Date: May 4th, 2012 4:53 PM Author: Sexy Indian Lodge
The Roman armies conquered large territories, sure, but Romans themselves were not terribly productive. They had some productive colonies/provinces but Romans themselves didn't produce much or export much. They were organized, to be sure, but weren't they fundamentally just glorified goombahs who leached off their colonial subjects and eventually got their shit pushed in by hulking germanic types?
Date: May 4th, 2012 5:10 PM Author: Sexy Indian Lodge
The wealthiest parts of the Roman empire were in north Africa/Asia minor though. The western empire's shittiness and poverty caused it to fail 1000 years before the eastern empire.
Date: May 4th, 2012 5:17 PM Author: Cowardly Affirmative Action
Rome itself was not shitty and poor. The colonies in Western Europe were not technologically or agriculturally advanced prior to being colonized, so they were less valuable, but it's not Rome's fault they were backward. If anything their crime was taking too many colonies in the West that weren't really worth it to them in terms of what they could produce.
only to completely debase their currency to prop up their MI complex, gradually replace native romans with barbarians, and annihilate their middle class in favor of Feudalism?
certainly nothing like what happened in america, that's for sure
Date: May 4th, 2012 4:59 PM Author: Cowardly Affirmative Action
They made all the buildings and roads and aquaducts and stuff. Their colonies probably produced more food or whatever, but the Romans were responsible for the technological advances of the day. Also, there were emperors like Tiberius who brought in socialistic reforms favoring the poor, even circumventing the senate to do so.
Date: May 4th, 2012 5:08 PM Author: lurid anal narrative (The Master)
they had baths in every two-bit town and garrison. which were extinguished upon rome's fall and still haven't been fully reintroduced to europeans today
Date: May 4th, 2012 5:15 PM Author: Yellow Dragon Locale
i always picture roman citizens in togas drinking wine and eating grapes on a pleasant day while the germanic barbarians were wearing bear skins and living in the woods at dusk by a campfire, but i have no idea if this is accurate.
Date: July 20th, 2026 9:20 PM Author: Vermilion heady box office sex offender
they made their bones of of initially being way more productive, Romans could field an army of 50k, lose the entire thing, then rinse and repeat but the med advantage in grain production went down over time and they got lazy
Date: August 11th, 2026 8:37 PM Author: Nudist Idea He Suggested
The actual city of Rome seems like it must’ve been like having 1 million mouths to feed. Maybe they had a complex Service Economy and they had people in Offices processing health insurance.