Why did the Roman Empire decline? Was it due to barbarian encroachment, internal political rot and corruption, or even lead poisoning? Several decades ago, a historian decided to compile the numerous reasons that other historians have stated as Rome declined. And 210 reasons were found.
A brief selection from the list:
Now, clearly not all of them can be correct, as there are many contradictory causes in the list. For example: asceticism (11) and hedonism (90); lack of religiousness (118), Christianity (32), and polytheism (157); militarism (135) and loss of army discipline (125). I recommend playing along at home and trying to find more contradictions.
In terms of larger conclusions, however, I am at a loss aside from a simple one: there are lots of people who have no idea what happened to the Roman Empire.
Credit goes to David Brin's Existence, which introduced me to this list and its contradictions
Top image:Patrick Wheeler/Flickr/CC
