Have you ever sat in history class wondering why all the societies you are learning about are failing? Maybe you learned about Ancient Greece, or Ancient Rome, or even Ancient India. All these places did not succeed because of three main reasons. One reason is because powerful leaders die. Many things can go wrong after the death of a leader, for example, the army failing or the empire being invaded. Another reason is natural disasters happen. Disease is a big natural disaster that has been a factor in societies perishing. The last main reason that societies fail is because they expand too fast. Significant societies have perished because of the deceasing of powerful leaders, natural disasters, and rapid expansion.
One of the main causes for a society to fail is a powerful leader dying. In Ancient Greece, when Alexander the great died, people fought over the land he owned and conquered the empire. This was then split into three kingdoms, “His generals fought to control the empire.” ( Alexander's empire crumbles 8 ). Also, in Egypt when Ramses the second died the people didn’t know how to run the empire. The society failed because they didn’t have a leader to tell them what to do. “Nearly all of his subjects had been born in his reign and thought the world would end without him.” ( Ramesses the second 1). Another place that failed because a leader died was in Rome. After a leader died the government in Rome changed to a monarchy. The slaves disliked this new government and had a rebellion. A slave named Spartacus led the rebellion, which led to the murder of many slaves. Slaves were essential to the rich Romans because they did all the work for them. The lack of slave labor led to the fall of Rome. “The Roman way of li...
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...then they will fail just as ancient civilizations did.
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Civilizations can either choose to fail or succeed. This crucial verdict is upon the civilization itself. Jared Diamond, author of Collapse: How Society Chooses to Fail or Succeed, believes that a civilization's demise is in light of the fact that the society in any civilization decisions on how to lead it can destroy it. Diamond writes his own definition of collapse as, “a drastic decrease in human population size and/or political/ social complexity, over a considerable area, for an extended time.” (Diamond 3) The author maintains a stand on the idea that certain attributes lead to the end of a society. Each society has different attributes that can drive a development into its decline. For instance, severe poverty,
Every empire, dynasty, government, regime etc. has consisted of both good and bad leadership. This directly affects the society in which they oversee and/or control. The infamous Roman Empire experienced its share of triumphs and depression through its leader’s actions. Run as a monarchy, the kings of Rome had various ways of implementing their authority. Many of them chose to rule based on their interests and desires while others catered to the welfare of Rome’s booming population. Depending on the leader some received accolades and others faced a tragic ending due to their ignorance. Prior to the formation of the republic Rome the people endured both the spoils and hardships of war. The actions and/or qualities of the good and bad leaders of Rome had a direct correlation with its well being. Opinions vary but there were definitely standouts on both ends of the spectrum.
Societies fall because of corrupt and bad leaders. The leader of Nazi Germany between about 1930-1945 was a very corrupt and evil leader. Although he made the society to be prosperous, he discriminated against his people. “As tyranny spread across the society, the leaders and their collaborators persecuted and murdered millions of other people” (Society one reading, final paragraph). This quote tells about the tyranny and the corrupt leader that was at the helm of Germany. The leader eventually lead the society back into it’s hard times when he started war between countries all over the globe. Corrupt leaders also use their power for evil. In Greece, leaders often passed laws that helped the rich and hurt the poor. “By passing laws that favored the rich, the oligarchs protected and increased their own wealth” (TCI, lesson 2, section 3). Discriminating against the poor and favoring the rich with laws causes uprisings. People being fed up with it and fighting back. No matter the outcome of the conflict, the society is weakened dearly. Another example comes from Syria. In Syria, the leader is very corrupt and is a bad leader. He lead the country into economic despair. When things got tough he resigned and left the country. He didn’t try to take care of the problem himself. “..after President Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital....
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The term malaria is derived from Medieval Italian, meaning bad air, where the disease was originally called marsh fever because of its rise from the swamps (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2). One of the many theories of where these parasites originated include the idea that Plasmodium falciparum originated in gorillas; however, recorded history of the infection dates back to China in 2700 BC. As it spread, Malaria became the leading health issue for U.S. troops stationed in the South Pacific throughout World War II. Malaria, in the most severe cases, is a result of Plasmodium falciparum, which is a parasite that kills more humans than any other parasite. Although the parasite involved with Plasmodium falciparum has been surviving for nearly 100,000 years, it was not until 10,000 years ago the population of the parasite grew due to improvements in agriculture and developing human settlements (“Malaria,” Wikipedia). Malaria is also caused by four other species of Plasmodium, which, although not fatal, include Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium knowlesi. The largest amount of malaria infections are a result of Plasmodium vivax; howev...
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Malaria is known to be among one of the very old diseases among humans. Malaria or a disease resembling malaria has been noted for more than 4,000 years (CDC, 2014). A brief glance into history provided by CDC (2014) tells that the symptoms of malaria were described in ancient Chinese medical writings. “In 2700 BC, several characteristic symptoms of what would later be named malaria were described in the Nei Ching, The Canon of Medicine” ( CDC, 2014).
The factors that lead to the “collapse” of civilizations are almost directly related to those that created it. Archaeologists characterize collapse by a number of elements, some of which we have evidence for, others we do not. Most archaeologists are unsure of exactly what caused the decline of most civilizations in the ancient world, yet there are many clues to some of the events that could have contributed. The collapse of the ancient Roman Empire, the Mesoamerican Mayan, and the Egyptian cultures will be discussed in the following paragraphs, with a focus on the uniqueness of each.
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