Various Empires followed the path from formation to the decline in different historical periods, providing significant knowledge about civilization’s development. The leaders’ personalities and activities, wars, inventions, social and political structures, cultural and religious beliefs – all impacted the modern world and humanity’s values. The Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Spanish Empires existed in different times and were selected to analyze the similarities, differences, and experiences to explore how the influence developed. The examples of the European ancestors are crucial to consider in identifying if the modern globalized civilization faces similar economic, political, or environmental problems necessary to be solved (Kemp, 2019). This paper aims to compare and contrast the development and fall of the Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Spanish Empires and discuss their influence on today’s society.
The three Empires were created and thrived to decline in the European lands in different historical periods. The Roman Empire had reached unconditional success in civil rights, economy, politics, and military during the millennium of its existence. The civilization declined within the loss of control among the governors and failure to protect the nation from external threats (Scheidel, 2019). Another example, the Anglo-Saxon Empire, occurred due to the unity of small countries in the British Islands’ part of Europe in the sixth century. The tribes needed to increase their military and economic powers to survive, and the kingdoms existed in coalition for 600 years until the decline (Rippon, 2018). The third example, the Spanish Empire, emerged and spread outside the European continent in the sixteenth century when Portugal and Spain applied their colonizing powers (Campoy-Cubillo, 2017). Nevertheless, being stretched in the distant territories, lacking government centralization, and failing to maintain authority in Europe quickly led Spain to decline. Consequently, the examples of the three Empires reflect the tendencies in social values, politics, and economy that are applicable in the modern world.
The reasons for the Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Spanish Empires’ creation are various: economic improvement, the need for building society, and addressing the external threats. Indeed, the Roman Empire started as an Italian republic of multiple villages because unity and centralized governance helped citizens live in safer conditions (Gibbon, 2017). Similarly, Germanic tribes that escaped to the British Islands from Roman rule in the fifth century grouped into kingdoms (Rippon, 2018). Establishing a country or Empire was the suitable approach for decreasing internal conflicts, reaching stability, and throwing more forces into protecting the new walls and borders. Besides, the economy could be built, forecasted, and managed for the citizens to live in prosperity and develop different social institutions.
In contrast to the Roman and Anglo-Saxon Empires, the Spanish formed due to the demand for controlling the expanding lands while conquering the American lands in the era of discoveries. Spain and Portugal increased their influence in Europe by economic enforcement that became possible with colonization (Campoy-Cubillo, 2017). The events that led to the creation of the Empires reveal that people strived to be united for addressing their basic needs in being fed and safe. After the crucial demand for survival has been considered, the groups began developing societies. Thus, the new moralities and laws occurred, and some of them are still applicable for people to live and thrive together.
Consequently, another crucial factor in analyzing and comparing the groups and nations’ need for unity is the cultural background. Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Spanish Empires were created by societies with similar values, traditions, and religions, while their rivals had different beliefs (Kemp, 2019). Romans and Anglo-Saxon Empires’ establishment occurred among Greek colonies’ inhabitants and the Germanic tribes, respectively, and Spain sent thousands of citizens to the newly discovered lands where they spread European culture. Such a similarity in the reasons to establish Empires reveals that people tend to unite based on the same traditional and cultural aspects expressed through language, religion, and morals.
The Roman Empire remains the example of the bright rise and dramatic decline, thus comparing the others’ collapse to it is suitable. The most compelling reasons for the fall of Rome were the leaders who could not keep the country united and drowned in bureaucracy, the economic crisis, and the external threat from the Barbarian tribes (Gibbon, 2017). The democracy that thrived in the Empire turned into corruption, and the lands’ expansion made it difficult to rule and address the region’s economic needs. Likewise, the Spanish Empire experienced problems governing lands far from the capital and eventually lost its power on the American continent (Campoy-Cubillo, 2017). Moreover, Spanish leaders’ dedication to growing the economy in the faraway lands led to the Empire’s weakening, similarly to the fact that Rome over-invested in the military that caused inflation and the citizens’ poverty.
The analogy between the Roman and Anglo-Saxon Empires’ decline is that the leaders’ power and authority decreased, leading the nation to internal conflicts. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms’ collapse occurred due to the absence of royal heirs and the Conquest of 1066, which forced the nation to conquer the Normans (Rippon, 2018). The conflicts among the leaders singled their rivals that the union is weakening, thus the chance to acquiring by the closest countries occurred. Although there was no monarchial governance in Rome during its decline period and the leaders were elected, the ancient Empire faced lacking the adequate Emperor.
The similarity for the three Empires’ fall is that it was initiated by the internal issues in the economy, politics, and society when the emerging problems inside were not addressed on time. Indeed, the Roman Empire’s politics who praised democracy drowned in corruption and severely influenced all other institutions (Gibbon, 2017). Anglo-Saxons weakened their power while trying to choose the throne successor, leading to the increased threat from the Vikings and further defeat to the Normans (Rippon, 2018). The Spanish Empire eventually lost its power over colonies when the inadequate forces’ separation caused economic problems in the capital lands while the American ones remained inefficient (Campoy-Cubillo, 2017). Although the analyzed Empires existed in different times, the decline factors are relatively similar. They include the problems that the modern developed countries experience, such as corruption, governmental issues, and failure to address the economic needs adequately.
All the three empires’ influence can be noticed in modern history because the globalization trend spreads the European values worldwide. The formation of the Spanish Empire and the legacy of Anglo-Saxon culture impacted the development of the American continents, changing the economic and political landscape of the whole world. The Spanish colonization’s consequences are still visible in the affected countries with the problems such as racial disparities, political and economic instability (Campoy-Cubillo, 2017). However, modern societies are more capable of addressing these disturbing occasions due to the globalized culture and international peace-making campaigns.
Besides, a significant part of art, literature, and philosophy schools was born in ancient Greece and then developed in the settings of the analyzed Empires. The Roman Empire’s civilization is seen as the example of diversity and democracy in the modern history-based resources, therefore many societies still apply Rome’s moral, legislative, and political practices (Gibbon, 2017). The Anglo-Saxon Empire’s influence is significant because the English language and many Christian traditions thrived in its kingdoms (Rippon, 2018). Moreover, the country was the foundation of the powerful medieval British Empire which led Europe to cultural and economic development.
Based on comparing the selected Empires and their legacies, the Roman Empire has the most significant influence on today’s society. Firstly, it was the most ancient, therefore the Anglo-Saxon and the Spanish developed on their roots and used the government and military approaches created in Rome. Secondly, the Empire’s expanse among the European lands formed the countries’ boundaries and nations’ cultures that are still actual (Scheidel, 2019). Lastly, many modern societies are built according to democracy, diversity, and equality, which were primarily promoted in the ancient Roman Empire.
The civilizations went through rising and declining stages throughout the history of humanity. How modern society operates now, what people value, and how they are being governed were developed in the Empires that occurred to achieve stability and safety. Comparing and contrasting the development and fall of the Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Spanish Empires revealed that the factors influencing their well-being apply to modern countries. The ancestors’ experiences must be considered in today’s societies as learning the lessons and avoiding the fatal mistakes repetition are the fundamental purposes of history.
References
Campoy-Cubillo, A. (2017). Global Goods and the Spanish Empire, 1492–1824: Circulation, resistance and diversity. Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, 17(3), 315-317.
Gibbon, E. (2017). The decline and fall of the Roman Empire: Volume six. Sheba Blake Publishing.
Kemp, L. (2019). Are we on the road to civilization collapse?. BBC Future.
Rippon, S. (2018). Kingdom, civitas, and county: the evolution of territorial identity in the English landscape. Oxford University Press.
Scheidel, W. (2019). Escape from Rome: The failure of Empire and the road to prosperity (Vol. 94). Princeton University Press.