Why Do Ancient Societies Fall?

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” (Frederick Douglass) This quote explains that if there is any separation between people that makes them feel like they are a lower class or society then the others around them, then they will not be safe in their surroundings, and their community will not last. Ancient societies fell for multiple reasons, but some of them are more common amongst other greater societies than others. For example, in many, constant warfare is a huge issue. It creates sizeable problems with the militaries and the communities’
Another major part was leadership disagreements that usually lead to a separation in the empire. One example of this happening was in Greece. “In Greece, there was increasing tension and conflict between the ruling aristocracy and the poorer classes.” (Review: The Culture of Ancient Greece and Rome) Rising taxes to support this new style of warfare put increasing burdens on the farmer hoplites who started to decline economically, militarily, and politically. The leaders disagreed on how to spend their money and they ended up taking more from the people who needed it. In Rome this happened also. “In 330 C.E., Constantine split the empire into two parts: the western half centered in Rome and the eastern half centered in Constantinople, a city he named after himself.” (The Fall of the Roman Empire) In Rome, the political rot also extended to the Roman Senate, which failed to temper the excesses of the emperors due to its own widespread corruption and incompetence. They completely decided their empire into two separate sides and followed entirely different beliefs and morals. The Persian Empire had gone through the same sort of thing with their satraps. “The Persian Empire grew weaker as it constantly faced conspiracies, assassinations, and revolts by the people who were burdened with heavy taxes after Darius died.” (Reasons for its Decline and Fall- Ancient Persia Dreier Lyons) The provincial satraps also became more independent, ruling their satrapies more as kings than as the king's loyal subjects. They even carried on their own foreign policies and waged war on each other, which only added to Persia's problems. They became disloyal to their empire and started ruling it as if it was their own. Leadership became a society's soft spot for many reasons, from a strong leader dying to more than one person believing they know what should be happening.