History Summarized: Rome After Empire

Available now through the end of Cyber Monday. These extremely limited edition Gold Pins celebrate the 10th anniversary of OSP. We may not ever make these again, so if you want 'em, go get 'em.

"It's gonna take more than killing me to kill me" – Rome, constantly.
Rome "Fell" in 476... but we still have Rome. How'd that happen, and what does the Pope have to do with it?

SOURCES & Further Reading:
BOOKS: "Rome: a History in Seven Sackings" by Matthew Kneale, "Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants" by Garrett Ryan, "Ravenna" by Judith Herrin, National Geographic "Ultimate Visual History of the World" by Jean-Pierre Isbouts
UNIVERSITY: I have a bachelor's degree in Classical Studies

Extra special thanks to our Discord community members who looked over my initial draft and provided invaluable assistance & insights: Catia, Chehrazad, & Chrisps989. Any remaining errors are my B.

Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.

[Dyneamaeus]

"Tens of thousands living in a city built for millions"
No insult to the peoples of that era, but that sounds like a fantastic D&D setting.

[freyaaustin]

OSP has slowly been taking over my life and I’m not mad.

[gergenthequietmetalhead]

Idea for a movie: The Goths forcibly have Rome abandoned, but neglect to evict one person, a drunkard so inebriated he did not notice his neighbors leaving until one day he sobers up enough to notice he's all alone in the city that once controlled the Mediterranean. The entire movie is him remembering the stories of this place while trying to figure out what happened to make everyone leave. Working title: The Last Man in Rome

[TetsuShima]

There's an amazing comic about the Fall of the Western Empire called "Amiculus", in which the byzantines, after re-conquering Rome during the reign of Justinian, try to find out the fate of Romulus Augustulus while the last days of the boy as emperor are shown through flashbacks. Loved the way Orestes was portrayed here as a maniac obsessed with maintaining the Empire no matter what

[gormauslander]

4:54 this image is so... _evocative_ .

There's such a lonely, melancholy tranquility. Imagine living in a nature-claimed city, once the greatest in the world, a seat of untold power moments before. You tend your farm and look up at these random columns still standing that your great grandfather carved for a kingdom that...doesn't exist?

[spazzyshortgirl]

So Rome adopted my Grandpa (grew up in the depression on a farm). I always was bummed when I saw historical sites neglected. His perspective was always “very pretty, can’t use it for much tho.” (No object sentimentality for that man, only a no nonsense understanding of what is needed to live another day.” In many ways, he helped me understand that sometimes old things must die to allow the living to thrive…but other times, we work to preserve the beautiful.

[Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

I believe that Odoacer sacked Rome by throwing the Emperor down a shaft and watching him explode into a brilliant ball of blue energy. That's the only proper way to depose an Emperor and I'm quite certain I saw a fresco depicting this historical event.

Just kidding. Odoacer spared the Emperor because that is the true Jedi way. And it wasn't depicted in a fresco. It was depicted in a mosaic!

[merrittanimation]

The Byzantines, after the Gothic Wars: Okay so that war may have destroyed most of everything on the peninsula, but it's okay because the Goths are defeated and no one else is going to show up-
The Lombards: 'Sup.

[louisharkna]

If it makes you feel any better Blue, I'm sure when they melted bronze statues & broke apart marble statues that those in charge made sure to concentrate on the most damaged pieces, from previous sacking & lack of maintenance. Even the most practically minded fall to sentimentalism.

[pneumaticpterodactyl]

Realizing that all the fantasy stories about people living among the ruins of a once great ancient kingdom are actually kinda about the fall of rome

[theyneverdid]

It's so comforting to know that Rome never really died, only changed and grew into what was needed by its people throughout the century... :)

[Dark_Tale_]

Seeing people living in the ruins gave me some post apocalyptic vibes. Very much how I would imagine people living in some ruins of big places such as New York city after a major catastrophe happened and its has been a few decades so nature has reclaimed some of it.

[simeonwashington]

I always find this bit of history to be interesting. How Rome became the various countries we see today (like Italy). See all the Goths and Germanic tribes sweep through the west and seeing the rise of the Frankish people.

[abbysmommy]

Congrats on 10 years of educating us plebs

[ilfedarkfairy]

Although the Normans are so far removed from Gauls that calling them that makes close to no sense, the symetry is almost poetic.
So I can't be mad, very nice.

[Code_Lune]

“Rome, cannot die.”

I have never heard truer words.

[TetsuShima]

For those interested in the re-conquest of Rome by the byzantines, there's a 1968 german-italian film called "The Last Roman", in which Emperor Justinian is played by the legendary Orson Wells. It's pretty enjoyable, actually!

[toboterxp]

Honestly, I'd love to see a summary of the way ancient society became medieval society.

[Ara-mznt]

Kind of exciting that I’ve been following these guys since freshman year of high school. Now I’m a college sophomore and just declared last night as a history major. I blame OSP :)

[kylepeters]

The more I learn about Rome and it's empire, the more I respect and admire, while also desiring to laugh at it. Rome is the living version of that room on fire and saying it's fine meme, but for hundred of years. Rome is the kind of nation that hears it's dead, than asks why no one told it and goes to it's own funeral for giggles. How is there no SCP or eldritch god style thing related to Rome as a living being?