Economic Impact of Monogl Rule in Russia and China

Economically the Mongols impacted China and Russia. In China the Mongols had established and empire. While doing this they secured the most valued trade region in all of Asia. This was the Silk Road. It was necessary for the Silk Road to be protected from bandits and thieves. Travelers would be at great risk if they did not have a secure route to trade on. This brought the region great wealth from the surplus of Eastern European traders who brought good not seen in Asia since the last great dynasty. This was similar to Russia who now had safe access to trade routes to build its great cities. Safe trade brought by Mongol rule had and extremely high impact on the economy of Russia and China. The Chinese already had a stable economy. But the Russians did not. This was a major difference. The Mongols introduced paper money into Russia which helped semi stabilize it from an all out recession due to the falling price of gold and silver. This saved the Russians from a very terrible depression. If the Romans could have had paper money to help heal their falling price of silver than they may have not have collapsed as soon. The Mongols did the Russians a favour by conquering them. The economy in China and Russia was greatly impacted by Mongol rule. This was a major difference in the economic effects of Mongol rule.

Political Impact of Mongol Rule in Russia and China

Mongol rule in China led to political structure that was very similar to the structure before. This was by founding the Yuan Empire. This empire was founded by the Mongols and led to the re-unification of China. It followed the dynastic cycle like previous dynasties. The Mongols thought that the previous dynasties had worked so efficiently that they might as well not change anything. There was a striking difference between China and Russia’s Mongol rule. Mongol rule in Russia led to the later influence of absolute rule by the latter Czars. This was different than China because the Mongol rule in China did not greatly impact the political structure later on while it did Russia. They are both similar by providing a political structure that unified the people the Mongols ruled over.

Roman Golden Age

The Roman Golden Age beginning with Augustus and ending with Marcus Aurelius. A Golden Age is "the most flourishing period in the history of a nation, literature, etc."During the Roman Golden Age the empire had seen advances in many of its cultural aspects. The three most prominent ones being philosophy, architecture, and engineering. The three most prominent areas of culture though in most other civilizations, are the most evident in Rome. Without these the world would look much more different than it does today.
Roman philosophy is based much on Greek philosophy. Thought it is based on Greek philosophy it is not. Roman philosophers had their own ideas and feelings on subjects than Greek philosophers such as Plato. The Hellenistic philosophy of Stoicism impressed Roman thinkers like the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Stoics stressed the importance of handling one’s fate and showing concern for the well being of people. This idea would later be reflected in Christian teachings. These Christian teachings are still being taught today. It is perhaps these ancient Roman thinkers like Marcus Aurelius who fueled the fire for Rome’s Golden Age.
Roman architecture, much like philosophy was borrowed from the Greeks. All along the Mediterranean there are Roman buildings that contain elements of Roman and Greek architecture. The Romans used their architecture to stand for power and the achievements of Rome. Throughout the empire Romans built victory arches to symbolize their strength and power. The Romans also improved parts of buildings such as arches and domes. With the new perfection these new arches and domes could now cover large areas, the most famous one being the Pantheon. In the coliseum one can see the improved Roman arches as the walls and supporting structure. These styles are still used today. At Grand Central Station in New York City, one can see the Roman style of putting multiple arches together to create a high ceiling. At the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. the designers used a dome so to cover a large area cheaply but beautifully. Roman architecture is still used today.
The Romans excelled their practical art of building, perfecting their engineering skills as they built rods and bridges through their empire. Roman roads are so solidly built that the best-maintained ones are still used today. "The first thing the Romans did upon entering a new region, after winning the war that gained them their new territory, was construct roads and bridges. Another engineering feat was the aqueduct system. They carried water to cities. With this new found water cities could have public baths an engineering feat within itself. The type of piping that the Roman engineers developed is still used today in European fountains that rely on natural mountain water.
The Roman Golden Age was filled with many cultural achievements. Some of which include philosophy, architecture, and engineering. All of these go hand in hand in helping Rome prosper. Sadly the Golden age would soon come to an end after the rain of Marcus Aurelius. Every society has a Golden Age but Rome’s is truly golden.

Rome vs. Han China

Rome and Han were both super powers at the time. It is East vs West! About scientific achievements,Han Dynasty definitely surpassed the Roman's from the invention of paper,porcelain and the world's first wheelbarrow the world first compass and the first simple seismograph. The Han have definetly surpased Rome in the field of technology.

Sycretism of Buddhism

This topic is very interesting because religion is a big part of life and without it life would not be as we know it. The type of religion that is being sycretised, I feel is very important to the rate of the spread of the religion. A religon that appeales to pesants might syncrenise faster due to the fact that there are more pesants in a society than noblemen. But if a religion is appealing to the noblemen than they may then in turn place it upon the poorer people. I feel that people will feel better about a religion and exept it if it is not pressed upon them or they feel that it has posotive benifits for the society.

Themes In History (Development & Interaction of Cultures)

In Ap Wold we have covered the development and interaction of cultures. We have done this in many ways. One example of this was when we studdied the spread of Buddhism into China and the not very accepting people of India. Though the Chinese already had a religion some were open to change and accepted the new religion. It was an idea that was developed not in China but the chinese people accepted it. The technology that was being used in Shang China was more advanced than the technology of the surrounding countries. With this advance in technology the Shang had the upper hand over the other people in the region. This would cause them to yeild to the Shang. This impacted the conqued, and even not conquered people to fear and respect Shang China. Just with this advance in technology the Shang would change the surrounding countryside from a group of barbarian people to a well developed civ. With this new spread of China thier inflences of art and architecture.