The fall of the Roman Empire.. again

The year 2012 has turned out to be quite eventful for anyone studying history of the Roman Empire. Its major provinces are in serious trouble. Especially Egypt and Syria, the most important and prosperous provinces are in turmoil. What is so striking is that they were in the same sort of turmoil in the late antique and byzantine periods of the Roman Empire.

Egypt was renowned for its violent politics. The city of Alexandria was a scene of violent confrontations between various social, ethnic and religious groupings, in search of ultimate power and control. The native Egyptians, who were often recognised as heretic Christians (and they would become Coptic Christians) against the 'pagans', i.e., Greco-Macedon ruling elite. And Romano-Byzantine state church, or, orthodoxy trying to suppress heretic Christians, including these Egyptian churches, who saw Jesus simply as God. Plus the Jews and other minorities were hardly silent witnesses to these volatile scenes, participating in violent attacks on rival groups with zest.

[Tahir Square]

Now, Egypt is again divided between various sections and they found religious expressions. Moderate Muslims; Fundamentalist Muslims; Coptic minorities, etc. Like the Romano-Byzantine rulers, the military somehow keeps tabs on these elements, but not always.

[A street clash in Cairo ... But this could easily be a street fight in Alexandria in Byzantine times!]

In any case, both in ancient and modern times, Egypt's geographical position has something to do with it. In the context of the Roman world, Egypt was a hub of trade connecting Africa and Asia; also maritime trade routes of the Indian Ocean (via the Red Sea) and the Mediterranean. As such, Greeks and Jews were always keen on making Egypt their bases of operation. For the Romans, too, Egypt was a source of grain and money, as it were. The ruling elite represented the more international and commercial elements in the ancient world; whilst in the countryside, the descendants of those who had built the pyramids were seething with resentment to those 'upstarts'. Consequently, though they accepted Christianity, they developed their own ideas of Jesus' divinity, giving birth to their own version of the religion. This caused so much trouble. 

Today, too, the modern nation-state of Egypt has been shaped by European colonial empires, especially Britain and France, who were eager to take over the Indian Ocean-Mediterranean trade routes. Though their influence waned by the disaster of the Suez Crisis in 1956, just by looking at the uniform of the Egyptian military, you can tell how Britain, for example, influenced how the state of Egypt was built.

Now Syria. Syria was the point of contact with the rival Persian Empire, which encompassed Irak and Iran. As such, it was not only a frontline province in wartime but also a great emporium for the ancient world economy. Cities like Antioch was a major trading centre and counted as one of the most populous cities of the ancient world. Naturally, inhabitants of Syria, especially those who lived much closer to the border regions, had conflicting loyalties for obvious reason of self-preservation. Simply because you've got either the Roman or Persian overlord now, that does not mean you will next year.

Amazingly, Syrian loyalties are as sharply divided as in Roman times even today. Unlike in Egypt, where the military acted opportunistically as the mood of the populace changed, Syrians were either clearly pro-Assad or anti.

Now Syria is officially in a civil war. Fourteen centuries after Egypt and Syria dropped out of Roman polity and became incorporated in the newly created Arab Caliphate, we are still seeing the same sort of political scenes there.

Names change, but geopolitics remains constant.