In general, how do empires fall apart?

The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were two of the most powerful entities to rule their respective parts of the world. The Han Dynasty dominated Asia from the Korean peninsula to present day Vietnam for more than four hundred years. The Roman Empire stretched from the present British Isles to present day Iraq, and lasted nearly five hundred years. The Eastern Roman Empire went on to last another one thousand years. Both the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire enjoyed a "golden age" of prosperity and left many legacies to the civilizations that followed. Still, something took each of them down, and chaos ruled for a time afterward.

In what ways were the Han and Roman Empires alike? How were they different? Use this course's discussion tools to consider those two questions and hear what other students have to say about it.