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Mahnoor Khan
September 30th, 2016
AP World History

The Achaemenid Empire and Han

dynasty
The Achaemenid Empire of Persia and the Han Dynasty of China were the two most successful
empires in their time period. The methods used by these two societies to control and manage their
empires helped them remain successful. The Achaemenid Empire and the Han Dynasty similarly used
taxation and building roads as a way to control and manage their massive empire. A different is while the
rulers of the Achaemenid practiced tolerance towards their diverse subjects, the Han empires did not
tolerate the culture of the people they conquered.
A major similarity between the methods used by both empires to manage and control their
empires is the construction of roads. For example, the Achaemenid Empire built the Persian Royal Road
that spanned to almost all of their empire. The roads the Achaemenid Empire and the Han dynasty built
help simulate trade which would help manage and control the citizens by keeping the people happy
because they would be able to make more profit through trade therefore the people would be less likely to
rebel. Also, it helped increase the knowledge of new inventions or improvements other civilizations made.
This helped to control the Achaemenid Empire's and the Han dynasty's territory by assisting them improve
their own army and to be more prepared to fight other civilizations. Also, it helped control and manage
their huge armies to travel faster so they could get to a location faster to defend their borders. Roads also
decreased the amount of time it takes to receive news so when in times of war the Achaemenid Empire's
and the Han Dynasty's rulers could send commands to their armies quickly if they are not with them. In
addition the emperors of the Han dynasty and the Achaemenid Empire could control and manage their
empires by putting down uprisings quickly because they received the news faster.
Another similarity of the Achaemenid Empire and the Han Dynasty is their method of taxation
which helped manage their territories. The emperors used taxation to help finance and control their

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bureaucratic government and their army. For instance, the Achaemenid Empire's ruler Darius started
using taxation when he noticed that the irregular tributes were not enough to run his large bureaucracy
and army. Also, the Han Dynasty used taxation to help finance his war against the Xiongnu. Also, the
Achaemenid Empire and the Han Dynasty used taxation to manage their projects which were essential to
maintaining their empire. For instance, they both built canals with their taxes. The Han dynasty used
canals to promote trade and communication throughout his kingdom which would keep the people happy
and he would able to efficiently control and manage his empire by being able to receive news quickly. The
Achaemenid Empire built underground canals which produced increased agricultural production that
resulted in a population growth. This kept the civilians controllable and manageable because they are not
starving. It makes sense that the Achaemenid Empire and the Han Dynasty both used taxation to manage
and control their empire because taxes help fund the government who use it to maintain their territory.
A major difference between the Achaemenid Empire and the Han the dynasty is their treatment of
the locals they captured. In the Achaemenid Empire, the rulers respected the diverse customs and
religions of the people they ruled to make it easier to manage and control their empire. For example, in
Mesopotamia, Achaemenid empires illustrated themselves as the authentic Babylonian rulers rather than
Persian conquerors to make them easier to control and manage because the Babylonians won't rebel as
much. Darius also gained the Jewishs approval and praise by freeing them and allowing them to return to
Jerusalem and practice their religion after Darius conquered Babylonia. While the Persians acknowledged
the traditions and cultures of those they ruled, the rulers of Han dynasty did not. For insistence, when the
Han emperor, Han Wudi invaded and captured North Vietnam and Korea, he completely disregarded the
conquered peoples customs and religions and replaced them with the Chinese government. He ruled
both these lands through a Chinese-styled government, a centralized government that relied on Legalist
principles, and imposed Confucian values because Han Wudi thought his way would make it easier to
control and manage the lands he conquered. It makes sense that the Achaemenid Empire and the Han
dynasty had a difference policy in controlling the conquered because Cyrus and Darius believed in
cultural toleration to ensure that the people of the empire would not rebel against them while the Han
leaders were raised by Legalist principles so they believed in harsh punishments to the conquered would
make them be afraid to rebel.

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Another important contrast between the Achaemenid Empire and the Han the dynasty is their
methods of controlling the conquered land. In the Achaemenid Empire, the kings controlled and managed
the conquered by giving them opportunities to participate willingly in the Achaemenid Empire and gain a
higher position job which kept them less willing to rebel. For example, Darius allowed the locals of an
acquired land to become local officials to fill almost all of the government positions below a satrap aka a
district governor. On the other hand, the Han emperors would allow the conquered little opportunities to
participate in the Han Empire as a way to manage and control the conquered because the Han emperors
thought their way was the best way managed captured. For example, Han emperor, Han Wudi sent
trusted imperial officers to the lands to govern and maintain the lands he had seized instead of allowing
the natives to rule in government positions. Darius, the emperor of the Achaemenid created imperial
spies, known as the eyes and ears of the king, to help control and manage the conquered by preventing
the satraps from becoming independent or threaten the empire by allying with local groups. In contrast,
the Han emperors didnt use spies as a way to control their appointed imperial officials because since the
Han emperors only chose imperials loyal to him to govern over the land he attained.
To synthesize the Achaemenid Empire and the Han Dynasty connects to Ancient Egyptian
civilization through their similarities. Likewise the Achaemenid Empire and the Han dynasty, Egyptians
also had roads to control and manage Egypt. Roads helped simulate trade which kept the Egyptians
satisfied and from rebelling. Also, roads helped control and manage the pharaoh's kingdom by helping the
pharaoh's armies reach their destination quicker. Similarly, the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs taxed his
people to help maintain the empire in forms of construction, road maintenance, cattle, and agriculture.