Around 200 BC two great civilizations emerged as powerful and influential empires. Han civilization and Roman civilization. Both civilizations contributed revolutionary technologies, literature, mathematics, and extensive trade to the ancient world. Although these were powerful nations, the causes of their decline were quite similar. Inept rulers, social discord, and hostile incursions are some of the many factors that led to their inevitable downfall. Both the Hans and the Romans diverged from previous civilizations. The Han came into existence after overthrowing the Qin dynasty which was incompetent in the last years of the dynasty. The Qin Dynasty was highly centralized and implemented through legalistic ideals, so the government was oppressive towards its own people. Therefore, the dynasty collapsed due to internal mutiny. Liu Bang seized power and founded the Han dynasty. To the west, in what is now the Italian peninsula, a cultural group called the Etruscans ruled the Roman people and soon the monarch government was deposed by the aristocracy. This is how both civilizations came into being. Both came from other governments. However China was much more diverse as the tract of land had been greatly developed by the previous dynasties (Shang, Zhou and Qin), where the Romans only started in the city of Rome. Military power was possessed by both the Han and the Romans. For this reason the flourishing nations managed to conquer large territories, thus obtaining considerable riches. Chinese territory expanded into Central Asia, Korea, and Indochina. A major contributor to China's expansion was Emperor Wudi (141-195 BC) who conducted military campaigns. The same happened in Rome. The Roman… middle of paper… caused the disintegration and fragmentation of the Roman Empire into small Germanic kingdoms, around 425-476 BC However, this only occurred in the West. The Byzantine Empire remained intact, preserving Roman culture and traditions. After the end of the Han dynasty, the Chinese underwent political decentralization, but the Confucian ideologies, which were an integral part of their culture, were never abandoned. The Han Dynasty and Roman civilization were the superpowers of the world at that time. They influenced the world and left an indelible mark on the ancient world. Traces of their contributions are omnipresent, from the invention of paper to the Latin language. Both shared similarities and grew through strong government and profitable trade. However, due to numerous factors, both Empires crumbled under the intense pressure and never returned to their former glory..