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Rome and Han China

Teacher Resources

Course Guide icon

Lesson Guide

Find lesson timing, sample answers, teaching tips, and important teacher instructions in the guide.

Driving Question: How did Roman and Han Dynasty rulers grow and maintain their empires?

The Roman Empire and Han Dynasty China were the two pillars of the ancient world. These two empires linked with each other across a vast network of Silk Road trade. In the Mediterranean Sea and East Asia, they conquered vast territories and ruled over periods of peace and prosperity, thanks to innovative economic, political, and miliary strategies.

Learning Objectives

  1. Analyze the formation and characteristics of the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty China.
  2. Explain and compare the roles of women in classical societies such as ancient Rome and Han Dynasty China.
STEP 1

Opener: Rome and Han China

Luxury goods, such as silk, drove long-distance trade in the ancient world. This quick activity uses a primary source excerpt to help you understand the demand for silk.

Opener

Trade in the Ancient World External link

Read a short excerpt from a famous ancient writer about the silk trade and consider what this source tells you about ancient empires and trade.
STEP 2

Exploring Rome and Han China

Teaching Tools

Did you know: A tax on pee helped fund the colosseum. Emperors Nero and Vespasian imposed a urine tax on Rome. The ammonia-rich pee was valued in the tanning and laundry industries. To raise money, the emperors put a tax on the guys who collected pee from public urinals. Public toilets became known as vespasianos, after Emperor Vespasian.

What can two ancient empires from very different parts of the world teach you? You’ll find out as you read about Rome and Han China.

Article

The Roman Empire External link

By the time it got an emperor, Rome was already an empire. Its conquests connected new parts of the world, but those conquests also changed Rome.

Article

Han Dynasty China External link

For hundreds of years, the Han Dynasty was the eastern pillar of the great silk routes across Afro-Eurasia. This dynasty’s achievements provided a lasting legacy for China both as a society and a state.
STEP 3

Women in Rome and China

Teaching Tools

Organizing students into groups and assign roles, such as vocabulary master, claim cruncher, evidence gatherer, content connector. While they’re reading, each student writes down and looks for the specific thing they’re assigned. When they’ve finished, students meet in their homogenous groups and share, and then meet with their heterogenous groups and discuss the reading..

Women’s struggle for equality has been ongoing for millennia. Whether in ancient China or ancient Rome, women pushed or ignored boundaries set by men.

Article

Women in Rome and Han Dynasty China External link

Women in the ancient world were more restricted than men. Yet, many women challenged those boundaries. This article compares the lives of different women in Han Dynasty China and ancient Rome.
STEP 4

The Silk Routes

Teaching Tools

Blog post: Who Really Built the Silk Roads? External link This blog post reveals the middlemen who helped keep the Silk Roads alive as the Roman and Han Empires died.

The Silk Roads moved more than just silk. Explore the trade routes that connected Rome and Han China.

Article

The Silk Road External link

Heavenly horses, see-through clothing, camel-shaped gravestones. The ancient trade routes we call the Silk Roads connected Afro-Eurasia.
STEP 5

Closer: Rome and Han China

What would you do if you were transported to the ancient world? Use your imagination as you choose an empire.

Closer

Would You Rather? External link

This activity lets you imagine the different ways that ancient people lived in empires like Roma and Han China through a quick game of “Would you rather…?”