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Scientists discover what caused the Roman Empire to collapse 1,500 years ago
Daily Mail UK ^ | November 16 ,2024 | Nikki Main

Posted on 11/16/2024 9:08:33 AM PST by SunkenCiv

They discovered that the Romans miscalculated their Persian-Sassanian opponents which caused their downward spiral, leaving them weak and allowing Islam to rise in a manner that essentially wiped out the once-powerful civilization.

The two groups were at war from 54 BC to 628 for control of territories, but the Persians and Sassanians took over Roman trade routes that were critical to their victory.

Without access to trade, the economy quickly collapsed and forced people in the Roman Empire to flee to other regions like Constantinople, the researchers discovered...

The team analyzed shipwrecks throughout the Mediterranean from multiple sites, such as Marseille, Naples, Carthage, eastern Spain and Alexandria, to better understand what caused the fall.

They identified a timeline for when Roman ships, which lined the shores by the hundreds at their pea, began to disappear and dwindled down to just dozens by the second half of the 7th century...

Previous research had suggested that a plague decimated the Roman Empire in 543 AD.

But the new study found the civilization was at the height of its power, economic output and population.

Researchers looked at the number of shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea and pottery uncovered at archaeology sites.

They discovered more than 16,000 pieces of pottery uncovered in Nessana - a city located in the southwest Negev desert in Israel, close to the Egyptian border.

The shards were determined to have been traded by the Roman Empire during the late 6th and early 7th centuries, which confirmed that the civilization was still thriving.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; fall; fauxiantrolls; freepun; godsgravesglyphs; persianempire; romanempire; romantrade; rome; sassaniandynasty; sassanians; silkroad; silkroute; traderoutes
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1 posted on 11/16/2024 9:08:33 AM PST by SunkenCiv
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Brave’s AI generated response:

https://search.brave.com/search?q=edward+gibbon+decline+and+fall+of+roman+empire+islam

Gibbon on Roman Empire’s Fall
The Role of Islam in Edward Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”
Edward Gibbon’s monumental work, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” covers the period from 98 to 1590, exploring the factors that contributed to the empire’s downfall. In this context, Islam plays a significant role, particularly in the latter half of the book.

Gibbon’s Assessment
Gibbon argues that the rise of Islam was a crucial factor in the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire. He contends that the rapid spread of Islam, facilitated by the Arabs’ military conquests and the appeal of their monotheistic faith, weakened the empire’s defenses and contributed to its eventual collapse.

Key Points
Gibbon emphasizes the role of Islam in the eastern decline and fall of the Roman Empire, highlighting the organized empires of Persians, Arabs, and Turks, as well as the religious revolution of Islam.
He notes that the Arabs’ conquests were not solely driven by barbarism but were instead motivated by enthusiasm and a sense of divine purpose.
Gibbon portrays the Islamic conquests as a significant turning point in the history of the Roman Empire, marking the transition from a pagan to a monotheistic world.
He also highlights the cultural and intellectual achievements of Islamic civilization, acknowledging its contributions to the preservation and transmission of classical knowledge.
Comparison with Other Factors
While Gibbon acknowledges other factors contributing to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, such as internal corruption, external pressures, and the rise of Christianity, he places Islam at the forefront of the narrative. He argues that the empire’s inability to resist the Islamic tide was a critical moment in its downfall.

Legacy and Critique
Gibbon’s portrayal of Islam has been subject to critique and revision by modern historians. Some argue that his account is overly influenced by Enlightenment-era prejudices against Islam and that he underestimates the complexity and diversity of Islamic societies. Nevertheless, Gibbon’s work remains a foundational text in the study of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, and his discussion of Islam continues to shape historical narratives and debates.

In summary, Edward Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” presents Islam as a crucial factor in the empire’s downfall, emphasizing its military conquests, cultural achievements, and religious revolution. While his account has been subject to critique, it remains an important contribution to the study of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.


2 posted on 11/16/2024 9:09:08 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
Thanks for the link!

3 posted on 11/16/2024 9:09:46 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Islam was the plague....continues to this day.


4 posted on 11/16/2024 9:16:36 AM PST by fuzzylogic (welfare state = sharing of poor moral choices among everybody)
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To: SunkenCiv

So Islam destroyed the great roman empire. I think that there is a lesson for western civilization in their somewhere.


5 posted on 11/16/2024 9:16:55 AM PST by Revel
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To: SunkenCiv

BTTT


6 posted on 11/16/2024 9:17:01 AM PST by nopardons
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To: SunkenCiv; All

Gibbon’s historiography is full of misinterpretations, antiquated canards (”Christians destroyed the library of Alexandria”), and crude extrapolations, most of which have been systematically dismantled by modern scholars and historians like Tom Holland (author of “Dominion”). Gibbons shaped the progressive narrative of the Middle Ages as a dark age beset by the superstitions of Christianity, bookended by the Roman Empire and the Enightenment. It is time to jettison the Gibbonian approach to history.


7 posted on 11/16/2024 9:20:01 AM PST by nwrep
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To: SunkenCiv

The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 453. Too many Vandal invaders. No complex theories by Woke anti western university professors


8 posted on 11/16/2024 9:20:23 AM PST by BigEdLB ( Let’s go Brandon)
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To: SunkenCiv

“They identified a timeline for when Roman ships, which lined the shores by the hundreds at their pea,...’

They must have been very tiny ships or a very large pea.


9 posted on 11/16/2024 9:23:10 AM PST by Round Earther
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To: Revel

Seriously! We should open our borders, and let them flood the place. What could go wrong?
The Bushes, Clintons, Obamas, and Bidens are all Muslim sympathizers, who facilitated the worst invasion this country has ever seen. It won’t end well.


10 posted on 11/16/2024 9:24:03 AM PST by Fireone (Americans have had enough.)
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To: SunkenCiv

I would argue that faggotry emperors were a primary cause of the Roman Empire failures.

Something America better wake up to today.

Per AI...

Of the first 15 Roman emperors, all but one (Claudius) were reported to have had male lovers in addition to female partners. This suggests that bisexuality was extremely common among early Roman emperors.


11 posted on 11/16/2024 9:24:32 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (Climate Change is Real. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.)
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To: Round Earther

With peas that big, ya gotta think, clearly the Empire didn’t fall due to lack of food.


12 posted on 11/16/2024 9:25:02 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Revel

Islam didn’t just destroy the Eastern Empire.

Islam conquered the Hellenic world. A thousand years of art, technology, and philosophy were slowly ground to dust and blown away into the sands of Muslim desolation.


13 posted on 11/16/2024 9:26:07 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: Revel

The Roman Empire collapsed before Islam existed.


14 posted on 11/16/2024 9:26:17 AM PST by Round Earther
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To: SunkenCiv
If so, it was a slow process. The period the authors are talking about was 6th century; Constantinople fell in the 15th. That's an awfully slow fall.

Certainly Islam had a great deal to do with it. So did the plague of Justinian and a pair of volcanoes that resulted in mass starvation, several waves of migratory peoples from Central Asia, a fellow named Genghis Kahn, and the sack of Constantinople by Christian crusaders. Also racism, sexism, homophobia, and SUVs.

15 posted on 11/16/2024 9:27:49 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Revel

The Holy Roman Empire was in serious decline by 620AD and the rise of Islam.

The glory days of the Roman Empire had ended 200 years prior, and the West had begun its long journey into the Dark Ages.


16 posted on 11/16/2024 9:28:57 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: BigEdLB

Right. I think one of the main invasions from the north was 437 AD, but there were a couple of assaults from ‘barbarians’. Then the empire split and Constantinople became the seat of power for about 1000 years


17 posted on 11/16/2024 9:31:21 AM PST by SMARTY (In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. Napoleon Bonaparte I)
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My prior understanding had immigration as the cause, and the Arabs (not Muslims) eventually plundered the remains.


18 posted on 11/16/2024 9:32:01 AM PST by Gene Eric
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To: SunkenCiv

“They discovered more than 16,000 pieces of pottery uncovered in Nessana”

Folks got tired of getting Pottery Barn catalogs every week.


19 posted on 11/16/2024 9:32:47 AM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: Billthedrill
Exactly. The Persian Empire succumbed due to multiple frontier problems, and the eastern Roman Empire remained standing.

20 posted on 11/16/2024 9:33:05 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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