End Of The Roman Civilization example essay topic

The factors that lead to the "collapse" of civilizations are almost directly related to those that created it. Archaeologists characterize collapse by a number of elements, some of which we have evidence for, others we do not. Most archaeologists are unsure of exactly what caused the decline of most civilizations in the ancient world, yet there are many clues to some of the events that could have contributed. The collapse of the ancient Roman Empire, the Mesoamerican Mayan, and the Egyptian cultures will be discussed in the following paragraphs, with a focus on the uniqueness of each. "Collapse" is in quotations because its definition when applied to civilizations is often debated. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary states: 1: to fall or shrink together abruptly and completely: fall into a jumbled or flattened mass through the force of external pressure 2: to break down 3: to cave or fall in or give way 4: to suddenly lose force, significance, effectiveness, or worth 5: to break down in vital energy, stamina, or self-control through exhaustion or disease; especially: to fall helpless or unconscious 6: to fold down into a more compact shape Although this definition can vaguely describe the overall fall of most civilizations, the actual details are more finite.

One such event would be an environmental change. Archaeologists use this as a reason for the decline of civilizations often because it fits so well into any situation. A terrifying earthquake, a change in flow of a vital river, and a volcanic eruption are examples of what could have happened to abruptly end a civilization. Another reason might be over use of natural resources. As civilizations grew, the need for more resources increased. They could not grow enough food to support the growing population, and as a result trade networks fell apart, people began to starve, and large epidemics spread.

Also many of these civilizations based everything on ideology. They believe that their rulers were gods on earth, so when these devastating things started happening, they lost faith in their ruler. Building temples, making statues of their kings, redistributing their goods, and the following of rulers all ceased. The accumulation of all these factors resulted in decline. For a long period of time, the Mayan civilization was assumed to have ended around 800 A.D. Its decline is very much wondered about and pondered over. Carbon dating shows the dates in which things started going downward.

Around 800 AD, population densities were at their peak. The population had gotten so high that it led to social malfunction and agricultural exhaustion. The land had been so overworked that it did not have a chance to remain fertile. Core borings and pollen samples revealed prolonged drought cycles. (Scarre 1997: 372) As in the southern Mesopotamian culture, long term irrigation and salinization of the soil led to decline productivity.

When irrigation water dries, it leaves salt. Additional water is needed to wash it out; the salt water rises towards the roots of plants and kills them. However, the Mayan civilization was in a very damp rainforest area, which excludes drought as an explanation for its "collapse". (Sanders: video) David Webster, a Copan archaeologist, found obsidian knives at various farming sites. These knives are very important because they can be tested as to the date in which they originate.

Anne Freer, an obsidian tester, revealed that the majority of them dated to around 1200 A.D. She thought there was something wrong with her data because it had always been assumed that the culture ended around 800 A.D. This data shows a slow decline instead of a sudden "collapse". Archaeologists had assumed that there was a sudden collapse. They considered peasant revolt, loss of legitimacy of the rulers, lack of propaganda, abandonment of great centers, ceasing of buildings and inscriptions, and population declination, done by a method the Mayans are known for. "Voting with one's feet" is when commoners of a village, city, or town were not happy with the king at the time so they left for other communities, no longer contributing their goods to the community.

The Mayans were a very ideological society. They had a very weak military, so they were unable to force taxes on the people. They had to enforce ideology by building temples, monuments and statues. When there was a king who was not liked, then they would not build temples to support him. The ruler would have no symbols of power, which meant no authority. The city of Copan had great monuments, which were rebuilt every twenty years.

People were needed for the labor, which was often stopped if they were displeased with the ruler. Therefore evidence for a sudden halting of monument building gives clues to archeologists of the state of government, or society as a whole. The Roman Empire was very powerful, diverse, and extravagant. Some Roman villas were simple farmhouses while others were decorated with mosaics, large steam baths and luxurious gardens (Scarre 1997: 285). The city was filled with extreme architecture and monuments. Their advanced engineering supplied them with drainage systems, a water supply, and under floor heating (Scarre 1997: 285).

For the first couple centuries A.D., the empire flourished in its wealth. In the third century A.D., however, crises started to take over. Civil war broke out, because armies were killing their emperors and individual provinces tried to break free and form independent empires. They had foreign enemies on all sides attacking them. The nature of the empire was changing and the restoring of peace that emperors Diocletian and Constantine had brought was fading.

The Roman Empire did not collapse, contrary to the definition, it simply transformed itself into something else. In the fourth century A.D., it was split into two halves. The Eastern Empire survived for another thousand years, while the Western Empire "collapsed" in the fifth century A.D., dividing into many independent kingdoms. Many important things emerged from the Roman Empire. The language, which was Latin, evolved into Spanish, French, and Italian and the law code is still used in Western Europe. The evidence here suggests that the end of the Roman civilization, as it is known from its height, ended as a result of warfare and stress, not environmental degradation.

The Egyptian civilization was built around very powerful ideology glorifying pharaohs as gods. They built massive pyramids as tombs for their pharaohs and used many valuable resources to do this. The society was very organized with a system of government, food surplus, trade networks, and agriculture. But as excavations of the ancient city Amana show us, the pharaohs were becoming less and less powerful as time went on. With the death of Ramesses in 1163 B.C., Egypt entered a period of slow decline (Scarre 1997: 116). Pharaohs became less powerful, and their prestige dwindled.

Hungry soldiers were terrorizing the community, while tomb robbers were raiding the pyramids for resources that were very much needed. They had buried their pharaohs with food, goods and jewelry, all of which were needed to keep the civilization in tact. They had built too many pyramids, and there were setbacks in Asia which corrupted trade. People did not understand why the pharaohs could not fix the problems that were going on.

They viewed them as gods and lost trust and faith. Egypt fell apart as these things culminated with loss of belief in the pharaohs. These three civilizations all had a decline that can not be totally explained. Each unique yet similar in different ways.

Both the Egyptian and Mayan civilization seemed to have declined because of agricultural and ideological reasons, and all three had to do with a loss of power and trust in rulers. There are many factors that create a civilization or empire and make it powerful. The corruption and loss of these same factors is what leads to the decline of an otherwise successful civilization.