All civilizations need vital resources to survive, such as water and food, but what makes a them unique are the different aspects they add to the civilization to make them run smoothly and efficiently. Both Rome and China became influential, independent empires because of their ability to rise to power, advancements in different fields of technology, and their outlook on various religious beliefs. Many civilizations arise because of smaller individual farming communities joining together and making one large urban center. This is the case for Rome, but Han China on the other hand, rose to greatness a little differently than others. Ancient Rome was the product of many hilltop communities coming together to form a village, while China was a pre-existing empire prior to the Hans taking control. Despite the various ways these civilizations originated, they both relied greatly on agriculture as an early form of income. The Romans began as rural farmers that created a surplus of crops to raise money. In China, the people were suffering after years of war when the newly appointed emperor decided to lower taxes in order to produce an agricultural surplus. After they were able to make a sizeable profit off their crops, Rome and China were able to start improving the empire. .
After the civilizations had gotten through the beginning stages, they started to gain enough wealth to create a specialized workforce, which caused growth in technology. Ideas were quickly spread throughout the civilization, as well as to surrounding empires via the new roadway systems in both Rome and China. By the end of the Roman period, they had build thousands of miles of travel routes throughout their empire. The Chinese relied on the well-known silk road that covered a large area of Asia as a transportation route. Ancient Rome is also known for their use of the arch in architecture such as aquaducts and, houses.