Decline and Fall of

Classical Empires
Ms. Khader’s 9th Grade World History
Class!
 Essential Question:
What are the political,
socioeconomic, and
environmental issues that led to
the decline and fall of the Han
Dynasty, the Mayan Civilization,
and the Roman Empire?
 What are the
impacts of
classical
empires? Why
do we care?
 Han Dynasty
➢ “Golden Age of Chinese
culture”
○ Encouraged the
development and
spread of culture
➢ Rise in influence of
Confucianism
➢ Developed the Silk Road trade
routes
➢ Invented paper!!
○ Literate society marked
by compulsive record
keeping
Mayan Civilization
➢ Astronomy!!
○ Architecture aligned
with the equinox
➢ The Mayan Calendar
○ Calendar Round and
Long Count
➢ Chocolate (as the drink of the
gods)
➢ Zero
➢ Mastery of rubber
➢ “Slash-and-burn” farming
Roman Empire
➢ Infrastructure
○ Roads and aqueducts
➢ Architecture (first to master
dome ceilings)
○ The Colosseum, the
Pantheon
➢ Contribution to the arts
○ Sculptures, frescoes,
and literature (Virgil,
Horace, Ovid)
 Why do you
think empires
fall?
 The Han Dynasty

➢ The rule of the Han Dynasty was spread

over two periods:
○ The Western Han (206BCE-9CE)
○ The Eastern Han (25CE-220CE)
➢ Focus on the Eastern Han
 Political Dynamics of the Han Dynasty
➢ Tribal groups lived along the borders of the empire, the Han failed to integrate them into the empire
○ The Han thought anyone not born Chinese was inherently inferior and this mistreatment made the Han resent the
Han
○ In 89 CE, the Han defeated the powerful group Xiongnu
➢ Rise in the influence of eunuchs, threat to the power of the elite
○ Internal fighting between the groups trying to gain favor with the emperor
➢ Yellow Turban Revolt of 184
○ Peasant rebellion turned uprising that quicked the fall of the Han
➢ Political turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling in 189 CE
○ Fighting btwn the eunuchs and elites peaked allowing the unliked General Dong Zhou to seize control of the
capital city and place a puppet emperor on the throne
○ Last attempt of unification by warlord Cao Cao but after his death Emperor Xian gave up his position
➢ By 220 CE the empire was torn apart into three kingdoms by warlords
 Socioeconomic Dynamics of the Han Dynasty

➢ As the empire fell into decline, so did expenses

○ No longer able to repair infrastructure, aid natural disasters, or conduct trade/repay debts
➢ Han resources became seriously drained from having to constantly allocate them toward fighting off tribal threats
➢ By 100 CE taxation rose to problematic levels
○ Small low to middle class farmers (the largest source of revenue) avoided taxes while the wealthy
contributed less to the empire.
○ The wealthy took on small farmers to increase their land earnings while the new tenants were protected and
able to avoid taxes.
○ The empire was rapidly losing money and not earning it back through taxes
➢ Rise in class struggles
○ Tensions btwn farmers and elites + elites and eunuchs
 Environmental Issues of the Han Dynasty

➢ 2.5 million square miles of territory

➢ Over 60 million people
➢ Eastern Han faced numerous natural disasters
○ Cattle plagues, locusts, droughts, floods, earthquakes
➢ The defeat of the tribal group Xiongnu only increased the danger of raids by nomadic peoples of the steppes
○ No longer was the largest and most powerful tribe able to keep the others in check
○ The Uighurs, the Kazakhs, the Mongols, and the Jurchens retained control over the north and west borders of
the empire
➢ The Silk Road
○ Vital to the success and all trade to the Chinese dynasties
○ The nomadic peoples had control of it, normally the gov. would pay them off in resources or compromise to
access it
○ As Han resources dwindled, they were unable to buy off the nomads leaving them cut off from the West
 EXIT TICKET:
Time to work on your own!

Describe one political, one socioeconomic,

and one environmental factor that
contributed to the decline and fall of the
Han Dynasty.
 Lesson Summary
Political Socioeconomic Environmental
➢ Constant fighting with ➢ Expenses/state treasury ➢ Size of the empire
nomadic and tribal rapidly draining ➢ Natural disasters
groups ➢ Issues over taxation ➢ Fighting on the border
➢ Yellow Turban Revolt and tax evasion ➢ Access to the Silk
of 184 ➢ Class struggles Road and its control by
➢ Eunuchs vs Elites nomadic peoples
➢ General Dong Zhou,
Cao Cao, and the
puppet emperor Xian
DAY TWO
 DO NOW:
What was life like for the
people in the Han
Dynasty?
 The Mayan Civilization

➢ Pre-Classical Maya 1800BCE-250CE

➢ Classical Maya 250CE-900CE

A lot of mystery and theories surround the

collapse of many Mesoamerican societies.
 Political Factors of the Mayan Civilization

➢ The Mayans had a system of written language but in 1562 a Spanish friar Diego de Landa burned
every book of Maya origin. What remains reveals nothing of the empires collapse.
➢ A lot of Mesoamerican societies relied on a system of trade, alliance, and dynastic power that
contributed to their success
○ One theory is that constant warfare among competing Mayan city-states and factions led to
the dissolve of that system.
 Socioeconomic Factors of the Mayan Civilization

➢ Mesoamerican societies centered their cities and interactions on their polytheistic, ritualistic religions
○ Without a power to monitor sacrificial rituals and temple interactions, the population
descended into chaos
➢ Constantly shifting trade routes
○ Disruption of interaction internally and externally
 Environmental Factors of the Mayan Civilization

➢ Classic Mayas didn’t center their civilization into one major metropolis, their cities spanned modern-
day Guatemala and reached the borders of Mexico, Belize, and Honduras
➢ The collapse of the Mayas doesn’t refer to one major event or climax of events, but a gradual
abandoning of previously populated areas
○ The classic cities of the southern lowlands were abandoned and by 900 CE the entire
civilization in the region had collapsed
➢ One theory is that the Mayans had exhausted the area of its natural resources and the land could no
longer sustain a large population
➢ Another is that natural catastrophe also forced the Mayans to abandon the area
○ Ex: Drought
 Lesson Summary

Political Socioeconomic Environmental

➢ Internal warfare ➢ Loss of temple power ➢ Combination of
between rival city- and ritual dependence natural disaster
states ➢ Maya population ➢ Overpopulation and
➢ Collapse of a system descended into chaos overuse of land
of trade, alliance, and ➢ Area no longer able to
and separated out of
dynastic power support a large
self-preservation
➢ Abandonment of large population so they
cities were forced to relocate
 HOMEWORK:
Write a two paragraph reflection on the
past two days learning talking about:
a.) The similarities between the collapse of
the Han Dynasty and Mayan Civilization
(with three examples)
b.) The significance you as an individual
find in this knowledge and a prediction on
the collapse of the Roman Empire based on
this knowledge.
 DAY
THREE
LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THESE EMPIRES AND
REMEMBER THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS, WHY
DID THEIR EMPIRE COLLAPSE?
 The Roman Empire

➢ Republic: 509-27BCE
➢ Empire: 27BCE-476 CE

The split between the Western and Eastern

Roman Empires occured in 285 CE. The East
would live on for hundreds of years, so the
collapse of the Classic Roman Empire is
associated with the fall of the Western
Empire.
 “
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
- John Heywood

(true… and it didn’t fall in one

either)
 Political Factors of the Roman Empire
➢ Constant corruption surrounding the emperor
○ During 2nd and 3rd centuries over twenty men took the job of emperor within just 75 years
○ Period of civil war
➢ Praetorian Guard
○ Supposed to emperor’s personal bodyguard, actually had record of assassinating and controlling
emperors
➢ The Roman Senate equally corrupt and incompent, unable to keep position of the emperor in check
➢ Overall, distrust among the people of their government
 Socioeconomic Factors of the Roman Empire
➢ Loss of tax revenue and long distance trading was cut off due to fighting outside of Roman borders
○ State economy drained and useless
➢ Growing separation btwn the common people and the Emperor and his elites
○ The people could no longer rely on the Emperor and government for aid or protection even if they
wanted to (which they didn’t!)
➢ Romanitas- the concept of a Roman identity (Roman or barbarian)
○ Concept pressure from Germanic tribes pushing into the empire.
○ In 350 CE, German groups began trying and failing to migrate into the Roman Empire.
○ When the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, it was succeeded by a number of Germanic
kingdoms that were once despised but now in power
 Environmental Factors of the Roman Empire
➢ At its peak (117 CE) covered 2.3 million square miles over three continents with 60 million people living
within its jurisdiction.
○ The sheer size and geographical expanse of the empire made it difficult to effectively govern
➢ Division of the Roman Empire
○ Emperor Diocletian managed to prolong the decline of the empire for some time by splitting the
empire to make it smaller and easier to govern
■ The Western Empire remained under Roman rule, Eastern Empire ruled by Constantinople in
modern-day Turkey
○ Two empires failed to work together and fought with each other as much as together against pressing
external forces
○ Rise of the Eastern Empire in wealth and stability parallel to decline of the Western Empire
➢ Most notably the Huns, but many nomadic tribes (the Visigoths, Franks, and Vandals) stretched the defense
resources of the empire thin
 Lesson Summary

Political Socioeconomic Environmental

➢ Corruption!! ➢ Loss of tax revenue ➢ Size and geographical
➢ Civil War period over and international trade diversity of the empire
the position of empire crippled the economy ➢ Split between the east
left economy and ➢ Class struggles and west
government severely ➢ Romanitas ➢ Nomadic tribes were
weakened forced to push into the
➢ People lost trust in Roman Empire
their leaders
 HOMEWORK:
Complete the three way Venn Diagram
comparing the decline and fall of the Han
Dynasty, the Mayan Civilization, and the
Roman Empire.
 Works Cited
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Han-dynasty https://www.history.com/news/why-did-the-maya-abandon-their-cities
https://www.ancient.eu/article/1119/achievements-of-the-han-dynasty/ https://www.ancient.eu/article/835/fall-of-the-western-roman-empire/
https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/maya-history/top-10-inventions-of-mayan-civilizatio https://www.history.com/news/8-reasons-why-rome-fell
n/
https://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome/fall_of_rome.php
https://www.historyonthenet.com/mayan-cultural-achievements
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/maya
https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/maya/mmc12eng.html#:~:text=The
%20Maya%20created%20arable%20land,cleared%20the%20jungle%20for%20planting
.
http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-mayan.html
https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Art/
https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Literature/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/whp-origins/era-4-regional/41-systems-collapse
-betaa/a/read-empires-fall-beta
https://www.thoughtco.com/why-did-han-china-collapse-195115
https://www.dkfindout.com/us/history/ancient-china/chinese-paper-making/