Essay Example on The Han and Achaemenid dynasties were two thriving Empires

The Han and Achaemenid dynasties were two thriving empires in ancient civilization They consisted of very powerful rulers that did their best to try and maintain a strong empire Despite challenges they were both large and accomplished a lot Previous leaders may have left the empires in tough situations but successors demonstrated their ability to overcome the conflict and continue to build Many cultures were connected because of these empires Through trade as well as taking over territories This also helped the spread of religion This caused a great impact on the people's lives through the civilizations These empires were not always at their highest point but they tried to maintain and improve as much as they could Sometimes they were just caught with their weak side showing Although the Han and Achaemenid dynasties had similarities they were different in many ways such as governance rulers religion and culture The Han Dynasty in China was from 202 B C E to 220 C E The Han Empire was very large and wealthy It began with Liu Bang He continued the use of bureaucracy and invited Confucianism scholars During this time young men were recommended to a government post The emperor eventually examined the candidates 

The Achaemenid Dynasty was one of the largest empires It was known as the first Persian empire and lasted from 558 to 330 B C E This dynasty was created by Cyrus the great Cyrus made expansions to the empire He did this by conquering lands of Parthia and Bactria as well as invading other areas such as Mesopotamia Cyrus allowed the people he defeated to retain their own religion while taking part in the Persian empire He acted in a way that he knew would keep the people from rebelling By the end of his reign he was known to be history's most successful empire builder The next important ruler was Darius He chose a different route than Cyrus Darius chose a strong central government and emphasized his authority The empire was taxed and had plenty rules set by the government Persia was then divided into twenty provinces Each province was known as a satrapy and was ruled by a satrap which was simply a governor Darius was later defeated and his son Xerxes took matters into his hand as the next emperor He wanted revenge and was also defeated The Achaemenid Dynasty had Royal Road that was used to deliver messages Trade was also important to this empire Mesopotamia influenced Persian governance as well as the society The Persians had a class system that included slaves Festivals were common that benefited everyone including the slaves The Persians enjoyed celebrating foods gifts fine jewelry and clothing Another aspect of their culture was architecture They constructed monuments and had sculptures and reliefs carved into walls Many practiced a religion known as Zoroastrianism 

The sacred text was the Avesta which contained ancient hymns rituals and spells Zoroastrianism was known to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions This religion was also known to be one of the most significant accomplishments of Persia It carried a social and political message about how people conducted themselves Key differences were shown through their governance rulers religion and culture Both the Han and Achaemenid were large empires Trade was an important factor to both This was shown through the construction of roads The silk road and royal road showed similarities One was to deliver goods earning a profit The other was to deliver messages which quickened the process of getting news Both religions had their empires split into regions or districts They tried to be cautious about who they elected to hold important roles in the empire Taxation was also used in both civilizations Neither of the empires had a specific religion but they practiced religions with similar ideologies This was based on judgment right from wrong and heaven and earth Both dynasties goal was to achieve imperial growth They grew rapidly for one reason or another such as military trade or conquest