"A Roman Sunset"
The rise and fall of empires and those who mourn their passing...
by Bill Bonner
"In other words, there is little doubt in my mind that the existing world order is changing rapidly in challenging ways and that people who are living on the assumption that things will work in the orderly ways that they have gotten used to will be shocked and hurt by these changes to come." ~ Ray Dalio
"Fish gotta swim. Churches gotta have crosses. And empires gotta go whither they go. That is, they need to go to the grave. And the greater the imperial success, the more lavish the funeral. The Roman Empire was the western world’s biggest success story. It ran for nearly 500 years…and dominated all of Western Europe…North Africa…and much of the Middle East. Contemporaries regarded it as permanent. And many of its finest achievements seem to have been constructed to be amortized over a millennia – temples, aqueducts, roads…some still in service.
But even the Roman Empire reached its sell-by date eventually – in 476. German warfighters, many armed by the empire itself, breached Rome’s walls…and began to do what barbarians do…raping, murdering, torturing, stealing, enslaving, destroying, and vandalizing. The Empire whimpered, begged, and died. Europe spent the next 800 years in mourning.
Mock Outrage: Yes, the empire left its monuments – the colosseum, for example, where fighters went at each other with sword and spear…where the arena was flooded so that naval battles could be staged, with hundreds of dead, for the amusement of jaded crowds.
“It will be great when they get it finished,” said an American tourist, gawking at the colosseum, and perhaps missing the point of it. (According to Mark Twain).
And there too, still standing, is Trajan’s column, recalling the long history of battles…wars…death, destruction…sacrifice and bamboozle – stretching the empire’s limits far beyond what the first ‘Romans’ must have ever imagined.
And the Forum…where Senators argued, raising a finger to emphasize a point or calling out their opponents in mock outrage, much like they do in Washington today. Where and how should the empire strike next? Which ally should it support? Which enemy should it target with sanctions and war?
When tourists first visited Rome…after reading about its antique wonders in the classics of Petrarch, Virgil and Caesar himself…they stumbled over the fallen stones, hidden in the underbrush…and chased away the goats to get a better view. By then – this was the 18th century – Rome was a faded memory, a remote legend…a ghost… as forgotten as Mike Pence -- like an abandoned graveyard, overgrown and forlorn; people hardly knew where it was. And who wept before the tomb? Who brought flowers to lay upon the grave?
Third Time Unlucky: But Rome was not alone. Empires come and go…each one leaving, but for a few years, the faint odor of a sweaty gladiator. The Sumerians? Akkadians? Hittites? Persians? Ottomans? Holy Romans? The Angevins? The Abbasid Caliphate? The Austro-Hungarians? Aztecs? Babylonians? Banamas? Carthaginians? Chola? Comanches? Golden Horde? Mongols? Zulu? The Belgian Colonial Empire? First Reich? Second Reich? Third Reich?
Who remembers the Abbasid Caliphate….in 850 AD it was perhaps the richest and most powerful empire in the world. It reached across North Africa to what is today Pakistan…a distance of 3,500 miles. It fought the Byzantines…captured Cyprus…massacred the Barmakids. And who cares? Who remembers? Who lights a candle or keens at the sepulcher?
There too among the shades and shadows is ancient Lydia. By the 6th century, BC, it had spread its protective wings over the many tribes of Anatolia. Its king was said to be the richest man alive – Croesus. His wealth came from the river Pactolus, where King Midas was said to have washed off his “Midas Touch.”
Lydia enjoyed its moment in the sun. Everything went well until 550 BC. It was then that Croesus made a fatal mistake. He attacked the city of Pteria and enslaved its population. But Pteria was not his to sack. Cyrus, the Persian Emperor, was not called “the great” for no reason. He counterattacked, Croesus was beaten, and soon all of Lydia squirmed beneath the Persian heel.
What happened to Croesus? What became of his wealth? Show us where it is buried…or where Croesus lies. No one knows. And the Lydians? Pffft…gone too. Their language erased. Their empire vanished. We should spend a moment in silence, recalling the splendor of their civilization. But we have no idea…
Fruitcake & Fuhrers: The Third Reich was supposed to last 1,000 years. In the event, fruitcakes lasted longer…the Reich was gone before children, born in 1933, became teenagers. To this day, there are probably still a few yellowed photos of the Fuhrer hanging on neglected walls – maybe in Paraguay. And it was during the lifetime of some people reading this message that millions stood and gave the Fuhrer a stiff-arm salute. Little girls, their hair in golden braids, brought flowers to honor him. And even now, 8 decades later, he is not yet forgotten; he is on the History Channel, almost every night. But where is his empire? From the Pyrenees in the West to the Urals in the East…it was triumphant…unbeatable…sure of itself and its mission. And today, its glories, such as they were, are almost unmentionable.
And the US empire? Is this where history ends, where love and goodness reign eternal? Or will it end up in the same place as all the others? In another unmarked grave in a paupers’ field? And will anyone give a damn?"
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