Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
Lets not forget that when Rome fell.....it was a completely different situation. "Barbarian" tribes that Rome had staved off for centuries finally bested Rome when it has reached a weak point, and poured into the city.
Nothing of that sort is going to happen here. There are no barbaric tribes at the gate. Sure there are some criminals and lawlessness, but our military and law enforcement infrastructure are fully intact and have the capability (not sure about the will?) to restore order within 30 seconds if they have to.
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Not to mention that Justinian's campaign against the Ostrogoths to retake Italy for the eastern empire left Rome besieged and sacked multiple times over the 19 year campaign. The war decimated the Italian peninsula and left it severely depopulated. The same applied to Rome itself.
This left the Eastern Romans / Byzantines ill prepared for the invasion of the Lombards 15 years later.
At least under the Ostrogothic Kingdom the Roman way of life stayed much the same in Italy and the Ostrogothic Kings still went on with the charade that they were ruling at the pleasure of the sole Roman Emperor in Constantinople. The constant wars in the 6th century changed that way of life though.