If it happened then, it could happen now. Roman prophets of decline were, ultimately, proven correct-a fact that makes their modern invocations all the more powerful. An empire that once controlled all or part of more than 40 modern European, Asian, and African countries no longer exists. And Rome did, in fact, decline and, eventually, fall. Because Roman history is so long, it provides a buffet of ready-made stories of decline that can help develop the context around any snapshot. Everyone from American journalists in the twenty-first century AD to Roman politicians at the turn of the third century BC have used it as a tool to illustrate the negative consequences of changes in their world. The decline of Rome has been a constant source of discussion for more than 2200 years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |