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Explanation: In the Late Roman Empire, various Germanic tribes (including the Goths and Vandals) overran the Western Empire entirely, and established themselves as long-term residents of the areas they conquered - most relevant to the meme, Spain/Portugal and North Africa. Rather than reveling in the destruction of civilization, these Germanic tribes were largely looking to settle on land that they wouldn’t freeze to death and die horribly in, trampled by other, Central Asian migrating barbarian tribes. Thus, a large part of the appeal of Roman lands was that it was already ‘mapped out’, so to speak - not vast, unknown forests separated by hostile tribes, but mostly cohesive lands where everyone already knew where the good farmland was and all that was needed was a little ‘transfer’ of ownership!
For that reason, and the prestige/well-established culture of Rome, many of these Germanic tribes went through great pains to present themselves as Roman to the new lands they ruled over, even adopting large parts of (Late) Roman law in the process. They would be the best damn Romans they could be!
… but a few short centuries later, the Arab-dominated Umayyad Caliphate (the cultural Arab chauvinism would actually lead to its eventual downfall and replacement with the Abbasid Caliphate), championing the then-new faith of Islam, would overrun North Africa and most of Spain in turn. The response of the Germanic ruling class of North Africa and Spain?
… be the best damn Arab Muslims they could be!
I sometimes think my Germanic arse is on the very starting point of a similar process - hiding in the Lusitanian hills from a crumbling empire and honing my food growing skills. When shit hits the fan my family can join me and once again, we’ll blend into the local population and copy whatever is the current public vibe as well as we can. This country is where you end up when you have crossed all Europe running away from something, and then you hit the Atlantic coast and have nowhere else to go …
Alot of those tribes just straight up joined, yes. Often through democratic processes because there were many benefits.
The meme makes it look like they cosplayed as Romans drinking wine and eating wineleaves xd.
Most important was the taxes to Rome and access through roads. There was even freedom of religion. A very sucessful system with a strong center that could hold cohesion inside its borders.
I did not read much about the Muslims tho.
Alot of those tribes just straight up joined, yes. Often through democratic processes because there were many benefits.
Most of the (largely local) democratic processes of the Roman Empire were long-dead by the 5th century AD.
Most important was the taxes to Rome and access through roads. There was even freedom of religion. A very sucessful system with a strong center that could hold cohesion inside its borders.
Freedom of religion? In the Late Empire?
Okay the freedom of religion was abandoned later.
The democratic processes did not die completely. Apparently only the nobles and the representatives could vote.
My point is that the meme is very exaggerated.
The democratic processes did not die completely. Apparently only the nobles and the representatives could vote.
In the Late Empire? Not in any meaningful sense. Even the Senate was castrated at that point.
My point is that the meme is very exaggerated.
Sure, but nearly all humor is to some degree.
Still the democratic structures were in place.
Okay i didn’t know its humour ;)
