What brought the decline of the eastern Roman Empire – and what can we learn from it?

By Lev Cosijns, PhD Candidate in the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
Haggai Olshanetsky, Assistant Professor in the Department of History, University of Warsaw

Why empires fall is a question that fascinates many. But in the search for an answer, imagination can run wild. Suggestions have emerged in recent decades that attribute the rise and fall of ancient empires such as the Roman Empire to climate change and disease. This has prompted discussions over whether “536 was the worst year to be alive”.

That…

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