Near the end of a massive star’s lifespan, it will have fused into heavier and heavier elements until its core turns to iron. At this point, without the outward pressure of the fusion to act against gravity, the core will collapse, releasing a titanic shockwave in a radiant explosion across space. All that remains after this violent passing of a star is clouds of cosmic dust and the diminutive neutron star with barely visible light.
The collapse of an empire can be thought of very similarly. After decades or centuries of expansion and conquest comes a golden age of knowledge, wealth and power, but a decadent ruling class, in a vain attempt to uphold their bloat and in tandem with rampant corruption, leaves a supermassive hollow shell ready to collapse in on itself. And when that collapse comes, it is usually a spectacle that indicates eminently changing times.
That being said, not every empire is created equal, and granted, as will be discussed, some get off easier than others. In this regard, the saying the higher they rise, the harder they fall rings true.
As a personal aside, I find it poignant to show the reality of how fragile political systems can become. For us living in the modern West, the state’s power is unquestionable, as is its ability to maintain order and uphold government functions.
Where else could such a list start, but with the fall of the Western Roman Empire?
Since Diocletian split the greater empire, the West was essentially doomed to collapse first. The West was beyond cooked, with few naturally defensible barriers, a weak economy, a defunct military and no succession system for the emperor. Even as the Goths under Odoacer were marching on Rome itself, the nobility was still killing each other to put someone or another on the Imperial throne, as if it would matter who the emperor was when there was no empire.
The military tradition had been lost since the empire began, relying on barbarian soldiers who held more loyalty to their tribe than to the empire. As such, each province suffered its fall to either the Visigoths, Vandal, Alamani or Franks. However, the drama of the West’s fall had already passed, as Odoacer’s conquest wasn’t particularly violent. That had come to pass when, 60 years earlier, Alaric sacked the city.
Next up is the fall of the Aztec Empire. When it comes to drama, nothing compares to the intrigue, deception and brutality of the fall of the Aztec Empire. In reality, the Aztec Empire was at the height of its size, power and wealth at the time of the Spanish’s arrival. They almost certainly had a couple of good centuries there before nature took its course.
Emperor Montezuma initially received Hernan Cortez diplomatically, but the Spanish motives quickly became apparent: their want for gold. In a “preemptive” strike, Cortes took the Emperor hostage in an attempt to rule the Aztecs through him. Then, during a festival, his lieutenant massacred the Aztec nobility.
With such a show of force, the city of Tenochtitlan finally conceded to Spanish rule. Except they didn’t, and a full-scale rebellion took place. The puppet emperor was killed, and the Spanish were on the run out of the city. The Spanish didn’t hope to defeat the Aztecs on their own, but they (the Aztecs) had so many enemies because oppressing and sacrificing people in neighboring cities does not make you many friends. With their native allies, Tenochtitlan was besieged. Beset on all sides and affected by disease and starvation, the city fell, marking the Aztec Empire’s end.
Last up is the fall of the Ottoman Empire. In its heyday, the Ottoman Empire posed an existential crisis for the rest of Europe. It had conquered the most central portions of the Muslim world and seemed poised to direct its conquests into Europe.
However, with its defeat at Vienna and the strengthening of Europe through its colonies in the New World, as well as technological innovation, the primacy of the Ottoman Empire was in rapid decline. Like Poland-Lithuania, its lands would be partitioned between the European powers until, by the onset of WWI, all that remained was its core territories.
I will hand it to the Ottoman Empire; throwing in with Germany during WWI was a solid gambit. While it was in no position to expand, with a German victory, it could, at the very least, prevent its further partition. Wah wah wah, Germany lost, and the Ottomans will be further partitioned.
Although, here, I want to end on a high note. Though the Entente planned to completely carve up the Ottomans, even occupying the Imperial core of Anatolia, the Attaturk, in a stunning military campaign, prevented the total occupation of modern Turkey and won a comparatively fair treaty.