Open Culture: The Shifting Power of the World’s Largest Cities Visualized Over 4,000 Years (2050 BC-2050 AD)
"When Rome fell…." The expression seems designed to conjure the Tarot card Tower that illustrates it, a sudden attack, a reckoning. “Fell,” in the case of most ancient empires, means declined, changed, and transformed over centuries. As all great cities do, Rome suffered many violent shocks during its fall, as it transitioned from a pagan to a Christian empire. The sacking of Rome in 410 left Romans reeling, trying to make meaning from upheaval. They found it in the pagan religion of their ancestors.
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WNU Editor: Two things that I picked out from this post. Rome has been around for a long time. And the size of the city is directly related to the power it wields.
3 comments:
This is very fascinating. What I find most interesting is how Babylon seems to rise, fall, and rise again.
US is the new Roman Empire.
Jac,
While the US does currently wield a certain degree of influence in the world, the Roman Empire analogy doesn't fit. The US has no external territories that it rules and it certainly does serve as the chump for a number of "allies" that are sapping its strength.
Essentially in terms of influence it comes nowhere close to the Roman Empire in relative terms. Even when compared to the British Empire, the US isn't even close. At its height the British Empire counted as subjects 33% of earth's population and it ruled 25% of earth's land. Additionally it "ruled the waves." In cintrast, the US only controls about 5% of earth's land and about the same percentage of earth's population. It's nowhere close in terms of power and influence to what the Roman or British empires had.
Additionally the Roman and British empires were very, very stable. The US isn't. Internal divisions threaten to tear the nation apart. Additionally the US has very, very powerful adversaries arrayed against it. While the US does currently have a POTUS with relative competency, there's nothing to replace him once he leaves and he faces very powerful domestic opposition.
Essentially we want America to succeed. Very respectfully unrealistic assessments of who we are and where we are don't help. Roman Empire=NOT!! Not even close.:-)
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