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Dec 17, 2024 14 tweets 5 min read Read on X
The fall of Rome is widely misunderstood.

It wasn't invasion, disease or famine that truly brought it to its knees.

Rome collapsed because the birth rate did… (thread) 🧵 Image
As with many nations today, Rome had a long period of prosperity followed by a decline in birth rates.

The same is true of urban populations throughout history... Image
Rome's fertility problem was identified as early as 49 BC by Caesar, and Augustus later tried to encourage childbearing.

Childlessness was especially common among the upper classes — why? Image
They had become more concerned with status than family. No children to inherit your wealth meant you could use it instead to acquire status and influence.

"Children were now luxuries which only the poor could afford." Image
Wealthy women were having <2 children on average (as analysis of skeletons in Herculaneum has shown).

That's a huge problem when the replacement rate is 6+ due to infant mortality... Image
Abortions and infanticide were also rampant in the culture.

Early Christianity pushed back by championing a pro-natal culture, though it remained a relatively small movement until the 4th century. Image
Augustus tried to fix things: the jus trium liberorum ("right of three children") awarded privileges to citizens with 3 or more children.

There were also tax penalties for the unmarried and childless — for men over 25 and women over 20. Image
When the birth rate problem had spread to the agricultural classes by 100 AD, Trajan's welfare program tried to stimulate the birth of freeborn men.

But all such policies failed, as Tacitus later said, "so powerful were the attractions of a childless state..." Image
So, Rome stopped producing Romans.

Low fertility combined with war and plagues meant so many farms in Italy were abandoned by 193 AD that Pertinax offered the land for free to anyone who would cultivate it. Image
Population decline was then exacerbated by the wars and plagues of the 3rd century crisis.

As the Empire's outward expansion ceased and its free population dwindled, emperors were forced to import more and more barbarians to sustain their armies. Image
When Romulus Augustulus was eventually deposed in 476 AD to mark the end of the Empire, it was by barbarians in his own ranks.

Barbarian mercenaries by this point dominated the Roman army, and chose for themselves a new leader. Image
War and pestilence had much to do with the collapse, but Romans had outlived those horrors many times before. This time, Rome had eaten itself from within first.

"No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself." Image
Rome was the first city to reach 1 million people — a feat not achieved again until 19th century London.

Yet by 600 AD, fewer than 30,000 people were living in what was left of it... Image
Image
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More from @Culture_Crit

Mar 14
America built the greatest train stations ever seen — and then demolished them.

Here's what the American railway was like at its peak.

And what destroying it says about us… (thread) 🧵 Image
Right now, the US has more railway tracks than any other country (155,000+ miles).

Most of this, of course, is freight... Image
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Mar 7
Lent marks Christ's 40 days in the Judaean Desert, where he's confronted by Satan.

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Christ's battle with temptation isn't only that — it's a battle for the soul of all humanity.

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Feb 27
You've seen this series of paintings before, but look closer.

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Hint: it isn't external forces — cultures erode from within… (thread) 🧵 Image
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Painting in 1836, Cole was warning the nascent United States of the dangers awaiting it… Image
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Feb 24
The Lord of the Rings does not take place on an imaginary planet — it's Earth.

Middle-earth is our forgotten past, before recorded history, when Eden (Valinor) was a real place.

The truth of Tolkien's world will blow your mind... 🧵 Image
Middle-earth is our Earth long ago, as Tolkien said:

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Feb 19
Every aspect of life is being stripped of color.

Many have noticed this trend — but why exactly is it happening?

Something deeper is going on… (thread) 🧵 Image
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Muted color grades (that blue/gray wash over everything) are the new normal in cinema. Image
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Feb 15
Today in 399 BC, Socrates was sentenced to death for "corrupting the youth" of Athens.

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These were the charges against him:

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Why, exactly? Let's focus on the second... Image
Socrates, age 70 at trial, was known for pushing the people of Athens to question their beliefs through dialogue.

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Read 18 tweets

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