Gregory Aldrete

As people like to say, when did the Roman Empire fall? The other big question is why? Why did the Roman Empire fall? If you define it as falling. And I mean barbarian invasions was the traditional answer. So there's a French historian who famously said the Roman Empire didn't fall. It was murdered. It was killed by barbarians. But I mean there's other explanations.

As people like to say, when did the Roman Empire fall? The other big question is why? Why did the Roman Empire fall? If you define it as falling. And I mean barbarian invasions was the traditional answer. So there's a French historian who famously said the Roman Empire didn't fall. It was murdered. It was killed by barbarians. But I mean there's other explanations.

As people like to say, when did the Roman Empire fall? The other big question is why? Why did the Roman Empire fall? If you define it as falling. And I mean barbarian invasions was the traditional answer. So there's a French historian who famously said the Roman Empire didn't fall. It was murdered. It was killed by barbarians. But I mean there's other explanations.

I mean some people say it was Christianity. Some say it was – climate that the Roman Empire flourished during this moment of luck when just the climate was good, and then you get this sort of late Roman little ice age, and everything goes downhill, and that's what caused it. There's some that say things like disease.

I mean some people say it was Christianity. Some say it was – climate that the Roman Empire flourished during this moment of luck when just the climate was good, and then you get this sort of late Roman little ice age, and everything goes downhill, and that's what caused it. There's some that say things like disease.

I mean some people say it was Christianity. Some say it was – climate that the Roman Empire flourished during this moment of luck when just the climate was good, and then you get this sort of late Roman little ice age, and everything goes downhill, and that's what caused it. There's some that say things like disease.

There were a whole series of waves of plague that started to hit under Marcus Aurelius and continued after him, which seemed to have caused real serious death and economic disruption. I mean, that's a decent explanation. Another popular one is moral decline, which I don't think really works well.

There were a whole series of waves of plague that started to hit under Marcus Aurelius and continued after him, which seemed to have caused real serious death and economic disruption. I mean, that's a decent explanation. Another popular one is moral decline, which I don't think really works well.

There were a whole series of waves of plague that started to hit under Marcus Aurelius and continued after him, which seemed to have caused real serious death and economic disruption. I mean, that's a decent explanation. Another popular one is moral decline, which I don't think really works well.

You even get the people saying, you know, lead poisoning, but that's not true because they were drinking out of the same pipes when the empire was expanding, right? Yeah, that's fascinating. That's fascinating.

You even get the people saying, you know, lead poisoning, but that's not true because they were drinking out of the same pipes when the empire was expanding, right? Yeah, that's fascinating. That's fascinating.

You even get the people saying, you know, lead poisoning, but that's not true because they were drinking out of the same pipes when the empire was expanding, right? Yeah, that's fascinating. That's fascinating.

What makes a battle decisive? The easiest definition is it causes an immediate change in political structures, who's in charge. So the classic decisive political battle is Alexander beats King Darius III at the Battle of Gagamela. And in that moment, we switch from –

What makes a battle decisive? The easiest definition is it causes an immediate change in political structures, who's in charge. So the classic decisive political battle is Alexander beats King Darius III at the Battle of Gagamela. And in that moment, we switch from –

What makes a battle decisive? The easiest definition is it causes an immediate change in political structures, who's in charge. So the classic decisive political battle is Alexander beats King Darius III at the Battle of Gagamela. And in that moment, we switch from –

The ruler of the entire huge Persian empire being Darius to now being Alexander, from it being Persian to being controlled by the Macedonians. So there is a one afternoon has this dramatic switch over an enormous geographic area, right? So that's a decisive battle and that you see that immediate change. Other types of decisive battles are ones that might have more unforeseen long-term effects.

The ruler of the entire huge Persian empire being Darius to now being Alexander, from it being Persian to being controlled by the Macedonians. So there is a one afternoon has this dramatic switch over an enormous geographic area, right? So that's a decisive battle and that you see that immediate change. Other types of decisive battles are ones that might have more unforeseen long-term effects.

The ruler of the entire huge Persian empire being Darius to now being Alexander, from it being Persian to being controlled by the Macedonians. So there is a one afternoon has this dramatic switch over an enormous geographic area, right? So that's a decisive battle and that you see that immediate change. Other types of decisive battles are ones that might have more unforeseen long-term effects.

You know, you may not realize this is decisive at the time, but from a longer perspective, it is. And often those are ones that either allow some new people or idea or institution to either grow or have its growth curbed. Mm-hmm. So at various points, we have empires that were expanding and basically were stopped at some battle.

You know, you may not realize this is decisive at the time, but from a longer perspective, it is. And often those are ones that either allow some new people or idea or institution to either grow or have its growth curbed. Mm-hmm. So at various points, we have empires that were expanding and basically were stopped at some battle.