I am a history buff. 2000 years ago it was unimaginable that Rome would fall. 1500 years ago it did. When considering great civilizations one cannot help but wonder if we could have the 800 years they did, or longer if you count the Byzantine empire which Rome spawned. When you ask people if they know why Rome fell it is interesting the answers you get. Of course there is the public school educated puzzled look, isn’t Rome still standing? Then there is the old school myth that it was lead poisoning. Finally there is the rightward assertion that it was not protecting their borders. Any explanation of conventional wisdom may have some truth to it, but will be woefully short.
First let’s consider, in condensed fashion, why Rome grew in the first place. Rome came to power at the fade of the noted metal workers from further North, the Etruscans. While they had a lot going for them they were basically only one city and Rome took much of their strong points, as well as absorbing them. Rome took the idea of self rule from Greek Democracy in Athens and was initially ruled by a senate. For all that was good and noble about Rome it was also a brutal culture of conquest. However Rome forged their empire with a wise approach similar to Alexander and Genghis Khan. Most conquerors would set out to dominate those who fell to their conquests. Rome instead, initially, absorbed them into their culture. They followed up conquest by building Roman infrastructure in their new territory. This raised the quality of living for the newly conquered while at the same time providing a uniquely Roman culture. Former enemies could become citizens and in the age of emperors they even had foreign born people rise to emperor. They also assimilated technology in their conquests. They were very tolerant to different religious beliefs making it easy for people to assimilate into their society.
Now let’s consider their fall. The assertion they suffered from lead poisoning is true as they considered it a useful soft metal. Lead was used for water pipes until a few hundred years ago. It was also used for cooking utensils. The ruling class were more susceptible because they got even more in the food, like sapper which was cooked down grape juice used in many dishes. Many became sterile and it is reasonable to attribute some of the apparent insanity of emperors to this. While it was a contributing factor it was not the cause. Likewise the argument about borders ignores the fact that Rome became strong by welcoming in a great many more people inside their borders. The element of truth here is that at the end of their empire people were coming in to enjoy the fruits of being Roman, but not being assimilated into their culture. The military also fragmented.
It is interesting that the United States and Rome both rose to power through welcoming foreigners and tolerating religious views. Paradoxically religious intolerance a few hundred years ago was from the vestiges of Roman power a millenia earlier. One key difference between then and now is that Rome was built on conquest. That’s very different from our economy, which was built on manufacturing and trading durable goods. For instance when you look at the remains of the Coliseum you are seeing emperor Trajen’s spoils of the complete annihilation of the people in what is modern day Hungary. Early Roman legions were absolutely unbeatable because of training and equipment. They had superior armor, large shields and the short deadly Spanish gladius sword. They had the pilam spear which had soft metal at the head of the shaft. It would get stuck in enemy shields leaving them useless. They could form the testudo (tortoise) to shield against arrows. They would march forward six deep killing with minimal effort in short stabs as their opponents swung violently to no effect. Then they would rotate a fresh man to the front every few minutes. It was the ancient equivalent of being the sole nuclear power.
Their military was one factor in their fall. When they were on the offense through around 100 AD they were unstoppable. By 300 AD they were only a shadow of their former glory. They moved from an offensive to a defensive posture and suffered the consequences. Their armor was less effective as were their weapons. Where they once forced their will on their enemies and struck fear in their hearts they had become impotent and by defending now had to spread that defense everywhere. Of course the loss of income from ceasing conquest was compounded by losing territory and taxes. Effectively they lost their economic will and began to recede. Repeated civil wars further drained their treasuries which were getting thin by the time they were paying tribute to barbarians like the Huns.
However the most stunning fact to me was Rome’s social programs. You see the coliseum and the great bath houses and markets were the way the emperors appeased the masses. Appeasement seems to know no ends as ever larger projects threatened to bankrupt the nation. Nero and Caligula were killed for their spending. As Rome conquered North Africa they took over farming grain there. Ships laden with grain would sail to Rome and bread would be baked. Every citizen of Rome was given free bread. Imagine a right to free food. When the Vandals could not find a home in Europe from Germaina to Espana they crossed over to Africa and conquered Roman provinces there. Then they informed Rome there would be no more free bread. It was one of their mercenary generals who was attacked while negotiating with an inept emperor who finally allowed his men to sack the city. The emperor listened to stupid advisers who arrogantly thought they could treat real threats as impudent annoyances… and Rome fell.
The important point is that Rome fell because they had arrogant and incompetent leaders who believed they were invincible simply because they were Rome. They lost their national identity and became internally a collection of disparate groups with different interests. They spent themselves into oblivion on social programs while ignoring their economic engine. They weakened their military. They failed to recognize threats. In roughly 800 years they were only defeated in the peak of their power by one civilization. Ironically their one foe who beat them also captured two emperors. Consider the hubris of a Roman emperor riding into battle thinking his presence will assure victory. It was the Persians who humiliated the Romans and kept an emperor to entertain their royal court. They had the superior military advantage of cavalry armed with exquisite bows and consummate skill. Their warriors could ride in retreat and turn and fire to the rear with deadly accuracy, from which we get the expression of the “parting shot”. Persia by the way is modern day Iran.
The great irony is that Rome, much like Greece, really is Western civilization today. Our languages and cultures are all rooted in Rome. Our medical knowledge did not begin to advance beyond theirs until the 1600s, and even that is only part of the story. In fact the Romans were doing brain surgery, a feat not repeated for over 1900 years. Even more amazing they had piston water pumps and steam powered spinning wheels 2000 years ago. Had they put the two together they could have had locomotives 1800 years earlier than we did. We tend to think we are somehow smarter, but we’re not.
Perhaps the most alarming thing is how we seem to be following the lead of Rome. Our economy is not grounded in conquest, but our military strength is no less essential to our security. With 320 million people in a world of 6.6 billion our only way to invoke fear in those who would threaten us is through superior weaponry. I read recently the assertion that we could have not stopped the USSR in the late 1940s from rolling through Europe without nuclear weapons. It’s tough to dispute, but our president is ready to get rid of them, and he seems to believe that he can succeed with Iran where all others have failed… simply because it’s him. French president Sarkozy intimated Obama is arrogant and naive. Our culture is splintered by ethnic and other factions by self serving politicians who want to leverage and perpetuate political power and financial favors. We are so in love with social programs we have several going broke, Social Security going into the red in 2010. Still we fight over adding adding the largest program ever in health care and the largest tax ever in cap and trade. You don’t need to be highly educated to predict financial collapse without making tough decisions about spending yet this year we gleefully added a trillion dollars to out deficit for no purpose other than to perpetuate our problems. In 2009 congress will spend $44,000 for every household in the country and borrow 40¢ on every dollar. For what? Now we are looking at threats from “small countries” and missing the point. The first world war was started over a single assassination. What might happen over a full blown attack in the most volatile part of the world?
The most important thing to learn from the fall of Rome is that the Romans first stopped seeing themselves as great but never thought their civilization would fall because it had once been great. Once they could eliminate the possibility of failure from their minds they no longer had to consider the consequences of any action and turned to mad self indulgent political suicide. I imagine hundreds of years from now when people look back that if history is preserved the conduct of the leadership of the U.S. at this time will be required reading on arrogance and foolishness in the face of danger. Neither man nor nation can ever be immune from the consequences of terrible policies. Rome is now a legend for the ages. The United States can resume being the fabled shining city on a hill or recede into history. To fail to learn the lessons of Rome is to edge ever closer to it’s pathetic end.
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on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 9:22 PM and is filed under social commentary.
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All Roads Lead to the Fall Of Rome
I am a history buff. 2000 years ago it was unimaginable that Rome would fall. 1500 years ago it did. When considering great civilizations one cannot help but wonder if we could have the 800 years they did, or longer if you count the Byzantine empire which Rome spawned. When you ask people if they know why Rome fell it is interesting the answers you get. Of course there is the public school educated puzzled look, isn’t Rome still standing? Then there is the old school myth that it was lead poisoning. Finally there is the rightward assertion that it was not protecting their borders. Any explanation of conventional wisdom may have some truth to it, but will be woefully short.
First let’s consider, in condensed fashion, why Rome grew in the first place. Rome came to power at the fade of the noted metal workers from further North, the Etruscans. While they had a lot going for them they were basically only one city and Rome took much of their strong points, as well as absorbing them. Rome took the idea of self rule from Greek Democracy in Athens and was initially ruled by a senate. For all that was good and noble about Rome it was also a brutal culture of conquest. However Rome forged their empire with a wise approach similar to Alexander and Genghis Khan. Most conquerors would set out to dominate those who fell to their conquests. Rome instead, initially, absorbed them into their culture. They followed up conquest by building Roman infrastructure in their new territory. This raised the quality of living for the newly conquered while at the same time providing a uniquely Roman culture. Former enemies could become citizens and in the age of emperors they even had foreign born people rise to emperor. They also assimilated technology in their conquests. They were very tolerant to different religious beliefs making it easy for people to assimilate into their society.
Now let’s consider their fall. The assertion they suffered from lead poisoning is true as they considered it a useful soft metal. Lead was used for water pipes until a few hundred years ago. It was also used for cooking utensils. The ruling class were more susceptible because they got even more in the food, like sapper which was cooked down grape juice used in many dishes. Many became sterile and it is reasonable to attribute some of the apparent insanity of emperors to this. While it was a contributing factor it was not the cause. Likewise the argument about borders ignores the fact that Rome became strong by welcoming in a great many more people inside their borders. The element of truth here is that at the end of their empire people were coming in to enjoy the fruits of being Roman, but not being assimilated into their culture. The military also fragmented.
It is interesting that the United States and Rome both rose to power through welcoming foreigners and tolerating religious views. Paradoxically religious intolerance a few hundred years ago was from the vestiges of Roman power a millenia earlier. One key difference between then and now is that Rome was built on conquest. That’s very different from our economy, which was built on manufacturing and trading durable goods. For instance when you look at the remains of the Coliseum you are seeing emperor Trajen’s spoils of the complete annihilation of the people in what is modern day Hungary. Early Roman legions were absolutely unbeatable because of training and equipment. They had superior armor, large shields and the short deadly Spanish gladius sword. They had the pilam spear which had soft metal at the head of the shaft. It would get stuck in enemy shields leaving them useless. They could form the testudo (tortoise) to shield against arrows. They would march forward six deep killing with minimal effort in short stabs as their opponents swung violently to no effect. Then they would rotate a fresh man to the front every few minutes. It was the ancient equivalent of being the sole nuclear power.
Their military was one factor in their fall. When they were on the offense through around 100 AD they were unstoppable. By 300 AD they were only a shadow of their former glory. They moved from an offensive to a defensive posture and suffered the consequences. Their armor was less effective as were their weapons. Where they once forced their will on their enemies and struck fear in their hearts they had become impotent and by defending now had to spread that defense everywhere. Of course the loss of income from ceasing conquest was compounded by losing territory and taxes. Effectively they lost their economic will and began to recede. Repeated civil wars further drained their treasuries which were getting thin by the time they were paying tribute to barbarians like the Huns.
However the most stunning fact to me was Rome’s social programs. You see the coliseum and the great bath houses and markets were the way the emperors appeased the masses. Appeasement seems to know no ends as ever larger projects threatened to bankrupt the nation. Nero and Caligula were killed for their spending. As Rome conquered North Africa they took over farming grain there. Ships laden with grain would sail to Rome and bread would be baked. Every citizen of Rome was given free bread. Imagine a right to free food. When the Vandals could not find a home in Europe from Germaina to Espana they crossed over to Africa and conquered Roman provinces there. Then they informed Rome there would be no more free bread. It was one of their mercenary generals who was attacked while negotiating with an inept emperor who finally allowed his men to sack the city. The emperor listened to stupid advisers who arrogantly thought they could treat real threats as impudent annoyances… and Rome fell.
The important point is that Rome fell because they had arrogant and incompetent leaders who believed they were invincible simply because they were Rome. They lost their national identity and became internally a collection of disparate groups with different interests. They spent themselves into oblivion on social programs while ignoring their economic engine. They weakened their military. They failed to recognize threats. In roughly 800 years they were only defeated in the peak of their power by one civilization. Ironically their one foe who beat them also captured two emperors. Consider the hubris of a Roman emperor riding into battle thinking his presence will assure victory. It was the Persians who humiliated the Romans and kept an emperor to entertain their royal court. They had the superior military advantage of cavalry armed with exquisite bows and consummate skill. Their warriors could ride in retreat and turn and fire to the rear with deadly accuracy, from which we get the expression of the “parting shot”. Persia by the way is modern day Iran.
The great irony is that Rome, much like Greece, really is Western civilization today. Our languages and cultures are all rooted in Rome. Our medical knowledge did not begin to advance beyond theirs until the 1600s, and even that is only part of the story. In fact the Romans were doing brain surgery, a feat not repeated for over 1900 years. Even more amazing they had piston water pumps and steam powered spinning wheels 2000 years ago. Had they put the two together they could have had locomotives 1800 years earlier than we did. We tend to think we are somehow smarter, but we’re not.
Perhaps the most alarming thing is how we seem to be following the lead of Rome. Our economy is not grounded in conquest, but our military strength is no less essential to our security. With 320 million people in a world of 6.6 billion our only way to invoke fear in those who would threaten us is through superior weaponry. I read recently the assertion that we could have not stopped the USSR in the late 1940s from rolling through Europe without nuclear weapons. It’s tough to dispute, but our president is ready to get rid of them, and he seems to believe that he can succeed with Iran where all others have failed… simply because it’s him. French president Sarkozy intimated Obama is arrogant and naive. Our culture is splintered by ethnic and other factions by self serving politicians who want to leverage and perpetuate political power and financial favors. We are so in love with social programs we have several going broke, Social Security going into the red in 2010. Still we fight over adding adding the largest program ever in health care and the largest tax ever in cap and trade. You don’t need to be highly educated to predict financial collapse without making tough decisions about spending yet this year we gleefully added a trillion dollars to out deficit for no purpose other than to perpetuate our problems. In 2009 congress will spend $44,000 for every household in the country and borrow 40¢ on every dollar. For what? Now we are looking at threats from “small countries” and missing the point. The first world war was started over a single assassination. What might happen over a full blown attack in the most volatile part of the world?
The most important thing to learn from the fall of Rome is that the Romans first stopped seeing themselves as great but never thought their civilization would fall because it had once been great. Once they could eliminate the possibility of failure from their minds they no longer had to consider the consequences of any action and turned to mad self indulgent political suicide. I imagine hundreds of years from now when people look back that if history is preserved the conduct of the leadership of the U.S. at this time will be required reading on arrogance and foolishness in the face of danger. Neither man nor nation can ever be immune from the consequences of terrible policies. Rome is now a legend for the ages. The United States can resume being the fabled shining city on a hill or recede into history. To fail to learn the lessons of Rome is to edge ever closer to it’s pathetic end.
This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 9:22 PM and is filed under social commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.