The Mediterranean World After the Fall of Rome

During the era of the Roman Empire, when peace and order prevailed, the Mediterranean was a sea of prosperity. But once the empire fell, the Mediterranean swarmed with pirates. It was only 1,300 years later, with the arrival of the age of imperialism, that the pirates of the Mediterranean were stamped out. Over that span, some 5 million people in southern Europe are said to have been abducted. Of course, no one knows the exact number. Saracen towers were erected all along the ravaged coastlines, and cities were turned into fortresses.

This sorrowful history inevitably leads us to reflect on the present. A sea ruled by a single superpower, the United States: without American military might, can humanity’s prosperity continue? Emperor Augustus, who once ended the Roman civil wars and ushered in the imperial era, is said to have received praise like this from those aboard ships passing through the harbors: “All our prosperity is thanks to Your Majesty, who put an end to war.” Of course, the emperor did not become emperor for the sake of the citizens’ prosperity. He merely turned the whole world into slaves serving a single man, the emperor. Such is the paradox of history.

The Mediterranean World After the Fall of Rome (Vol. 1)(Vol. 2)

by Shiono Nanami, translated by Kim Seok-hee

Hangilsa

July 7, 2009

Original title: ロ-マ亡き後の地中海世界

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