Decline+Political

=UNIT 5 CHAPTER 10 DECLINE POLITICS - by Ellis =

The declines of China, India, and Rome were due to some internal and some external problems. In the decline of China (Han dynasty- fell 220 C.E.) most problems were internal. The internal political problems were that they had bad successors, many assassinations, and the regional generals seized power. An external issue is that nomads kept invading. The result of this was a civil war and no central government for 350 years. In India (Gupta dynasty- fell 540 C.E.) the internal issues were that they had a decentralized government and poor king quality. The external issues were that they had nomadic invasions. The result was civil war and no centralized government for 500 years. China and India have some of the problems in common and the outcomes are very similar. In Rome (Roman Empire) the western half falls in 476 C.E. and the eastern half becomes the Byzantine Empire, which lasts until the Muslims conquer it in 1453 C.E. The internal issues for the western half was that they had bed emperors (there were two good emperors in the 4th c. Diocletian and Constantine) and no clear succession and had a smaller, weaker army. The external issues were nomads invading. The declines of classical Rome, China, and India were due to internal and external problems, and most are similar which concludes there is a dynastic cycle.