PORTFOLIO REFLECTION

By, Joseph Verla

APRIL 22, 2018

PROFESSOR ZUCCARINI
History 134
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One big takeaway from learning about the ancient civilizations is that the health of a

civilizations bureaucracy, organization of the government systems, is a main driver in the

betterment of the society. Without an effective bureaucracy the civilizations would not have

been able to expand, great leaders would not have had the opportunity to ascend, and renowned

militaries would never have developed. The ability to collect taxes and put them to good use in

the infrastructure, agriculture and military was key to peace. What this means for me as a citizen

historian is to participate in the nuts and bolts of our governing body.

Possibly the best example of effective and influential bureaucracy is the Persian Empire.

The Persian Empire spanned a large swath of land. In its prime the Persian Empire extended

from the Balkans to the Indus Valley and contained 5.5 million square Kilometers1. As the

Persians conquered new land they left behind a strong centralized government. Citizens of the

conquered nations were allowed to keep their customs and traditions, an in exchange for paying

taxes the Persians installed roads and a mail system and an official language across the new

territory2. With funding from the taxes the Persians were to continue expanding. This opened up

a world of trade, peace and prosperity for the new territories. The Persian Empire lasted 220

years and was larger than any previous empire in history3.

Chandragupta and his grandson Ashoka are considered some of the greatest rules of the

ancient world and of India. Many historians agree the foundation with which these great rulers

were able to arise is due to the efficient bureaucracy developed by Chandragupta’s chief minister

Chanakya. Chanakya was able to organize an effective military and civil administration. Under

the bureaucratic administration the state collected taxes on land and goods, in exchange the

1
“Achaemenid Empire.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2018
2
Ibid. 1
3
Ibid. 1
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government reclaimed large areas of forest and swamp for agriculture, built irrigation projects to

increase productivity of the land and built a network of roads4. The roads would have aided the

military as well as facilitated trade. The bureaucracy of the Mauryan Dynasty facilitated one the

longest stretches of peace in Indian history.

Although the Qin dynasty is one of the shortest of the dynasties we learned about the

influence of its bureaucracy changed China forever. The Qin dynasty politics was influenced

heavily by the philosophy of legalism5. This consolidated all the power to the Emperor. One of

the first things that the Emperor did to unify China was create a uniform system of weights,

currency and written language6. These bureaucratic institutions outlasted the dynasty and are

still in place today.

When the bureaucracy was weakened the fall of the great civilizations was not long after.

Alexander the great was known for being a larger than life leader, expanding the Greek

civilization to its largest ever square footage, as well as one of the largest ever civilizations,

spanning from Greece to India. Alexander the Great was notable for his brilliant military tactics

and never losing a battle, however, in the wake of his successful conquest he did not leave

behind successful bureaucratic institutions7. Greece itself experience peace and prosperity but

the outer reaches of Alexander the Great’s territories began to crumble due to lack of effective

bureaucracy. Tax dollars were taken from the people but not invested back into the territory thus

the society was not able to see any benefits. The result left Greece weaker than before Alexander

III’s conquests.

4
“The Mauryan Empire of Ancient India.” TimeMaps, 2018 TimeMaps Ltd., 2018
5
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.” UNESCO World
Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2018
6
Ibid. 5
7
“Alexander the Great.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Apr. 2018
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Another notable civilization that could have used a bureaucratic organization is the rule

of the Merovingian in medieval Europe. The Merovingian rulers got the majority of their wealth

from plundering, and was thus were continually at war8. The wealth was needed to pay off the

ruler, Clovis the first Merovingian’s, followers9. The followers had no other loyalty than money

and could threaten his life if he didn’t deliver. The Christian church offered some structure to

medieval society but the nuts and bolts of everyday life fell to lawlessness and plundering10. This

would not have been a great time to live in Europe.

Application of history to our daily lives is something we do without thinking every

second of every day. In a very general sense every moment that we have experienced is part of

history, and our sense of self, intelligence, personality, and all other aspects of who we are is

based on the sum of these experiences11. This concept also applies to our experiences as a

society, our society, is based on what we have learned from the past, with no prior knowledge of

how to live as a community we would not know how to structure ours12.

We can apply the lessons we learned from past cultures successes and failures of

bureaucratic institutions to our lives. This is not a one to one transition, you could never say,

how Chandragupta built his government would have the same results if implemented here and

now, as the human variable is too large13. You can look at it in a broader sense though, choose

who and what you vote for by applying your knowledge of how bureaucracies have worked in

8
Freedman. “Lecture 11 - Frankish Society.” HIST 210: The Early Middle Ages, 284–1000.
Open Yale Courses , 2018
9
Ibid. 8
10
Ibid. 8
11
McNeill, William H. “Why Study History?” Why Study History? (1985) | AHA, American
Historical Association, 1985
12
Ascd. “What Can History Teach Us Today?” ASCD Express 6.22 - What Can History Teach
Us Today?, ASCD, 2011
13
Ibid. 8
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the past, to bureaucratic institutions now. Again there will always be a human variable, but

rather than blindly predicting how something will work out, you will have some baseline

knowledge of how similar systems have worked in the past.

Bureaucracy more important now than ever no matter how you lean politically.

Bureaucracy is the organization that manages the government, but it has now become a curse

word. Many people hear bureaucracy and think of long lines at the DMV or people getting paid

to do nothing, but, a strong bureaucracy is what we need. Our nation’s infrastructure is

crumbling, we need an organized group of people to allocate funds, organize contractor, monitor

quality and see that the work is done. Without a strong bureaucratic institution our nation’s

infrastructure will be unsalvageable.

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Bibliography
Ascd. “What Can History Teach Us Today?” ASCD Express 6.22 - What Can History Teach Us

Today?, ASCD, 2011, www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/622-postma.aspx.

Freedman. “Lecture 11 - Frankish Society.” HIST 210: The Early Middle Ages, 284–1000. Open

Yale Courses, 19 Apr. 2018, oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-210/lecture-11#ch1.

McNeill, William H. “Why Study History?” Why Study History? (1985) | AHA, American

Historical Association, 1985, www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-

archives/historical-archives/why-study-history-(1985).

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.” UNESCO World

Heritage Centre, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2018, whc.unesco.org/en/list/441/.

“Achaemenid Empire.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Apr. 2018,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire.

“Alexander the Great.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Apr. 2018,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great.

“The Mauryan Empire of Ancient India.” TimeMaps, 2018 TimeMaps Ltd., 2018,

www.timemaps.com/civilizations/the-mauryan-empire/.