Are We in Waning Times like Rome?

Throughout human history, there have been approximately 60 empires, some longer lived than others - Roman Empire, Persian, Mongol, Ottoman, Han Dynasty, Umayyad Caliphate, Spanish Empire, Russian Empire, and the British Empire. They left significant traces in both eastern and western civilizations.

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 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.

Nobody can dispute the fact that America has tried to be too many things to too many people and that, in the end, we appear to have failed. We have not advanced democracy around the world as politicians claimed because most countries did not want our “democracy.”

We are not a democracy nor an empire, we are a Constitutional Republic. When the mainstream media repeated the lie of democracy ad nauseam, people eventually believed it.  

Merriam-Webster Dictionary quoted James Madison who wrote, “In a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region.”

In 507 B.C., Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced demokratia, “rule by the people,” from the Greek words, demos (people) and kratos (power). Demokratia had three institutions, the ekklesia (a group who wrote laws and devised foreign policy); the boule (council of representatives from the ten Athenian tribes); and the dikasteria (courts in which citizens presented cases to a group of jurors chosen by lottery). The lottery had to be rigged since the rich were chosen more often than the poor. Demokratia lasted two centuries. Academics renamed it direct democracy as opposed to modern representative democracy. Academics love to play with words and meanings to suit their agenda.

Democracy was not power to the people (demos-people, kratos-power) because out of 100,000 Athenian citizens only 40,000 were part of the demos who voted, male citizens older than 18.

Dikasteria chose by lot 500 jurors every day from a pool of male citizens older than 30. Aristotle said that dikasteria “contributed most to the strength of democracy because the jury had unlimited power.” Athenian citizens “used dikasteria to punish or embarrass their enemies.”  Sounds familiar?

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.

This Eastern Roman Empire, more Greek in life and language, furthered Roman learning, and law within its walls.

The advance of the Roman Empire was always halted by the barbaric tribes in the north and east – 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.

In 410 A.D., historians describe a hot August night when a slave opened “the gates of a starving Rome and the Gothic armies camped outside flooded the “Eternal City.” Hordes of Germanic barbarians ransacked Rome for three days.

St. Jerome, a native of Rome, wrote, “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.”  

Rome stood unconquered for 800 years. The Roman Empire never recovered after this sacking of Rome and, in 476 A.D., the last emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed by his own German commanders.

Alaric’s Goths were not exactly interested in destroying Rome, they wanted the Roman way of life. Alaric had asked for land for his men and the title of allied commander but was denied. More Roman soldiers were recruited from the ranks of these barbarians who felt no allegiance to Rome.

King Gaiseric destroyed much more of Rome in 454 A.D., but the end of the empire is associated with Alaric’s attack in 410 A.D. because the psychological blow to the Roman citizenry was so shocking that it became impossible to overcome.

The Western Roman Empire had stretched too far from Rome and its borders were exceedingly more difficult to defend against the constant invasions.

The excessive use of lead as sweetener, in cosmetics, and in lead pipes that carried water everywhere, caused chronic lead poisoning and infertility as evidenced by skeletons found in Cirencester which contained ten times the amount of normal lead concentration. People suffered from paralyzed limbs and headaches, classic symptoms of lead poisoning. Fertility declined, and no encouragement from emperors to produce more children changed the down spiral.

Other historians believe that “mad emperors, corrupt politicians, the lust for power, sexual perversion, and paranoia destroyed the empire from within.” You can add to that envy and treachery.

Some autocratic emperors ruled only for their own benefit, greed, power, and vengeance, but some spent Rome’s wealth for the common good. Murder in cold blood often removed their enemies, real and imagined. Other emperors were so crazy that they committed unspeakable horrors just because they could.

Greed and corruption were so entrenched that “Six men owned half the land in the province of Africa, according to the historian Pliny the Elder.”   

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 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. 

Even though our country is a Constitutional Republic, many Americans today believe that it is a democracy, others an empire, and some an experiment. The lie of democracy and empire has been repeated so many times that it has become the truth for most.

Considering the off the cliff’ purposeful direction that our country is following, this question is legitimate, are we in the waning years of its former greatness?

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.