Imperial mausoleums of Western Han epoch (206 b. c. - 9 a. d.): some considerations

Chang'an was the capital city of Western Han empire (206 BC - 9 AD) andone of the largest urban centers of the time glorified by artists and poets long after itsdownfall. Imperial administration had transformed the whole capital region into an over-populated territory with developed infrastructure, which met the demands of the imperialcourt and also produced a substantial share of state income. The satellite towns playedan important role, many of them had grown from the settlements once established to pro-vide security of imperial burial complexes. Some of them are known archaeologically.Construction of the enormous mausoleums took many years. Near the kurgan of an em-peror there were arranged burials of counselors and princes who got that privilege asa reward for their service. The whole complex was thoroughly planned, its every detailsymbolized the eternal greatness of the dead sovereign. Ancient Chinese administratorswere more practical than the Egyptian ones, since the impressive mausoleums had notonly symbolic meaning, but endowed essentially into the country's economic develop-ment as nodes of the capital region infrastructure's network.