Hello,

In light of the recent posts regarding America, I thought it might be interesting to consider this theory; many people have said that there are strict similarities in America's governmental practices and the decline and fall of the Roman Empire (Eastern, not Byzantium..).

I am not too knowledgable about all of the correleations that people have generated between the two but I thought I might post it up to see what you all have to say or think about it. From a philosophical and psychological perspective, I wonder if us as humans have a tendancy to solve problems very reflective of our past. Hence the phrase, "history repeats itself" seems to stare us in the face. I argue that we have significantly less violence as they did in first 5 centuries of our common era.. However, the mentality of the important figures involved seem to be reflective.

I only consider myself an amateur with classical history, but I do believe that there seems to be a similar mentality between the Romans and the Americans. What seemed to destroy the Roman Empire was the resistance in the Byzantine Empire which eventually lead to the destruction of the Rome itself.

I find it similar to the American's of today doing their best to "liberate" other countries just as Rome wanted to "liberate" the Holy land. I would presume that the majority of history scholars here would agree with me that "liberating" the Holy land was not the primary interest of any of the Roman Emperor's but that securing their land against the Muslim's, Goths, and others, was their primary interest. Ergo, I think I can understand why others may think America is similar in their views to secure this land. I may not agree, but, what could this mean if it were true..?

It is also interesting to note that America seems to have become what students of today refer to as a "boiling pot" which is shared in the Roman times once Theodosius and Constantine initiated the Christian Roman Empire in the 4th century.

What are your thoughts...? Anyone have any links that elucidate this theory...?

~