The Roman Empire and China’s Han Dynasty thrived as ancient superpowers, known to each other through the Silk Road, yet culturally distinct. While both empires shared a bureaucratic governance system and similar territorial extents, recent research highlights stark differences in income inequality, revealing that the Han’s greater inequality may have hastened its decline. In contrast, the relative equality among Roman citizens is credited with supporting the enduring stability of the Pax Romana, showcasing how economic structures influenced each empire's fate through distinct historical trajectories.
Comparative studies show that higher income inequality in the Han Dynasty contributed to its instability, while relative equality in Rome supported the longevity of the Pax Romana.
Both empires, though culturally different and thousands of miles apart, operated under bureaucratic systems that shared remarkable similarities in governance and revenue collection.
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