Even if the fall takes centuries the collapse of society is inevitable. Throughout history there have been numerous societies that have collapsed. Rome for example collapsed because of a number of reasons such as expansion, greed, religion, barbaric tribes, politics. The collapse of the slave system lack of conquest. Less conquest eventually meant fewer cheap slaves, which in turn meant fewer human resources to keep the wheels of industry, agriculture and infrastructure turning. Meanwhile, Rome's rulers lessened the value of the currency through oppressive taxation and inflation. The remains of these civilization are on every continent. Abandoned relics, broken pillars, and makeshift roads tell story of long dead cultures. According to Adam Smith the study of collapse means that it is necessary for Archaeologists and Anthropologists to break the causes down into ways that both contradict and oppose each other. In this paper I will look at some potential causes of the fall of these civilizations.
The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the longest lasting and possibly the most powerful empire that has existed. The Empire stretched from the Mediterranean into Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. The large amount of territory that the empire controlled would end up contributing to its collapse. As the empire grew the Emperor would appoint generals to rule in certain provinces. This meant that for the people of these provinces the actual Emperor was without much power. This led to numerous people claiming themselves to be Emperor at the same time based on the power of their province.
On top of this the Roman Empire’s economic system began collapsing. In the early days of the empire Rome would enslave the conquered people. These slaves would provide the workforce that allowed the country to function economically. Towards the end of the Empire countries were joining willingly. This meant that there was no slave labor and society in general was not willing to commit to work. This was actually made worse by the fact that at one point there was a drought or an epidemic that wiped out a large number of people. Both of these events led to economic decline. Also during this time Rome had a number of enemies that were taking advantage of their economic and political weaknesses. Another big contributor to the fall of the Roman empire was the establishment of Christianity as an acceptable religion by Constantine. Before this Rome had been accepting of all religions and to essentially establish a state religion caused a lot of issues not only with the citizens but also inside the government itself.
The Mayan Civilization
The Mayan civilization was once one of the most powerful civilizations in Central America. Suddenly, they just seemed to have disappeared. This puzzled Historians and Archaeologists for many years before a group of Archaeologists stumbled on the answer. The Mayans had not all died out in genocide or from an epidemic. The fall of the Mayan civilization was caused by an earthquake. Sometime after the Spanish visited the civilization in the 16th century there was an earthquake, which killed many people. The fertile which was already to grow crops on became worse. The people began starving, so the Mayans were forced to leave their city. They were eventually absorbed into the neighboring populations and the city became ruins. the Mayans disappeared after the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century.
The Assyrians
Assyria was an Ancient Mesopotamian country. After being one of the most powerful countries in the area for about 600 years Assyria collapsed due to civil war and economic distress. It is speculated by Adam Smith in The Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations that the subjugation of Assyria by the Akkadian king Sargon led to the fall of the Assyrian civilization. He says that this is due to Sargon and his descendants’ failure to assimilate the local political practices into their ambitions. If Sargon had not been so interested in expanding and conquering new territory, then Assyria may have been able to join many other Mesopotamian states in “political unity” (Smith). Sargon’s unwillingness to listen to the people and his chose to tax the people in order to pay for his military campaigns or attacks eventually made Assyria vulnerable to outside attacks (Smith). The Assyrian civilization fell because of being mismanaged by the government, issues with trade, ecological and biological issues, and religious “superiority(Smith)
In conclusion, the collapse of ancient civilizations cannot be tied to any particular cause. Instead collapse tends to be caused by a myriad of factors including natural disasters, social and religious upheavals, and economic decline. As a result of the aforementioned causes the civilization does not “die” it adapts into something else. The members of a fallen society get assimilated into other cultures, where their ideas, beliefs and cultural norms are integrated into the new society. For example, The Mayans gave the world chocolate, and the most accurate calendar in existence, The Assyrians gave the ancient world roads, a postal service and the first library and finally The Roman government has influenced laws and the three party system of government that America and many other countries use today.
Work Cited
Smith, Adam. "The Collpse of Ancient States and Civilizations." 131-60. International Library of Archaeology. Web. 7 Feb. 2016.
