Empires End Eventually and Ours Is Comatose

Throughout human history, there have been approximately 60 empires, some longer lived than others. They left significant traces in both eastern and western  civilizations. Britannica names eight of the largest empires but leaves out conspicuously the Roman Empire: Persian, Mongol, Ottoman, Han Dynasty, Umayyad Caliphate, Spanish Empire, Russian Empire, and the British Empire. 8 of the Largest Empires in History | Britannica

The Mongol Empire of the 13^th and 14^th centuries was the most contiguous empire in history. The Umayyad Caliphate comprised 4 million square miles.

The Han dynasty ruled from 206 B.C. for 400 years.

The Ottoman (Islamic) Empire occupied parts of three continents during 16^th and 17^th centuries. It “collapsed in the early years of the 20^th century.”

Persian Empire (Achaemenian) under Cyrus the Great occupied lands from Iran to Central Asia and Egypt. It fell in 333 B.C.

The Spanish empire, at its height in the 1700s stretched over 5.3 million square miles. This colonial empire existed from 1492 until 1649 (the decline) or 1976, depending on who you ask. It controlled parts of Africa, Europe, Oceanic islands, and both Americas.

The Russian Empire controlled 8.9 million square miles at its height in 1895. Historians agree that this empire and the Little Ice Age had played important roles in stopping Napoleon’s conquest of Europe.

The mighty British Empire, now a shadow of its former self, controlled a quarter of the planet and of its population. A few of the former colonies remain part of the Commonwealth of Nations to this day.

Hitler’s Third Reich (empire), as he proclaimed it, was supposed to last a thousand years. It lasted a little over a decade, from 1933 until its pronounced defeat in 1945 by the Allies in WWII.

The Roman Empire was established in 27 B.C. by Augustus Caesar who proclaimed himself the first Emperor of Rome. Rome itself was founded in 753 B.C.

Then there was the Holy Roman Empire which was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Headed by a Holy Roman Emperor, this “polity” developed in the Early Middle Ages in Europe and lasted almost a thousand years until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Roman Empire stretched all over Europe and North Africa. It lasted more than a thousand years if one takes into account the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) which ended with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D. and its capture by the Turks.

It is interesting how this eastern empire still called itself Roman even though it had become more Greek in life and language. It is true that within its walls, Constantinople furthered Roman learning and law.

The advance of the Roman Empire was always halted by the barbaric tribes in the north and east, so called because they wore beards (barbarus, bearded in Latin) – Franks, Saxons, Alemanni, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Alans, and Huns.

At its height, Rome, the seat of the Roman Empire, was a superb megalopolis of more than one million people. The Forum, built by Emperor Augustus (27 B.C.-14 B.C.), dominated the city and was the commercial and political life of Rome, expressing through its greatness the power of the Roman Empire itself.

Alaric and his armies sacked the “Eternal City” in August 410 A.D., a sweltering day according to historians. The gates were opened to the Gothic armies camped outside Rome; the city that stood unconquered for 800 years.

St. Jerome, born in Rome, but residing in distant Bethlehem, lamented: “When the brightest light on the whole Earth was extinguished, when the Roman Empire was deprived of its head, when, to speak more correctly, the whole world perished in one city, I was dumb with silence.” Thus began the decline of the western Roman Empire into oblivion in 476 A.D. when Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed by his own German commanders.

It was not just the fall of an empire, but the end of the world as they knew it. But the Goths and their leader, Alaric, did not want to destroy it, they just wanted the benefits of the Roman way of life, land for his men and title of allied commander.

The fall of Rome started much earlier in subtle ways; the Goths had adopted Roman ways while many generations of Romans living in far-away parts of the Roman empire had adopted the barbarians’ way of life. Roman soldiers were recruited from the Germanic people who had no loyalty whatsoever to Rome.

A Vandal, King Gaiseric, did not just capture Rome, he destroyed it in 454 A.D. but the initial sacking of the “Eternal City” in 410 A.D. remained in history the most significant marker of the fall of the Roman Empire.

Evidence found in Circenster, the second-largest city in Roman Britain, points to lead poisoning in bones discovered in tombs there. It is not known if they died from such high lead concentrations (ten times the normal, especially in children) but it is known from contemporary accounts that people suffered from symptoms of chronic lead poisoning, severe headaches, and paralyzed limbs.

Water was carried through lead pipes, Romans drank from lead cups, cooked in lead pots, and even used lead oxide to sweeten wine or as make up for their faces and to powder their hair. Lead poisoning also caused sterility, but we do not have records to prove such a population decline in the west, but it may have been likely.

The eastern part of the empire did not have many lead pipes and used pottery for their cups and dishes. Mines in the eastern part of the empire were fewer. This small fact may have lengthened their existence beyond the 5^th century, way into the 15^th century.

Eventually the Roman Empire’s frontiers became vulnerable to attacks from various barbarian tribes and could not be defended from constant barbarian invasions.

The main lessons from the Roman Empire's demise are that it fell because of greed, corruption, immorality, debauchery, inability to defend its vast borders, massive invasion from poor neighbors who envied the Roman lifestyle and its riches and wanted lands and wealth, and potential lead poisoning which led to a population decline. It is important to note that the Roman Empire's decline and fall were not carefully orchestrated from within, by its own Curia and Senators, its fall happened gradually over hundreds of years. 

NOTE: Our Constitutional Republic, which today most ignorant Americans think it is a democracy, a few an American Empire, and some an experiment, is now comatose.

 

Prejmer Citadel and Cetatea Rasnov

Prejmer Citadel walls
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

Leaving our hotel in Brasov and barely avoiding two collisions from impertinent drivers who seem to be in so much hurry that they triple and quadruple pass other vehicles close to dangerous curves and impassable hills, we made our way a few kilometers north to the neighboring Saxon villages of Prejmer and Harman.

According to National Geographic Traveler, the villagers who emigrated to German-speaking countries have abandoned their terra-cotta tile homes built very close to the road and gypsies have moved in (p. 146).

Harman’s Citadel has four turrets which indicated that “the people of Harman had the right to pass the death sentence.” The 12 meter tall walls were built in the 15^th century to protect the citizens from the many outside invaders, eager for loot and tribute. A 12^th century Gothic church with a 13^th century funerary chapel are enclosed within the citadel rock walls. The chapel contains fragments of Gothic frescoes.

Prejmer Citadel Inner Walls
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

Prejmer’s Citadel walls, built between 15th and 18^th centuries, protected inhabitants from constant siege coming from Austrians, Tatars, Turks, and other neighboring provinces. The inside walls had 272 rooms on four levels, refectories, a school, and galleries to accommodate the entire community during an attack. A circular passageway connected the top level. The middle courtyard was dominated by a Gothic place of worship built in the Rhineland church style. The Citadel had an exterior portal, a 17^th century wall, the original 15the century defensive wall, and a 19^th century wall extension and entrance passageway with a dropping gate with sharp wooden spikes that could impale someone unfortunate enough to be in the way when the gate dropped.

Pigeons, lilacs, and blossoming trees were shading the courtyard between the Gothic church and the sleeping quarters accessed by steep and dangerous wooden stairs, not for the faint of heart or wobbly jointed. I could not climb all the way to the top where the very thick rocky retaining walls and ramparts were slightly separated six feet from the residential part of the structure.

Prejmer Citadel 19th century entrance Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

Prejmer citadel tools Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

When the Citadel of Prejmer was under attack or times were dangerous, the local population took refuge inside the fortress. According to museum archives, an old school functioned here, with its first teachers mentioned in 1460 and then in 1556. The surviving classroom decorated with frescoes from the 18^th century was used as late as 1853 when a new school was built in the village of Prejmer.  

Inner Gothic church Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

Prejmer Gothic Church Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

Prejmer Gate Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

One hundred-year old trees and purple lilacs bloomed in the courtyard, overwhelmed by the strong scent of mold and old, dry wood. The green grass made a lovely contrast with the dark and foreboding sleeping quarters now painted white, with black stained beams. Centuries ago, this citadel must have been an island of peace and protection from the constant Ottoman Empire attacks which continued for hundreds of years. Every time they were pushed back, they returned with a vengeance.

Prejmer residences Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

Ten miles from Brasov, after a pleasant drive through valleys flanked by blue mountains and lush green meadows with billowing in the wind tall grasses, wheat, and wild flowers, we found the city of Rasnov with its Citadel built by Teutonic knights in 1215. The fortress is perched on a rock about 400 feet above town. Because its location is difficult to access, the medieval castle was only conquered once in 1612 by Gabriel Bathory. The observation tower, which can be reached by steep, creaking, and difficult to climb up or down stairs, gives a breathtaking 360 degree view of the Carpathian Mountains. The movie Cold Mountain was filmed not far from here.

Rasnov Citadel Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

Archeological digs found evidence of a fortified Dacian settlement during the first century B.C. and first century A.D. named Cumidava/Comidava.  Earthen moats, ditches dug around the rocky peaks, and wooden palisades protected the population from the numerous invasions. Parts of the fortification are still standing on the north side and in the surrounding forest. Houses, some carved in stone, were located inside the fortifications. Buried Items who were unearthed suggest a prosperous settlement with trade relations. When the Dacians were conquered by the Romans, a new Roman castrum was built on Ghimbasel Valley, bearing the same name, Cumidava/Comidava.

Three buses of American soldiers were visiting the fortress that day, climbing to the citadel on foot, while children and less physically-abled adults were ferried up by a tractor pulling a train of sorts. Humidity was low, the sun was shining, the temperature was a balmy 72, and the rocky remains of the former castle were buffeted by strong winds. A Romanian flag was proudly displayed on the highest peak of the castle.

A resident cat disappeared below a big drop through an open window, as if jumping to her death. We found her later at the entrance, safe and sound, eating a treat dropped by one of the American soldiers.

We have met several Americans the night before, dining in an outdoor pizzeria near the Black Church in Brasov. Some of these young men, part of the “show of force” exercise in Romania which ended in Brasov, were happy to be off and around so many beautiful young Romanian girls.

A couple of soldiers were now interviewed by a young Digi-24 crew about their stay in Brasov. Romanians at large were buzzing with fear in cafes and on the Internet that the Americans have come to occupy them, albeit it too late, one older man joked. “We could have used American help during WWII,” he said. We certainly did not need the Soviets, he added with sarcasm.

We bought two walking canes; besides an interesting display in the office, the canes were quite handy for climbing or steadying when walking on cobble stones or rocky terrain. And this fortress is difficult enough because it was dug into the Carpathian Mountains.

The Carpathian Mountains chain covers about one third of Romania and once formed Europe’s largest volcanic link. There is only one extinct crater left with its volcanic lake Sf. Ana north of Brasov. The U-shaped mountain chain runs from the northwest to the southwest of Romania.

The drive back took us through the Poiana Soarelui Street, a road winding up with constant hair pin curves and dizzying drops until we reached Poiana Brasov, a popular tourist destination in summer time for outdoor recreation and horseback riding, and a fabulous ski resort in wintertime.

Copyright: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

 

"The Greatest Invisible Depression"

There is no America! There is a cash machine.” – Michael Savage

Great Depression Food Line Photo: Wikipedia

We are experiencing the “Greatest Invisible Depression” in the history of the United States; the Depression Era soup kitchens and lines are unseen, coming to the mail box in the form of welfare checks, yet the government cash machine, the Fed, keeps printing bogus trillions that have no backing in goods and services.

The welfare checks keep coming but the unemployment figures reported have dropped to 5.5 percent! According to economists, 5-6 percent unemployment represents FULL employment of the economy. Yet millions of discouraged workers have conveniently disappeared from the government statistics. They are now perhaps found in three categories: disability recipients, the invisible Americans struggling on their own to survive, or the generational government-dependent Americans.

We are living through the precipitous decline and fall of the American Empire, the most successful nation in the history of mankind.  It is a sad spectacle to watch since its triumph has contributed to the success and prosperity of all humanity in spite of the revisionist lectures to the contrary coming from the progressives who are enjoying shamelessly the spoils of American capitalism and free markets.

It is hard to predict when America will trail into the ash bins of history, in the footsteps of the once successful Roman Empire, and what will drive the final nail in its coffin. What will it be?

-          The invading hordes of illegals that will colonize and vanquish the American Rome?

-          The endemic political and economic corruption at all levels of government?

-          The degradation of society, the moral decay, the destruction of the family unit?

-          The declining health of its population, the demographic self-suicide?

-          Diversity, progressive multiculturalism, thus rendering the empire unable to absorb too many divergent and unfriendly cultures?

-          Intolerance of Christianity and forced Islamization?

-          The inability to keep the borders safe?

-          The destruction of the economy from within?

-          The unsafe reductions of the armed forces and “chickification” of its ranks?

-          The unrelenting and total control of its population by changing the Constitution and the rule of law?

-          A military event resulting in the victory of a conquering nation?

What happened to Rome? They built the world’s greatest empire, the greatest military, the longest network of roads, paved streets, raised pavements, city grids, indoor and outdoor plumbing, marble palaces, bridges, military portable hospitals, portable bridges, indoor and outdoor water fountains, public baths with heated swimming pools, heated marble floors, extensive gyms, self-supporting cupolas, eleven aqueducts, just to name a few accomplishments.

Why did their civilization collapse in 476 A.D. when the last emperor resident in the West, Romulus was deposed at Ravenna? The eastern empire (the Byzantine Empire) did not fall until 1453 when the last bastion, Constantinople, fell to the Turks, to Islam. Are there parallels between Rome and our Constitutional Republic?

The distant reaches of the Roman Empire came into contact with Rome through its law, taxation, census, and coinage. The extent of Romanization of all the provinces is still a subject of debate.

Many factors have been debated such as Christianity, the rise of Islam, moral decadence, greed, invasions by barbarians, especially Goths and Vandals, lead poisoning, monetary issues, inflation, corruption, military inability to rule such a vast empire and to defend its borders, even after it split into the Western and Eastern Empire.

Edward Gibbon concentrated on four reasons for the decline of Rome. “After a diligent inquiry, I can discern four principal causes of the ruin of Rome, which continued to operate in a period of more than a thousand years: the injuries of time and nature, the hostile attacks of the barbarians and Christians, the use and abuse of the materials, and the domestic quarrels of the Romans.”

The domestic quarrels of the Romans are interesting to explore because Gibbon referred to peace as having been disturbed by frequent seditions, domestic hostilities, and private wars between the nobles and the people, violating the laws of the Code and of the Gospel.

The earlier history of the empire produced a slow decline over the centuries. Edward Gibbon stated, “The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness.” Conquest yielded prosperity and, as soon as it waned, the empire folded like a house of cards, crushing under its own weight. “The story of its ruin is simple and obvious; and instead of inquiring why the Roman Empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it lasted so long.” 

Bryan Ward-Perkins believed the demise of the Roman civilization was materialistic. “The capacity to mass-produce high quality goods and spread comfort makes the Roman world rather too similar to our own society, with its rampant and rapacious materialism.”

The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D. and historians still argue today the many variables that contributed to its downfall. It was replaced by feudal lords who vied for power and by the Holy Roman Empire that was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.

The Roman Empire was a very diverse, multicultural hodge-podge of communities allied to Rome called “socii;” of non-patrician citizen of Rome called “plebeians;” of the Roman citizens; of the cavalry troops of the Republican Rome called “equites;” of the freedmen; of the governors who ran the Roman provinces; of the “client kings;” of the Latins, inhabitants of Latium; of the patricians, the aristocratic privileged class of Rome; and of the slaves who supported the economy with their unpaid labor.

At the height of the Roman Empire, more than 25 percent of Rome’s population represented slaves. A rich Roman could own as many as 500 slaves captured and purchased from all corners of the empire, while the imperial household had as many as 20,000.

Rome was tolerant with local cultures, co-opting and rewarding willing indigenous tribes. The Romanization of those occupied is debated even though there is archeological evidence of Roman lifestyle in amphitheaters, fora, bathhouses, public restrooms, and streets aligned in grids, as far away as North Africa and the Middle East.

During the Late Roman Empire, civil service in the government and in the army brought rewards, promotions, and elitist privileges. Emperors and government officials had forgotten what the Res Publica (“Public Things”), the Republic, stood for. The interests of the republic became secondary to their success, enrichment at the public trough, and daily survival.

The fight for personal survival meant that every public servant, including ranking officers could be subject to imprisonment, torture, or killing not at the hands of the enemy but at the hands of other Romans. There are American soldiers who are rotting in jail for doing their job in wartime. And American deserters like Bowe Bergdahl are praised, promoted, and remunerated in absentia, and a soldier-murderers like Nidal Hasan escapes prosecution for his crimes.

Bureaucratic inadequacies and corruption traveled much slower in the Roman Empire. By the time a weakness became obvious, it was quite serious and hard to address. In modern U.S., bureaucratic mismanagement, corruption, and waste are well-known. News and information travel fast but are often unreported or covered up by the main stream media.

As Adrian Goldsworthy states in his book, “How Rome Fell,” “yet the warning from the Roman experience is that major catastrophic failures often arrive both suddenly and unanticipated.”  It is Goldsworthy’s opinion that the “fatal decline of the empire came from internal problems.” The self-inflicted decline was impossible to determine when it reached the point of no return.

Is our American superpower in decline and at the point of no return? We are unable to defend our border with Mexico in the same manner that the Romans were unable to defend their Rhine-Danube frontier. Whittaker, in his book, “Rome and Its Frontiers,” made an analogy:

“The Roman Empire of the fourth century was in some ways undergoing the same kind of transformation as the modern nation-state in the face of globalization. Both can be viewed as what Karl Marx called “disordered societies”; that is, as societies where traditional values were in conflict with new interests, when relations between national and foreign cultures were being renegotiated, and when the concept of ethnicity was being redefined under pressure from external frontiers.”

In 376, a large group of Gothic refugees arrived at the Empire’s Danube frontier, asking for asylum. According to Peter Heather, “in a complete break with established Roman policy, they were allowed in, unsubdued.” Within two years, they revolted, destroyed two-thirds of the army and killed the very emperor Valens who received them. It is interesting to note that some of the refugees that we accepted in our own country have become hostile and are trying to destroy our way of life by using tolerance and accusations of bigotry, racism, and Islamophobia against us.

In 301 A.D. emperor Diocletian had an unfortunate idea to curb inflation by passing a law with a harsh punishment for breaking it: death. His law fixed maximum prices for about 1,000 goods, including food, raw materials, textiles, transportation, and wages. The law was not the first tried but the scale was massive and Diocletian was determined to make it successful.  Anyone who tried to keep goods off the market would be summarily executed. A series of financial crashes caused people to rush to turn their money into goods, creating a rate of inflation of 1,000% because there was too much money chasing too few goods. The coins were so debased, that what looked like precious metal was mostly copper underneath.

How will we cope when the American economy crashes? What or who will replace the American Empire?     

Copyright: Ileana Johnson 2015