Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Finished essays: The Italian Wars (1494-1559), The siege of Buda (1686), The history of Boius tribe in the Carpathian Basin, Hungarian regiments' participation in the Austro-Prussian-Italian War in 1866, The Mithridatic Wars, Xenophon's Anabasis, The Carthagian colonization
Skipped essays: Serbian migration into the Kingdom of Hungary in the 18th century, The Order of Saint John in the Kingdom of Hungary
The answer to what the world would have been like without the Roman Empire depends entirely on the reason why there would not have been a Roman Empire in the first place.
There are a couple of plausible scenarios.
1. Brennus burns Rome and kills every last man woman and child, sows the fields with salt, and eats all the dogs. After that it's hard to say: the urban societies of the Etruscans were already somewhat in decline by this point, and I can't buy a Samnite or Sabine empire. Possibly without a strong Italian power, Greek influence would have spread up the peninsula.
2. Alexander didn't die in 323 BC, but lived at least another 20 years, and carried out what were reputed to have been his plans for western conquests against Carthage and Sicily. I find it likely that he would have been drawn into the Italian peninsula, and given for the sake of argument that he would have won, that's Rome nipped in the bud. After that, what happens depends on whether Alex ever stopped to consolidate his empire and provide for an orderly succession - assuming that he left an adult male heir, we can posit an Alexandrine Empire lasting for a while, I think. Longer if the Greeks adopted some Roman civic virtues. This scenario is put forward in Mary Renault's The Nature of Alexander the Great.
The successful conquest of Rome by Phyrrus is an alternate version of this scenario, with smaller results - Phyrrus conquers Italy, Sicily and Greece.
3. Rome loses to Carthage in either of the wars. I can't bring myself to believe that Carthage would have eradicated Rome or replaced the population, so the eventual outcome of this is harder to imagine - it possibly might have just meant a delay in events, or a later repeat of scenario #1 - no strong regional power in Italy.
While I would never say that history is inevitable, there are important reasons why Rome succeeded and Carthage, the Greeks and the Celts did not - and just removing Rome via deus ex machina wouldn't necessarily change those conditions. The Greeks had much more conservative and parochial notions of citizenship than the Romans did (as did the Carthaginians), something that limited the ability of both to sustain expansion over time. Geographical position is also very important.
οἵη περ φύλλων γενεὴ τοίη δὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν.
Even as are the generations of leaves, such are the lives of men.
Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, Illiad, 6.146
THAT'S IT! The time on my laptop has just gone 10:40 as I start writing this so I will announce who (in my opinion) has won them self a balloon. I have based my decision on who presented the most logical argument which included as many cultures as possible:
1. Plutoboyz for his convincing map (even if Carthage's importance was emphasized possibly too much) and for his constant input during this discussion. Please accept a balloon.
2. Imperator Invictus.
3. Cute Wolf
4. Ca Putt
5. Oudysseos (did not actually present an alternate future but instead gave the most interesting answer in my opinion).
I would like to thank everyone who participated in the discussions including those not in the top five. In particular i would like to thank Wathcman, Andronikos, Duguntz, Ibn Khaldin and Hannibal Khan the Great as well for educational input. I hope you enjoyed this thread. Thank you all again!
donated by ARCHIPPOS for being friendly to new people.
donated by Macilrille for wit.
donated by stratigos vasilios for starting new and interesting threads
donated by Tellos Athenaios as a welcome to Campus Martius
Hmm... I am Ibn-Khaldun not Ibn Khaldin! Thank you very much.
But this is a nice topic that people can talk about hours and hours.![]()
donated by ARCHIPPOS for being friendly to new people.
donated by Macilrille for wit.
donated by stratigos vasilios for starting new and interesting threads
donated by Tellos Athenaios as a welcome to Campus Martius
Thanks for opening that thread at first Brennus!
Opinions are like bacteries : we all have, but it's better to keep them for ourself... (By me!)
generously given by Nachtmeister
generously given by Macilrille for Sweboz combat tactics
Generously given by Brennus
yay, thanks brennus .....![]()
My Projects : * Near East Total War * Nusantara Total War * Assyria Total War *
* Watch the mind-blowing game : My Little Ponies : The Mafia Game!!! *
Also known as SPIKE in TWC
donated by ARCHIPPOS for being friendly to new people.
donated by Macilrille for wit.
donated by stratigos vasilios for starting new and interesting threads
donated by Tellos Athenaios as a welcome to Campus Martius
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Finished essays: The Italian Wars (1494-1559), The siege of Buda (1686), The history of Boius tribe in the Carpathian Basin, Hungarian regiments' participation in the Austro-Prussian-Italian War in 1866, The Mithridatic Wars, Xenophon's Anabasis, The Carthagian colonization
Skipped essays: Serbian migration into the Kingdom of Hungary in the 18th century, The Order of Saint John in the Kingdom of Hungary
"Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. --- Proof of the existence of the FSM, if needed, can be found in the recent uptick of global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Apparently His Pastaness is to be worshipped in full pirate regalia. The decline in worldwide pirate population over the past 200 years directly corresponds with the increase in global temperature. Here is a graph to illustrate the point."
-Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Finished essays: The Italian Wars (1494-1559), The siege of Buda (1686), The history of Boius tribe in the Carpathian Basin, Hungarian regiments' participation in the Austro-Prussian-Italian War in 1866, The Mithridatic Wars, Xenophon's Anabasis, The Carthagian colonization
Skipped essays: Serbian migration into the Kingdom of Hungary in the 18th century, The Order of Saint John in the Kingdom of Hungary
Hopefully that floating toilet comes with plumbing!
Silence is beautiful
No impractical fancy gadgets, but I think we do pretty good for ourselves...
Oh wait, I was wrong.
Last edited by antisocialmunky; 04-25-2010 at 05:32.
Fighting isn't about winning, it's about depriving your enemy of all options except to lose.
"Hi, Billy Mays Here!" 1958-2009
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