West European Studies

THESIS The history of the rise and fall of the Ancient Rome is like a fictitious story.

Many historians and scholars have written numerous books and journals in a bid to explain the flow of events in ancient Rome up to the 1600s, not all have given relevant information. However great historians like Marvin Perry, Margaret Jacob, Von Laue and Myrna Chase have done exemplary work and written educative and informative articles and books on the same.

In this paper, the main focus will be to explain the reflections on the flow of history from fall of ancient Rome to the 1600s. The paper will also explain the different stages that were involved and the impact it had on the modern era. Finally, a brief comparison of the events during these eras will also be given.

To be able to understand this, a brief insight and observation will be given on the following stages
Dark ages
Middle ages
Renaissance
Reformation

The rise of modern European states
It will be important also for us to compare and contrast some of these stages in order to fully comprehend the area of focus.

Flow of History from the fall of Ancient Rome to the 1600s
Observations and Insights

The fall of the Ancient Roman didnt happen at once but rather in stages. There were revolutions that resulted into the decline and fall of the empire.

The first revolution was witnessed in the Age of Trojan and the Antonines. This occurred after the empire had reached its peak and friction started between different factions in the kingdom. The revolution came to an end the beginning of the sixth century subjected the kingdom to the Gothic conqueror, (Milman and Gibson xxvi). The second phase of decline began during the reign of King Justinian, although it didnt last long.

The last phase that was the longest, it lasted for six and a half centuries. The revolution began during the revival of the western empire until the time when the Turks took over the Constantinople (Modern Istanbul) in AD 1453 (Milman and Gibson xxv  xxvii). Other reasons that led to the collapse of the empire are religion, economic and hoarding factors.

Stages (Ages) of the fall of the ancient Rome
Dark Age The dark stage came about after the fall of the Roman Empire. This period was characterized by cultural and economic decline in most parts of Western Europe. The Roman Catholic replaced the imperial Rome and this helped to unify the whole of Europe (Grimassi 12).

Middle age After the Dark Age, came in the middle period characterized by turmoil and suffering.
During the middle period, people never believed in individualism but rather grouped themselves in tribes, religion and race. This was put to an end by the renaissance period (Gramassi 12).

Renaissance period The fourteenth century signified the end of the middle age when Italy led the rest of
Europe out of this age. By the fifteenth century, France, Netherlands, Spain and England had all been embraced into this period. This period witnessed unity in Europe through arts and literature materials (Gramassi 12). It was like a rebirth and restoration of Europe

Reformation The period between 1640 and 1660 saw the reemergence of radical reformation  movements that had been thought to be dead in the late sixteenth century. Most parts of Europe witnessed this apart from England (Perry et al 334).

The rise of modern European states The rise of modern European states was pioneered by kings and queens. It is the kings  queens who delegated duties of what was to be done by the subjects and no one was to question orders from the king  queen. Just like modern countries are headed by presidents, most of the European states were divided into kingdoms and each kingdom had its king or queen, for example, England, Spain and France. Most of this kingdoms still exist up do date (Perry et al 373).
Comparison of the Eras

Dark  Middle Age Vs Renaissance Period
The happenings of during the Dark and Middle Ages are similar since they mostly included trouble and suffering after the fall of ancient Rome. However, it is the renaissance period that ushered in a new era in Europe and it is during this period that most states in Europe were rebuilt. The lifestyle of people during these ages also changed drastically.

The concept of individualism was natured during the renaissance period and this led to many people venturing out into individual entrepreneurship unlike before when everything was done communally.
Renaissance Period Vs Modern Era

The events that happened after the fall of Ancient Rome to the 1600s played a major role in defining the social and political events of the modern era (Perry et al 374).

In the modern world, nations are experiencing cold wars, economic meltdown, coups and in some countries there is resistance against the government of the day. The early 1900s also witnessed first and second world wars.  These are the same things that happened during the Dark Age, Middle Age, renaissance period and the reformation periods.

The style of governance is however different. Before, most states were ruled by kings and queens, most of who were tyrants and held the throne till they died. The modern style of a countrys leadership is rested on presidents and prime ministers who follow a constitution to carry out their duties. Most states also have governors who represent the interest of the people. They are allowed to hold power for a specific period of time after which elections are conducted to elect other representatives.

There is a great difference in terms of lifestyle and technology between the modern era and the other eras. Modern era is more advanced in terms of technology and service delivery.