When in Rome

March 2019

Given I am sort of jobless, working in my final weeks as a lame duck for the Kellogg Company, I have a fair amount of time on my hands.  And of course, It’s only April, so spring hasn’t really sprung yet here in Michigan.  That being the case, I have been watching more television than usual.  That’s not always a good thing.  But sometimes you get lucky and stumble on something that really catches your attention.

The other day I was watching a documentary on the apex of the Roman Empire. It was super informative and very compelling.  I like to think that I am a student of the past, yet I hadn’t really contemplated this period in human history for some time.  This film focused on a 200-year timeframe that occurred nearly 2000 years ago, when the Romans had a period of absolute innovation and prosperity. It never really struck me how advanced the Roman Empire was, until I watched this show.  I have been pondering it ever since. Not just the amazing innovations, which were astoundingly ahead of their time, but about how fragile this period was, and the fact that European socioeconomics digressed so dramatically after the empire fell. 

First, I think we all need to be on the same page about what some of the Roman innovations were, as they had a bunch.  One of the most obvious is the durable concrete they used as building material.  A great deal of it is still around for us to admire. Think of the Pantheon and all of those Roman aqueducts that are still traversing Europe.  Most are well over 2000 years old.  The concrete itself actually has “self-healing” properties.  Something difficult to comprehend.  It was a durable mixture of volcanic ash, lime, and seawater.  We still cannot duplicate this entirely, even to this day.  Think of how quickly our modern concrete degrades. It definitely is not made to last 2000 years!

Speaking of aqueducts, they are another amazing innovation.  Using gravity to transport fresh water to cities, these complex systems of tunnels, pipes, and bridges were built to support large populations and the public sanitation required to keep cities clean and healthy. Yes, the Romans had running water, both hot and cold, in many of their homes.  Our systems of today are designed in much the same way as these ancient relics. We still use gravity feed in most cases.  Think of those big water towers in your town.

Roman aqueducts used another innovation, arches, to maintain their integrity. These arches were an integral part of Roman architecture and construction.  They were what enabled the creation of stable, long-lasting structures.  From an Aqueduct perspective, they allowed these to span large distances over deep gorges and valleys. With fresh running water, the Romans designed and implemented public toilets, baths and complex sewage systems.  Once again improving sanitation and public health in their cities and surrounding areas.

The Romans not only had running water, but they also had an early form of central heating. Something called the hypocaust system, essentially a furnace, used a network of underground ducts to circulate hot air under floors and inside walls, providing efficient heating for homes and bathhouses. This is almost unfathomable to consider, given that central heating did not become popular again until the 1830’s.  Incredibly, most homes in the US, even in the 1920’s, were still heated by a hearth, or woodfired stove.

To have a flourishing empire as vast as the Roman’s had become, they needed to be able to move quickly and communicate swiftly and accurately.  To enable this, the Romans built an expansive network of roads and highways. All of which were crucial for moving armies and information. They also stimulated trade across the vast regions of the empire. To build these roads they developed various types of cranes, including powerful designs with multiple pulleys, to lift heavy stones and materials. These did not just help build highly stable roads but also tunnels, bridges, large public structures as well as the aqueducts.

In order to hasten and control communications, the Romans did several things that were highly advanced.  They established a postal system that enabled citizens to quickly send and receive messages and documents throughout the empire.  This was an effort to facilitate both governance and communication. The first bound books were also Roman. They had a vast network of scribes to reproduce the material and bind it into its final form.  No, they did not invent a printing press.  That came much later.

They are also credited with creating newspapers, which were a way to disseminate information, news and to entertain. The Acta Diurna, or "Daily Acts," was likely the world’s first newspaper. It was a daily publication that reported on events like legal proceedings, public decrees, gladiatorial games, and other significant occurrences. It certainly contained reports on current events, birth notices and obituaries as well as daily gossip. Much like the internet of today.  This newspaper was also posted in public areas and was used to communicate propaganda, as the empire controlled its content and how it was presented. All of this was crucial to the Roman Empire's success in their “modern” world.

Constant war, conquest and the protection of borders far on the frontiers of the empire, inspired military innovation as well as hastening medical advances.  The military innovations were too numerous to try to document.  Suffice it to say, their tactics are still studied today.  Medically, the leaps forward they were making are less talked about, but of equal importance.

The Roman surgeons devised and created precision instruments like syringes, scalpels, forceps, and bone saws.  Medical experts of the time established the concept of "curus”, which were documented techniques to be used by field medics to treat wounded soldiers on the battlefield, improving survival rates. Many of these techniques and tools are still used.

If you look at this all holistically, it is amazingly modern.  Almost miraculous.  And I have only mentioned a few of the innovations that the Romans invented and utilized. Their society was very cosmopolitan, moderately urban and flourishing.  Literally for hundreds of years. And then it all came crashing down. Not all at once, but quite quickly.

So, what happened?  Why did the innovation not continue?  Why did this all go to shit?  It is historical fact that Eurasian society experienced a steep regression after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. But why did it collapse to such an extent? That is a question that scholars have been studying for centuries.  There is a vast amount of information available out there and countless theories.  Here is my synopsis of their thinking as well as a little of my own.

Firstly, what began the decline?  Actually, much of Roman deterioration was due to factors that are quite easy to understand. In spite of all the innovations, the territory that the Romans controlled became too vast to manage, even with the innovations.  The borders were becoming impossible to defend, especially given constant migrations and invasions of tribes and empires on their far-off frontiers. Protecting these borders took vast sums of money and manpower, and it was a losing proposition. The people crossing the borders were generally warrior-like, mostly uneducated except in survival, and each with different languages and social customs. They began to replace the more civilized Romans and continued to fragment the social structure of the regions they encroached upon.

Another key factor of the initial decline was regarding leadership.  During the times of great prosperity, Rome had been blessed with wise and powerful leaders, both at the top as well as regionally.  This situation came to a rather sudden end.  In the early period of decline, Rome had a draught of strong leaders, which was certainly a catalyst for the weakening of the empire.  The loss of centralized order and the infrastructure that it had provided during the time of prosperity created political instability. As central authority disintegrated, constant internal warfare and political fragmentation began, across most of the European continent. This created a power void.  One that was quickly filled by aspiring politicians and military leaders.  So, Rome was being pressured by both internal and external enemies.

This, in turn, led to a breakdown of trade.  Without the stable Roman infrastructure and its protection, cross-regional trade began to collapse, leading to economic decline and resource shortages.  The entire Roman economic system was quickly compromised.  It was an economy that was structured and reliant on expansion and conquest.  Which was no longer a possibility.  The prosperity of the Roman economy was also highly dependent on available, cheap labor, which means slavery. Without conquest, slavery became a less viable institution. Leading to shortages of wealth and resources for society to benefit. This caused further economic collapse and technological stagnation.

Also, the interruption of Roman institutions and infrastructure damaged educational systems, which quickly caused a loss of literacy. Which discontinued the keeping of written records and ceased the general spreading of knowledge.  This made information harder to access and preserve. The advanced Roman technologies we spoke of were lost or abandoned as society lacked the resources and centralized control to maintain them. Knowledge management and documentation were no longer a priority.  Things began to fall apart across all sectors of society.

The formation of Christianity as the state religion by Emperor Constantine in 313 AD and the subsequent persecution of pagan religions ended the long-standing conflict between the two ideologies. Which seems like it should have been a good thing.  But this shift in power structure allowed the church to become a major political entity and influence, often at the expense of unification.  Religion facilitated a shift in cultural identity and continued to weaken centralized power and cause further political division.  It was also detrimental to the well-defined class structure that operated during the peak of prosperity. Driving social unrest amongst the artisans and merchants that made up the fragile middle class.

So, widespread political volatility, the crumbling of the centralized infrastructure, decreased trade and revenue, and the decline of knowledge and innovation, led to the breakdown of the overall economy.  All of this was accompanied by the societal fragmentation from constant invasion and religious fervor.  These factors plunged Europe into a period of intellectual and cultural decline, often called the "Dark Ages".

Contemporary scholars generally do not use the term “Dark Ages” anymore. Regardless, the term is a historical reference for the period between the 5^th and 10^th centuries.  Some historians contend this age encompasses the entire Middle Ages, so from the 5^th to the 14^th centuries. The period ending with the beginnings of the Renaissance in the 1300’s.  The Dark Ages were characterized by the continuation of the economic, intellectual, and cultural decline that began within the Roman Empire starting in the second century AD.

What were the Dark Ages like? Well, it wasn’t pretty.  Over the course of the first 250 years, Rome's population dropped from about 65 million to under 50 million. As Rome fragmented, the territories that had benefited from the structural integrity, financial support, and military backing of the central government soon fell.  When this occurred, the "concrete" that held the Roman Empire together began to crumble.

The aquifers, roads, schools etc. went quickly into disrepair. It was a time of cultural stagnation, with a lack of written records and education regressed almost completely. The scarcity of written records makes it challenging for historians to reconstruct the history of this era. It also made it difficult in the centuries that followed for people to duplicate the innovations of the Romans. Design elements and techniques were lost to society and required rediscovery more than a millennia later.

The unity the Empire had provided disappeared, with various successor states and rulers vying for control. The realm broke into a cluster of disconnected regional powers. The concept of a unified identity that had held fast under Roman rule disappeared, as local populations developed greater autonomy and prioritized their own cultural groups and regional concerns. 

Conflicts both large and small continued almost indefinitely, draining resources and weakening economies.  Barbarian invasions were unrelenting. With no Roman legions to protect the borders, the Huns, Goths, Vandals, and Franks conquered vast territories, which had profound impacts on the political and social landscape of Europe. Some impacts are felt to this day. 

All of this led to a great deal of human suffering.  Widespread famine and disease as well as harsh rulers and the inequality of the justice system, significantly decreased the quality of life for most people in post-Roman Europe. From this, the feudal system emerged as a dominant social structure. With wealthy lords holding vast tracts of land and all of the people that lived on it as vassals and serfs. This divisive system shaped the political and economic landscape of the region for centuries and created a class structure that is still felt in some cultures.

The suffering, hopelessness and despair within society also accelerated the rise of Christianity, which significantly impacted this period in history.  The church's involvement in politics complicated the relationship between the church and the state, leading to a period of intense conflict and division. To say the least, it was a dark time in human history.

Ok.  It happened.  It was a long, long time ago.  Yet are there lessons in this for us in our contemporary society?  To be clear, the Roman empire lasted far longer than the United States has been around. But the factors that led to its downfall are there for all of us to see. So, how do we learn from the past and not repeat those mistakes? How do we recognize and address modern issues to help build more resilient and sustainable governments and economic systems?

Firstly, strong leadership with vision is important, and at all levels of government. These leaders need the power and foresight to establish sustainable fiscal policies. Ones that are transparent and measurable. Spending money you don’t have is a huge mistake at all levels of society. It is also essential that you do not base your economy on non-sustainable factors and be adaptive to changes that certain occur as economies mature.

Geographic overextension is also a critical mistake.  Overextended political boundaries might bring in resources but generally do not foster political unity.  Which is highly important.  It is also critical that the government ensure adequate border security and defense capabilities. That, along with having flexibility and responsiveness to changing global conditions, are critical to stability and success.

The importance of cultural solidarity and the need to maintain shared values and civic engagement cannot be questioned. As important as it is to realize that there will always be external threats, internal threats are equally dangerous.  Social systems are essential but can never be a crutch to provide the masses with the ability to be idle. It should be an axiom of politics, which should represent the people to keep a close eye on them. And always look to improve their quality of life.  Society’s fragmentation is like a big oak tree rotting from within. Inevitably it will fall.

This has been an enjoyable and insightful exercise for me, and I hope you might have learned something too. I believe it is critical to look back in time, in order to look forward to the future, with clear vision of what works and what does not work when governing and leading people.  We can never turn a blind eye to the past without risking our future.