What It Means For A Nation To Fall
By: Cody Trusler
Tags: Society, Culture, Philosophy, History, World

What It Means For A Nation To Fall

How historians understand the collapse of empires

“The history of empires is the history of human misery.”

― Edward Gibbon

On the 29th of May, 1453 CE, Ottoman forces led by Mehmed II entered the city of Constantinople and conquered it. Before the conquest of Constantinople, the Roman emperor Constantine XI ruled Constantinople. The family that Constantine XI came from claimed lineage from the foundation of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE.* The nation that existed from the time of Augustus to Constantine XI fell to Ottoman forces.

But what does it mean for a nation to fall? Many nations go through transitions that change the ways of their operation, but does that mean the country fell? History often focuses on the collapse of society but often overlooks what is going on with the people.

Photo by Matthias Mullie on Unsplash

Rome

Rome is an awful example to use because of the many conflicts that come from deciding Rome in particular. Some historians think that 476 CE is the fall of Rome. But why? To answer, we have to look at their reasoning.

In 476 CE, the last Roman emperor of western Rome, Romulus Augustulus, was opposed by Odoacer. Odoacer would establish a monarchy in Italy, even going as far as to use the word rex on his coins. Using rex in Italy held weight because even in the empire, in Rome, kings were unacceptable. By labeling himself king, Odoacer, effectively changed the leadership of Rome. He was in charge, and the king’s reforms were law.

Why would this be considered the fall of Rome? I argue that it wasn’t. The western half had fallen, but in the east, Rome lived. It’s capital Constantinople fell in 1453 CE; in 476 CE, while the western half was falling, the eastern half was going strong.

Western Rome fell because they became plagued with nearly a hundred years of barbarian invasion. The Visigoths, the Vandals, and the Huns became a few of the barbarians that invaded Rome. Western Rome collapsed because it was no longer able to support the weight of its military interactions. Most of the lands, burden by taxes, were not ready to give the necessary funds to defend the mass territory. In the end, it was futile and needed maintenance that Roman emperors did have the skill, or resources, required to make the empire work.

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Germany

In 1871, the nation of Germany was established. The German Empire was established after the Franco-Prussian War. When the war against France ended, many German principalities agreed to German unification. Remarkably, this union made Germany a dominant force in Europe in the late 1800s.

Germany’s strong military, proven by the 1871 Franco-Prussian War became a hallmark of their nationalism. Even though Germany was respected as a military power, they were often treated like a child on the world stage. To prove that they were not to be trifled with, Germany engaged in the First World War to establish itself and defend its allies.

After four years of fighting, Germany capitulated, but not before a military tribunal took full command from the Kaiser. This transfer of power would lead to the establishment of the Weimar Republic. Could this be considered a fall? Absolutely. The problem here was the response to the war. The nations that fought in the war, after it ended, blamed the Germans for the conflict. The reparations from the war lead to many of the problems Germany had, and the Nazis would rise as a result. When the Great Depression caused a worldwide market crash it lead Germany to look for alternative government options to fix its economy. Which is why the republic did not last long and would transform into Nazi Germany.

As most are aware, the Nazis are no more as of 1945.* They were hunted down by the powers that won the second world war and went into hiding to escape the manhunt.

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Ottoman

The Middle East, which was once a part of the Ottoman Empire, separated into many different nations once of the Ottoman. This 600-year-old empire was declining from its overextension and had trouble holding on to the many different ethnic groups that were wanting independence.

The Ottoman became a powerful nation by taking lands in Anatolia and the Balkans. By the 1450s, the Ottoman became recognized as a dominant world power contending with the great forces of Christendom. In 1453 the Ottoman moved their capital to Constantinople and moved troops to fight the Christians in Hungary and across Italy in Malta and Spain.

By the 1800s, they were on the decline. The Ottoman would attempt to expand control with reforms. They were quite progressive at the time with ideas such as secular laws for non-Muslims and the decriminalization of homosexuality.* But this push for new ideas, and the rise of nationalism, would give the people within the empire a voice for change.

By the turn of the twentieth century, the Ottoman Empire was declining.* The mishandling of their military forces, economy, and choice in foreign powers caused issues that would lead to the fall of their empire.* The Ottoman missed their chance by waiting too long to fix the issues within their empire and would not able to escape. The nation fractured and the Sultans would abdicate leaving the people to govern themselves and form a republic.