#fall of Rome

[victusinveritas]

Sack of Rome by goths, 410.

[memories-of-ancients]

Petronius Maximus --- The dipshit Roman emperor who caused the sack of Rome because he was an arrogant dipshit.

Petronius Maximus was a wealthy Roman politician born in 397 AD to old Roman money. Like many wealthy Romans he went into politics and throughout the early 5th century climbed the ranks of Roman government until he became one of the most powerful men in the Western Roman Empire. He was crafty and he was ambitious. He was also a dipshit and an asshole.

By the 450's P. Maximus had a clear plan, to create a power vacuum in Rome that he could cunningly fill. He began by turning the emperor at the time, Valentinian III, against his magister militum Flavius Aetius. As magister militum Aetius was commander of the Roman Army, and had proven himself a master tactician and brilliant diplomat. Through military victories and diplomacy Aetius was barely holding a crumbling empire together. Maximus convinced Valentinian III that Aetius was looking to usurp his throne. Thus in 454 Valentinian summoned Aetius to his palace and personally murdered him with his sword. Maximus had organized the death of the most talented Roman official in the empire, which in the grand scheme of things was probably a big mistake. With Aetius dead, Maximus expected he would take Aetius' place as magister militum. However Valentinian refused to appoint him as magister militum. Thus in 455 AD, Maximus had him assassinated, hiring two of Aetius' bodyguards to do the deed as revenge.

Several powerful Romans claimed the Imperial throne but Maximus managed to beat them all to the punch by taking over the Imperial Palace and immediately marrying Valentinian's widow, Licinia Eudoxia. Licinia didn't know Maximus had murdered her husband at the time but had suspicions. He also forced her daughters, Placidia and Eudocia to marry his sons. Through deceit and murder Maximus had managed to weasel his way into the Roman Imperial family and was now creating his own Imperial dynasty. Thus Petronius Maximus had become Emperor Dipshit, ruler of the shiny turd of what was left of the Western Roman Empire.

Problem was, when Emperor Dipshit married off Placidia and Eudocia to his sons, he canceled Eudocia's arranged marriage to Hunneric, who was the son of Geiseric, king of the Vandals. The Vandals were a Germanic tribe that had set up a prosperous kingdom in the former Roman province of North Africa, and were constantly raiding the Italian coast. Valentinian had arranged the marriage of Eudocia as a peace offering to Geiseric. Geiseric had received a letter from Eudoxia informing him that Maximus had killed her husband and was canceling the marriage of Eudocia. Geiseric was enraged at Empror Dipshit for canceling the marriage, and sent a Vandal fleet and army to Rome in response. "No problem" said Emperor Dipshit, "we got the Roman Army".

Except there was no Roman Army. Not really. After the death of Aetius the remains of the standing full time professional army had collapsed almost completely. Even Aetius was very dependent on mercenaries and allies. Nobody wanted to enlist in the Roman Army in the 5th century, with Romans going so far as to cut off their own fingers to avoid conscription. The Roman economy was a mess, the Imperial bureaucracy was riddled with corruption, the life of the average Roman was miserable, and by the 5th century most Roman emperors were snobbish, over-privileged, incompetent out of touch dipshits. The empire was dying and everybody knew it. Few believed it was worth saving, and nobody wanted to die for a dipshit emperor such as Emperor Dipshit. By 455 AD what was left of the Roman Army consisted of militia units called "limitanei" who acted as border patrolmen far away from Rome. For more complex military operations the Romans were fully dependent on mercenaries and allies. Emperor Dipshit attempted to enlist the help of the Visigoths, but they were like, "LMFAO nooo, you made your bed now lie in it!" I speculate they knew Maximus was a dipshit who was probably gonna get them all killed.

Emperor Dipshit knew it was a hopeless situation, so he made an announcement to the Roman people to flee and save themselves, then he too turned tail and fled. He was spotted by a large group of Roman refugees, who formed a mob and beat him to death. Good riddance. Emperor Dipshit's glorious reign lasted 77 days.

As far as sackings go the sack of Rome in 455 AD wasn't too bad. The Vandals were Christians, so the Pope was able to convince them not to do the more horrible things like rape and murder civilians, or burn down the city. So for the most part the Vandals refrained from bloodshed and arson. However they did take as many Romans into slavery as they could fit on their ships, and they also looted the city of almost everything of value. Even the bronze tiles on the roof of the Temple of Jupiter were pried off and carted away. Also Geiseric carted off Eudocia and married her off to his son Huneric.

The Vandal's sack of Rome in 455 is where we get the term "vandalism" today. Also did I mention that Petronius Maximus was a dipshit?

[helenoftaos]

I’m not looking for anything serious right now, just a boy who’ll hold my hand as we watch Rome fall.

[handsoffmydinosaur]

The Fall Of The Roman Empire

[cashwhisperer]

[howifeltabouthim]

'Sooner of later, everything falls: waves, empires, races, even gods.'

Jenn Lyons, from The Ruin of Kings

[sictransitgloriamvndi]

[magnifigal]

Growing a fascination for the Fall of Western Rome/ Rise of the Ostrogothic Era. Hopefully no one will take this shitpost of Zeno arguing with Odoacer too seriously...

[random-internet-teen]

The word ends

The World ended in 1150 BCE

And empires spring from the ashes

The World ended in 149 BCE

And Rome rules over the remains

The World ended in 70 CE

And a people are scattered to the winds

The World ended in 476 CE

War takes its place

The World ended in 1347 CE

Revolution whispers despite dead in the street

The world ended in 1848

Revolution has grow tired of waiting

The World ended in 1914

It was a power keg

The world ended in 1939

And the air is thick with ash. Don’t think to hard about where it came from

The world ended in 2001

The Towers crumbled to signal the end

The World ended in 2020

It masked what was to came

The World ended in 2025

To cheering applause

And yet World keeps going.

[circleofcrows]

The Roman Empire: Rise, Power and Legacy

The Roman Empire was one of the most influential civilizations in human history, shaping politics, culture, law, and architecture across Europe, North Africa and thr Middle East for centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in the ancient world, spanning from Britian to Egypt and from Spain to Mesopotamia, uniting diverse peoples under a single imperial system.

From Republic to Empire

Rome began ad a small city-state on the Italian Pensiula, founded (according to legend) in 753 BCE by Romulus and Remus. After centuries as a kingdom, Rome became a public around 509 BCE, governed by elected magistrates and the Senate.

Through a mix of milliary conquest, diplomacy, and alliances, Rome expanded across Italy and beyond. However, internal conflicts, social inequality, and power struggles eventually weakened the Republic.

The turning point came with Julius Ceasar, who's rise to power challenged the authority of the Senate. After his assassination in 44 BCE, Rome rell into civil war until Octavian (Agustus) emerged victorious. In 27 BCE, Augustus became the first emperor, marking the birth of the Romsn Empire.

The Pax Romana

Under Agusutus and his successors, Rome entered the Pax Romana, a period of relative peace and prosperity that lasted about 200 years. During this time, the empire:

Build vast networks of roads, aqueducts, and cities

Encouraged trade across the Mediterranean

Unified its territories under Roman law

Spread Latin language and Roman culture

The empire became a melting pot of different peoples, religions, and traditions, all connected by Roman administration and infrastructure.

Society and Culture

Roman society was highly stratified:

At the top were the emperor and the senatorial elite

Below them were citizens, who enjoyed certain rights and privileges

Freedmen and non-citizens made up much of the working population

At the bottom were slaves, who preformed labor in households, fields, and mines

Roman religion was polytheistic, worshiping gods like Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Apollo, many of whom were adapted from the Greeks. Over time, the empire embraced a wide variety of cults and deities, including Egyptian and Persian gods, and later, Christianity, which would become the empire’s official religion in the 4th century CE.

Military Power

The backbone of Rome’s strength was its military, especially the Roman legions. Disciplined, well-trained, and highly organized, the Roman army conquered and defended vast territories. Fortified borders, like Hadrian’s Wall in Britain, marked by the limits of Roman power.

Crisis and Decline

By the 3rd century CE, the empire faced growing challenges:

Economic strain from maintaining its vast territory

Invasions of Germanic and steppe tribes

Political instability, with frequent changes of emperors

Internal division, leading to the split between the Western and Eastern Empires

In 476 CE, the Western Roman Empire fell when the last emperor was deposed by the Germanic leader Odoacer. The Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, continued for another thousand years until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

The Legacy of Rome

Despite its fall, the legacy of the Roman Empire endures:

Latin languages evolved into the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian).

Roman law influenced legal systems in Europe and beyond.

Architecture and engineering, from aqueducts to amphitheaters, remain iconic.

Christianity, which flourished under Rome, became a dominant world religion.

The idea of Rome as a symbol of civilization inspired later empires and nations.

Conclusion

The Roman Empire was more than just a political power—it was a cultural and historical force that shaped the course of Western civilization. Its achievements in governance, engineering, military strategy, and culture still echo through our modern world. From the ruins of the Colosseum to the enduring Latin roots in our languages, Rome’s influence remains alive today.

[futurebird]

I was going for a “fall of Rome” theme for their outworld but I don’t know if it works. Maybe a statue with broken arms? A charred miniature building?

"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert... Near them, on the sand, half-sunk a shattered visage lies."

[delphinidin4]

Historian: When did Rome fall?

Rome: I didn't so much fall as saunter vaguely downward.

[driftingoffthegrid]

everyone wants to talk about sex; no one wants to discuss the development of arthurian legend :/

[groovyhistory]

June 2, 455 - King Gaiseric and the Vandals sack Rome...

[grayrazor]

I really don't like the recurring idea that if the Federation and Klingons go to war, the Klingons run roughshod over the Federation and can only be defeated by a deus ex machina.

It feels very conservative, very Red Dawn or Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, that a liberal bureaucratic state is weak and womanly, and will be inevitably dominated by a strong manly warrior race.

If anything, it'd be more reflective of what we know now about WWII, the Cold War, and after, if Klingon aggression is mostly a bluff.

They know the Federation massively outclasses them in terms of population and industry, and are ruining their own economy dumping everything into the military in the hopes that the Federation doesn't realize it too.

"The Federation says they're all about peaceful coexistence, but what if they're lying? How would we survive?"

Section 31 was created to explain how how such a pacifist organization as the Federation could survive with hostile empires on all sides. I think it’d be better if it was really just because the UFP is such a diverse alliance, it inherently has more population and industry than the many single-race empires.

If on a full wartime footing, the Federation should probably win simultaneous wars against the Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians even if just by burying them in starships and soldiers.

I give Discovery a lot of crap for this, but much as I love DS9 they were really bad about buying into the whole "hard men making hard decisions win wars" idea, both in terms of portraying the Federation as needing the occasional war crime to survive, and in terms of the Terran Empire being overrun by the barbarians after they became more progressive.

[3jane-rosen]

I feel seen and attacked