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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
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To: Sun Tzu who wrote (162580)5/19/2005 3:56:47 PM
From: Nadine Carroll  Read Replies (1) of 281500
 
Romans started out as a republic and with the belief that nothing was beyond their capability. A roman did not just compete with his peers but compared himself against all the great romans of the past. But as early as 3rd century Rome was nothing like this and by the 7th (5th?) century it was not even an empire but more like a confederation.


So, between the great days of the Republic and the altered, but still world-ruling, empire of the 3rd century, there was what, four or five hundred years, depending how you count?

That's a looooooong time. Not many other political institutions have even come close to lasting that long. That's why when people darkly compare America to Rome at the height of its empire, I say great! that means 2 or 3 centuries of unquestioned world dominance ahead of us! wonderful news!

The more serious point being, that tossing the word "empire" around as some sort of curse tied to automatic failure is ahistorical nonsense.

More importantly the dark ages that engulfed Europe for centuries were directly related to the empirical Roman adventures and corruption that came with the power.


A highly debatable statement. Between the late antique period and the European Dark Ages came a little event called the Rise of Islam, which snatched away control of the Mediterranean from the Roman Empires (East and West), and ruined their economies.
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