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The Roman Empire - how the hell did ITALIANS get to rule the World???

Aren't they the soft underbelly of Europe, first off the field of battle when the going gets tough?
... my only thought is that look who the opposition was - the Greeks, without Alexander.

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The flying spaghetti monster helped them. Evidence of what happens when you pray to the good lord.
Reply 2
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NJA
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Original post by Moonstruck16
The flying spaghetti monster helped them. Evidence of what happens when you pray to the good lord.

you
know
nothing
Original post by NJA
you
know
nothing


You're the one who asked the question :redface:
No Italians aren't soft they are less "culturally enriched" than Germany Sweden and France and have the highest average iq in Europe

The reason for the decline in Italian civilisation after the war 15th century is to do with divisions among city states and decline in trust in the papacy

But I'm no historian!
They certainly left their mark on history. Gave the English language 52% of its words. Inspired modern roads. Made Christianity the top religion of the world after initially being against it for many years.
Sadly there were no big scientific breakthroughs from the Roman era but they couldn't care less eh?
Now let's see the EU empire last 500 years like they did :colone:
Reply 6
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spidle
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They didn't view themselves as Italian anyway, they were Romans. The Italian peninsula was populated by many different tribes and peoples at that time.
We could ask the same question of just about every other dominant force, how did Britain manage to assemble the Empire? Racial superiority, was it?

Lots of things go into it, organizational skills, economic factors, geographical factors, demographics, the lot. The organization of the Roman army certainly played a big role in overpowering everyone apart from the Germanic tribes, the political and economic structure and stability behind it made it possible to be more organized than anybody else.
(edited 6 years ago)
What did the Romans ever do for us?

[video="youtube;Y7tvauOJMHo"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7tvauOJMHo[/video]
Reply 9
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The RAR
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Firstly they aren't Italians they are ROMANS meaning they are the people of Rome, they came to rule the world because the Romans were very clever and they were much more advanced than other people at their time, their military tactics were the best and its soldiers known as Legionnaires were highly trained and you had to be a tall and tough guy in order to become one, it's mainly thanks to it finest army that the Romans managed to rule the world but sadly it didn't last that long.
The Romans were just a bunch of Greeks who moved and kicked out the incumbent people - the Etruscans or whatever.

The current Italians (and Greeks) have almost nothing in common with their ancestors or antiquity, but just cling on to the trappings of greatness. Today's Greeks have nothing to do with Alexander or Sophocles, any more than Alexander was related to Achilles. The fall of the Empire was because Romans turned decadant and soft, and what you have now are probably the world's most overrated people / country.
Original post by NJA
Aren't they the soft underbelly of Europe, first off the field of battle when the going gets tough?
... my only thought is that look who the opposition was - the Greeks, without Alexander.


You need to read more books.
Reply 12
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NJA
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Original post by Trinculo
....The fall of the Empire was because Romans turned decadant and soft, and what you have now are probably the world's most overrated people / country.

They can dress well and play entertaining football though, you have to give them that.
Why have Germany been allowed to become the most powerful country in Europe once again?
Original post by YaliaV
Why have Germany been allowed to become the most powerful country in Europe once again?


Why not? The current Germans didn't vote for Hitler, did they?
>Italians
The Romans most likely looked nothing like modern day Italians.
The Romans obliterated every culture they conquered and other ethnic groups assimilated into their own. They were arguably the most technologically advanced nation on Earth. After the Marian reforms their army modernised and they could defeat other armies with ease with superior tactics and equipment.
Original post by YaliaV
Why have Germany been allowed to become the most powerful country in Europe once again?


It's an embarrassment. We gave our whole Empire so Germany couldn't get their Prussian land back. The way in which we are declining economically and militarily is an international embarrassment.

(edited 6 years ago)
This channel explains it well

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCv_vLHiWVBh_FR9vbeuiY-A
Brief reasons for the success of the Roman Empire:

- Highly-skilled, expertly-trained legions which were in turn lead by some of the most gifted commanders in the Ancient World.

- Assimilation and acceptance of other cultures and people into their fold, thereby preventing dissent and allowing for more steady expansion.

- Superb administrative and bureaucratic systems which resulted in great organizational efficiency.

- Constant self-improvement and utilization of superior methods, regardless of their origin.

- Absolute and utter ruthlessness and cruelty along with willingness to use any means to achieve their ends.
Reply 19
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NJA
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Original post by YaliaV
Why have Germany been allowed to become the most powerful country in Europe once again?


Because they have no aggressive military intention.
They are an industrious people, they make good cars.

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