank_start]prosper[blank_end] also spread diseases. Han China and Rome lost thousands to [blank_start]disease[blank_end], thus [blank_start]depleting[blank_end] their [blank_start]tax base[blank_end] just as they needed fund to protect their borders.

IV. The Roman, Han, Persian, Mauryan and Gupta empires created political, cultural, and administrative difficulties that they could not manage, which eventually led to their decline, collapse, and transformation into successor empires or states. A. The [blank_start]mobilization[blank_end] of resources required by classical empires had vast [blank_start]environmental[blank_end] consequences. The materials required by settled people and the need for [blank_start]surpluses[blank_end] of agriculture led to the [blank_start]deforestation[blank_end] of enormous tracks of land. In the Mediterranean civilizations, entire forests were cut down to provide [blank_start]building[blank_end] timbers, [blank_start]burning fuel[blank_end], and to extend [blank_start]farming[blank_end] areas. Plato described in his book Critias the deforestation of Attica (Greece): where there was once "an abundance of wood in the mountains," he could now only see "the mere skeleton of the land."[17] B. Huns.gif The [blank_start]internal[blank_end] problems of empires described above [blank_start]hampered[blank_end] their ability to deal with [blank_start]external[blank_end] problems on their frontiers. All classical civilizations had to deal with [blank_start]migrations[blank_end] and invasions of [blank_start]nomadic[blank_end] people. The Qin and Han dynasties struggled against the [blank_start]Xiongnu Confederacy[blank_end], and we have seen above that the invasion of the [blank_start]Huns[blank_end] was a factor in the collapse of the Han Dynasty. The white Huns invaded the Gupta and exposed the inability of its [blank_start]decentralized[blank_end] system to coordinate a [blank_start]unified[blank_end] defense. As the Huns migrated [blank_start]westward[blank_end] they pressed [blank_start]Germanic[blank_end] tribes of central and eastern Europe against the frontiers of the [blank_start]Roman[blank_end] Empire. When resources were too scarce to sustain their defenses, the Romans found these "[blank_start]barbarians[blank_end]" at the gates of their capital city.