In the first century AD, two enormous empires rose on opposite sides of the Eurasian continent. Although they never met, both played extremely important roles in the development of their respective civilisations (Western and Chinese) and were giants of their time destined to influence the world for millennia to come. To date, few studies have attempted to compare the imperial development of ancient Rome and China, yet their trajectories of development help us to understand the roots of the cultural differences (or similarities) that are still visible today.

The Roman Empire was born from the blood and strength of the citizen soldiers of Rome, who, from a small settlement on the Tiber, conquered a vast empire stretching from Syria to Great Britain in just a few centuries. Just like the Romans, the Han Empire also developed from a river area, that of the Yagtze, the Yellow River, which under the leadership of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi began the construction of a vast state entity, from the Yellow Sea to the deserts of Gansu and the steppes of Central Asia. The two empires reached their peak at the same time, with Trajan ruling in Rome (98-117 AD) and Emperor Han He ruling in China (88-105 AD). The populations of both empires were comparable, about 70 million each, and together they made up two-fifths of the human population at the time. 

One of the most fascinating features was that both empires built their dominion on efficient administrative systems, which were absolutely necessary to govern such vast territories. The Han developed a particular bureaucratic system which, inspired by Confucianism, was based on a ruthlessly meritocratic system. While Rome rewarded loyalty and membership of the elite, China rewarded erudition, knowledge and individual ability.

Rome had a military system based on legions of professional, well-equipped and disciplined soldiers. The Roman army fought mainly against the “barbarians”, the tribes outside the empire that pressed on its borders. Similarly, the Han army faced the nomads of the steppes and developed a sophisticated system of military strategies, fortifications and expeditions to defend themselves against their incursions. 

Both of these empires slowly collapsed after centuries of invasions and internal divisions, but their cultural legacy survived their fall for millennia to come.