Ancient and World History

The main similarity between Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire and Zhu Di of the Ming dynasty was that both were generals who took over the government. Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who overthrew the Roman Republic and established the rule of the emperors. Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming dynasty in China, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty.

The changes that supports the claim that the regional politics of the Mediterranean world changed dramatically in 284 C.E. was the split of the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves.

The administrative system of the traditional Chinese government, the members of which were selected by a competitive examination. The Chinese civil-service system gave the Chinese empire stability for more than 2,000 years and provided one of the major outlets for social mobility in Chinese society. It later served as a model for the civil-service systems that developed in other Asian and Western countries. The Qin dynasty (221-207 BC) established the first centralized Chinese bureaucratic empire and thus created the need for an administrative system to staff it. Recruitment into the Qin bureaucracy was based on recommendations by local officials. This system was initially adopted by the succeeding Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), but in 124 BC, under the reign of the Han emperor Wudi, an imperial university was established to train and test officials in the techniques of Confucian government.

The Romans started making concrete more than 2,000 years ago. In the later Roman eras, it was re-discovered that adding volcanic ash to the mix allowed it to set underwater. They had a different formula, which resulted in a substance that was not as strong as the modern product. Yet structures like the Pantheon and the Colosseum have survived for centuries, often with little to no maintenance. Geologists, archaeologists and engineers are studying the properties of ancient Roman concrete to solve the mystery of its longevity.

The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route between China and the Mediterranean. Because China silk comprised a large proportion of the trade along this ancient road, in 1877, it was named the 'Silk Road' by Ferdinand von Richthofen, an eminent German geographer.

The most important contribution of the ancient Romans was in the field of Roman Law or Politics, including the law that states a person is innocent until proven guilty, and propaganda campaigns including coinage with the current emperor's picture on it, to remind everyone who was in charge of the empire.

The Roman Empire was formally divided into two halves by Diocletian. By 286 CE, the Roman Empire, which was in the midst of an economic crisis, had grown too large to be effectively governed in a single location by a single leader. To remedy this situation, Diocletian divided the empire in two.

The Han Dynasty people were the first to use examinations as a way to choose government officials. The civil service examinations were used as a way to select officials based on merit and ability, rather than family lineage or political connections. This idea came from Confucian philosophy, which seeked a state ruled by men of ability and virtue. This selection process based on merit, meant that even the poorest family could have a member claim a high-ranking position in the government.

The characteristic of the Han dynasty in China was the development of a civil service open to anyone who could pass the requisite examinations.

Both the Qin and Han dynasties were characterized by strong, centralized imperial control. They both invested heavily in infrastructure and administrative systems to maintain the unity and stability of the Chinese state.

The Qin Dynasty was notoriously centralized and authoritarian, relying on strict Legalism to control the population. The Han Dynasty, while still centralized, adopted a more moderate approach by integrating Confucianism and allowing for more regional administrative flexibility.

The Greeks not influence the Romans by the use of concrete in building.

Barbarians from the north invaded Rome and overwhelmed the Empire.

The Etruscans occupied the region to the north of Rome, between the Arno and Tiber Rivers to the west of the Apennine Mountains. The Romans were first a subject people of the Etruscans and later their conquerors. The Etruscan culture was well-developed and advanced but distinctively different from the cultures of the other peoples in the region.