History lover

Oh, The Possibilities

I studied Ancient History for three years at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne and if there was one thing I learned about, and realised, over and over again, it was how ingenious the Romans were. Their entire civilization was based on intelligent thought and technological advancement. From the armour their legionnaires wore (after the reformation of Marius) to their siege weapons and their recipe for cement (which is believed to be more advanced than even ours today), it is clear that the Romans were an advanced civilization of their time.

When the empire was eventually overthrown in 476AD (at least in the West) we hit a period known in history called the ’Dark Ages’. The reason for it being called this is because with the destruction of the Roman Empire came a period of economic and cultural decline. Basically, we sent advancements in technology and economics back many, many years. This period lasted from the downfall of the Roman Empire to the renaissance in the 14th Century.

Whilst no-one wants their country to be taken over by hostiles or foreigners, when the Romans conquered somewhere, it prospered and arguably, the quality of life improved. Perhaps it was a bad thing that the Roman civilization was overthrown. There are plenty of bad things that came with the Romans, they were a bloodthirsty lot, intent on expanding their Empire and were always at war. However, for those that joined them willingly, I can imagine the benefits outweighed the cons.

It is interesting to wonder just how much more advanced we would be today if the world had not suffered the set back we did when the Roman light was extinguished. Perhaps we would have flying cars or be living on the moon. It is a shame we will never know, but I suppose we are back on track now. Speaking of which, some exhilarating news before I go, I was chatting to my mate the other week and he has just got a amazing new gig at an hr software company. Well done David! Looks like graduation treated you well…