Comparative Essay Between Achaemenid Empire and Han Dynast

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Comparative Essay As time progressed, many civilizations began to improve and evolve into more sophisticated societies. The Achaemenid Empire of Persia and the Han Dynasty of China are two of the most successful societies during this time period. The methods used by these two societies to control their territories contribute to their accomplishment. While the Achaemenid Empire used a different method to handle their foreign issues compared to the Han Dynasty, both empires used similar systems to control their territories such as dividing their empires into districts and developing a road system. A major difference between the methods used by the Achaemenid Empire and the Han Dynasty would be the way they handled foreign issues. In the Achaemenid Empire, the rulers respected the values and traditions of the people they ruled. Cyrus and Darius, past rulers of the Achaemenid Empire, followed a policy of toleration to ensure that the people of the empire would not rebel against them and create internal problems. For example, in Mesopotamia, rulers depicted themselves as legitimate Babylonian rulers rather than Persian conquerors. Darius also gained the favor and praise of many Jews for allowing them to return to Jerusalem and rebuilding a temple destroyed by Babylonian conquerors in 587 B.C.E. While Persians acknowledged the traditions and cultures of those they ruled, the rulers of Han dynasty did the opposite. Han Wudi, an emperor of China, pursued a policy of expansion and had a great desire to expand his territories further. North Vietnam and Korea are two lands he invaded and subjected under the Han rule. He ruled both these lands through a Chinese-styled government, a centralized government that relied on Legalist principles, and imposed Confucian values. Even though the Han dynasty forced their own values on the people they ruled, the outcome was that their
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