Will America Fall Like Rome?

Ajouté : 2026-05-10

[00:00:00]I I guess if you want to look at how inflation works, right? I I think just to to explain the concept modernly to people, the Federal Reserve likes to use great words for this to confuse the hell out of you, but they use the word quantitative easing, which they shortened to QE. We have QE1, QE2, which is that just means they printed more money, so the dollar in your pocket is worth less.

[00:00:19]>> Quantitative quantitative explain money.

[00:00:24]>> There you go.

[00:00:25]>> But uh quantitative easing is just the idea that we print more money. So every time that we need to pay for something, we don't have the money, we just print more money. Like even when we did a lot of that stuff during the pandemic where they were giving people money, it's because they were just making money out of thin air. And it's because our money isn't backed by anything. And you can thank Richard Nixon for for doing that in 1970 and taking us off off the gold standard. But I think that's a lot more insidious because most people don't understand it. They just think, oh, things are getting more expensive. And in reality, sure, costs do raise, but they don't raise in the way that you feel it. they raised because your dollar now buys less. So, somebody else needs more dollars to buy something. In Rome, it wasn't quite as insidious because they had uh like this is a a silver coin here. This is Valyrian. Um he's see that he's the Roman emperor that's captured by the Persians and used as a foottool.

[00:01:13]He's the first Roman emperor to be captured. Um >> foot stool. Next question.

[00:01:17]>> Well, there's two there's two there's two theories about that, too. There's one that he was captured and used as a foottool. one that he was a foot stool for a while and they flated him and hung him on the wall. Um, but >> Jesus, >> the thing that's more insidious about that that's less insidious about how the Romans did it is their silver coin in the first century was 95% pure um >> pure silver >> pure silver because the dinarius their main coin was silver based. They had gold coins circulating around but the problem they had is if somebody got a gold coin they'd keep it because they're not going to spend it because it's worth something. So there was hoarding of gold that was a real problem. Mhm.

[00:01:51]>> So what would happen with the silver and this really starts um after the death of Cometus who's the son of Marcus Aurelius >> Wim Phoenix >> Phoenix yeah cleth flip and everything um but he the guy that takes over it's called the year of five emperors the last guy to come out and top is this guy named Septimius Seis and the thing he does is he doubles legionary pay and he gives them the largest gift ever because every time someone would become emperor they'd give a gift to the military they called it a donative And each emperor after that is going to use that pattern of then doubling military pay. So the way they do that then is by adding other metals to the silver to dilute it. So by the time you get to the 270s, so we're like less than 300 years down the road, that same coin is somewhere between 2 and 5% pure.

[00:02:39]>> Conor.

[00:02:40]>> Yes, Mr. Slate.

[00:02:41]>> Yes.

[00:02:41]>> What percent are you over there?

[00:02:43]>> Yeah.

[00:02:43]>> How did the uh military service work at this point in time? Was it mandatory or voluntary or >> That's a good question.

[00:02:50]>> Thank you.

[00:02:51]>> You're welcome.

[00:02:52]>> Sorry, I'm in teacher mode.

[00:02:55]>> So, um, in the Roman Republic, Rome was ma was mainly a citizen army, like you were defending your country because it was your country. In the late republic, uh, there's a a guy named Gas Marius, and he does these major military reforms. One of the first is he, uh, creates the Roman standard, the the the eagle that you always see as the symbol of Rome. He's a guy that creates that.

[00:03:18]He also um changes fighting styles a little bit, but he takes and makes it a private military force, meaning that well, not private, but like a professional military force.

[00:03:30]>> And so now your career was you were in the military. You weren't like a farmer that was going to go defend your country and then you go back to defend to farming when you're done.

[00:03:36]>> Full-time job soldier, >> right? And what that does is it starts to create loyalty to generals versus loyalty to the country because now if their general is successful and he makes more plunder or whatever it is, they make more money because they would get to split part of what they took.

[00:03:49]>> So this is going to become more of a problem as in the third century when I was talking about Seis, he's a gen he's a a governor. He's not becomes a general later on, but he's a governor that basically takes his own troops and attacks Rome and declares himself emperor. So if you're general's emperor, it's a really good thing for you. So in the 3rd century, what you start having is military uh regiments start declaring their general to be emperor, and all of these guys start attacking each other.

[00:04:18]So in a 50-year period, you have somewhere between 25 and 30 guys claiming to be emperor. And the problem you're going to have with that is it's going to drive inflation harder. So it doesn't start as a problem, but it becomes a problem because how the function works >> because they get to split the, you know, the the bounty or whatever it is. And if their guy is the emperor, which is the new route to becoming emperor, that's a real problem.

[00:04:41]>> I'm just thinking how wild that would be of going deploying overseas and like by the way whatever we take we keep and we get a split.

[00:04:53]>> Going wild, brother. You know how much oil you'd have?

[00:04:56]>> Yeah, bro.

[00:04:58]>> How would you take that home with you?

[00:05:00]>> The guys who raided Hussein's Hussein's palace. All the gold that they found at Saddam Hussein's palace.

[00:05:06]>> Oh, Evan, he was there. So, he has like pictures of him laying in dump trucks that are just piled with gold bars. Just laying on the gold bars. They they would take out Lambos. They were just ripping around just Green Bay having the best.

[00:05:21]But the reason I was talking about it being like less insidious then is because for them they saw their coins getting lighter. They saw the color changing and by the time you get to the the late 3rd century, so in like you know the 280s 2 270s it would be a bronze coin with like a silver coating on it and that would actually flake off in someone's hand. So they would see it and they would feel it and they would know that the their currency is changing. I just don't think a lot of people know that here. They think that things are just getting more expensive when in reality, sure, prices do change, but for the most part, if your dollar is worth less and it doesn't go as far, it's a tax that you don't realize you're paying. And most people don't know that.

[00:06:01]>> Oh, yeah. Increase taxes that will fix everything.

[00:06:05]>> Yeah.

[00:06:06]>> So, >> I can balance any budget as long as you legalize me stealing from people.

[00:06:13]>> It's my official policy. But I I think as well too like even getting back to the idea of like you know military service as well like in the Roman Republic and also in the early to mid empire these politicians and even later emperors would be the ones leading their armies. And I I just think that if politicians like, you know, Lindsey Graham, like if they had to think about what they were doing and they had to be a part of it, they would look at it differently, right? And they would also treat their troops differently, too. So I I I think things like that would change function a lot.

[00:06:49]>> I want to go back to when politicians were fighting each other.

[00:06:52]>> My favorite meme my favorite meme is somebody took Lindsey Graham's head and they stuck one of those World War I army helmets with the point on it.

[00:07:02]You got to go you got to go die in Iran, everybody.

[00:07:05]>> I just It's not even that. It's just they're too [ __ ] old to understand anything.

[00:07:10]>> Well, I think they also value life more, right? Like, you know, they they would look at the decisions they're making because they had to be a part of them, you know? You know, I think that's also a big part of it.

[00:07:17]>> Yes. I just get frustrated watching like Mark Zuckerberg getting interviewed by my the leaders of the free world and they're like, "Is the Wi-Fi connected to my phone?"

[00:07:28]>> Yeah. Like what?

[00:07:30]You see the one in court where when everybody had to go to court virtually because the the pandemic and everything and the judge had turned himself into a dog and he didn't know how to turn it off.

[00:07:39]>> Oh yeah. It's like a cat >> or the lawyer. I'm sorry.

[00:07:41]>> Yeah. I just saw one the other day. It was like the guy >> attend the judge is like you're a dog.

[00:07:46]He's like I know and I don't know how to stop it.

[00:07:48]>> I saw one the guy the guy's attending his like court hearing and the guy the judge goes your name is Robert Smith correct? And he's like yes sir. Yes your honor. And he goes, "So it's not butt [ __ ] 6000." Cuz his his little name tag on the bottom.

[00:08:04]Didn't realize.

[00:08:06]But so they did cuz I I was going to ask that follow-up question. You said he was the Persian foottool.

[00:08:11]>> Yes.

[00:08:12]>> Um so he got captured obviously. H how?

[00:08:16]He was leading troops into battle.

[00:08:17]>> So he was leading troops into battle.

[00:08:19]>> Where at?

[00:08:19]>> Um this was in assassinated Persia. So it's like part of modern Iran, not the whole thing. because the Persian Empire was a lot larger and over time it gradually kind of shrinks and becomes other states and things like that. But Rome and Persia have a long track of kind of going back and forth and there's kind of early Pers Persian empires that they deal with, but the the one that they're dealing with that time is called the Sassinids. And they were like an upstart, if that makes sense, because Persia had been kind of dormant for a while. And then there's this guy named Shapor I who basically decides since Rome's going through a problem right now in its third century where the center is becoming really weak. So the west breaks off and forms its own empire called the Golic Empire. The east breaks off and forms its own empire called the Palmyan Empire. So the the empire itself is starting to kind of fall apart. Now, it doesn't fall apart into those three pieces until after Valyrian is captured, but there starts to be signs of kind of what's happening and that Rome's very weak. So, Persia decides, the the assassinated Persians, that they're going to invade Rome because they realize Rome can't stop them. So, Valyrian leads troops in the battle.

[00:09:28]He's captured and he's used as a foottool for the rest of his life.

[00:09:33]There's actually a statue of this in Thyron. Um, and it was kind of in pop culture, I think in like December of like, hey, we've got a statue here of the Roman Emperor being used as a foottool. So, he's basically captured by the Shapor the first. And and the the reason it's the ultimate embarrassment to Rome is because if Rome was the superpower it had always been, they just go and take him back. They can't take their own emperor back. They just declare a new emperor.

[00:09:56]>> Uh, the next guy is a guy named Galianus. So, it does be Yeah, you love that. You love that name. Um there's another one you really love.

[00:10:03]>> They had an emperor named Gay Anus.

[00:10:06]>> Um you'd love this one. Uh the one one of the emperors win >> that five year of five emperors. One of them his name is Ddidius Giulianis.

[00:10:14]>> And he loved he loved oil.

[00:10:16]>> He loved baby oil.

[00:10:18]>> But it does it >> but it but it shows >> repeating itself.

[00:10:22]>> It it shows how weak Rome is at this point in time that they can't even go capture their own emperor. And this was in you said middle 3rd third century.

[00:10:30]>> This is uh 260 is when he's captured.

[00:10:34]>> When did the when did like the Byzantine split occur?

[00:10:38]>> So that's going to be much later on. Um if cuz so in the the 280s there's a guy that takes over his name's Diales. He takes the name Dialesian and he kind of reestablishes Rome but he forms it in this new way. It's called the tetrarchy.

[00:10:53]So it's ruled by four. He creates two senior emperors. one being himself and two junior emperors. So the east and the west don't split but they start to kind of function apart from each other. And you're going to see um in the late fifth century Theodocious the great he's actually the emperor that makes Christianity the official religion of Rome in 380. Uh so >> Constantine I thought it was correct.

[00:11:19]>> No Constantine in 313 edict of Milan.

[00:11:21]And just to correct myself, uh, late fourth century, but because I said early second century in another podcast, I got roasted. Um, >> you fool. You buffoon.

[00:11:29]>> You You can't be wrong or the comments eat you alive. But, um, >> autism, >> I'm aware.

[00:11:34]>> Yeah, we've all experienced it.

[00:11:36]>> I try not to read comments most of the time.

[00:11:38]>> Try talking about a plane or a tank.

[00:11:40]>> If you make a mistake, it's terrible.

[00:11:43]>> Like, you make one mistake that's even very slight and they're like, "You know nothing.

[00:11:48]>> You know nothing, Jon Snow." Um, but uh, >> well, Jeremy, hey, actually, >> you go do a podcast.

[00:11:54]>> The edits when you're like, uh, I'm pretty sure that this happened at this time. And then the the like supercut edits will cut out the I'm pretty sure.

[00:12:02]And so it just sounds like you're so confident about all the information.

[00:12:06]Bastard. Made me look like a >> I don't even know where I was going.

[00:12:08]>> Every every YouTube shortware's very aware.

[00:12:12]>> Sorry.

[00:12:13]>> I don't even know where I was going with this. I lost my train of thought.

[00:12:15]talking about the east versus west the the >> so theodocious the great is the he makes Christianity the official religion of Rome now Constantine that was your question um so when he becomes he becomes emperor of a united Rome after 311 he he defeats the other emperor named Maxentius at that point in time after a battle called Milvian bridge in 313 he issues the edict of Milan um the edict of Milan um >> it doesn't make Christianity the official religion of Rome it just makes it legal It just makes it legal because though you could practice it and unless you were a pain in the butt, they wouldn't do anything about you.

[00:12:50]>> Um, he makes it legal. So, Theodocious makes it the official religion of the empire. So, but Theodocious is the last emperor to rule the united Rome.

[00:12:58]>> There is a time period later on in the late fifth century when Justinian who's the Eastern Roman Empire emperor is going to reconquer the west and kind of for a little period of time rule both again. But that split really happens after Theodocious. Theodocious takes his two sons. Um, he puts Hanorius in charge of the west. I can't remember the name of his other son that he puts in charge of the east, but that really starts to be the division because these two brothers don't get along. And what they start doing is since they don't like each other, they start playing barbarian generals against each other. You're like, "Oh, I'm going to use this general against you." And it really starts to make this division pretty solid.

[00:13:34]>> That is wild. All royal family. And after after Rome's sacked in 410, um the Visiggoth sacked Rome in 410. They go to tell Henorius that what's just happened >> and he's like doesn't want to be bothered because he wants to go deal with his chickens.

[00:13:49]>> He raises chickens in the palace now and he wants to like worry about his chickens and not the fact that his city's on fire.

[00:13:54]>> So those two brothers battling internally with each other was what led to the fall of Rome.

[00:14:00]>> Well, technically Theodocious you could say because he divides it between his sons. Um, and just kind of their disdain for each other is what causes them to be separate. They're not really fighting each other. You know, they would play a barbarian against each other, but >> Germans to kill your brother.

[00:14:15]>> Yeah.

[00:14:15]>> Tale as old as time.

[00:14:17]>> Because the problem you have um after Dialesian, Rome has a lot of trouble defending its borders. So, he comes up with a new system called the Federati. And what the Federati are is are they are barbarian troops that are basically protecting the borders for Rome and Rome's paying them and giving them a place to live. What ends up happening is their loyalties will shift. So you might be a barbarian general one day, you'll be a Roman general the next day. And that could go from east to west too. Like, oh, I'm with the Eastern Roman Empire now. I'm with the Western Roman Empire now.

[00:14:44]Depending on like what's better for them. So that's a be it's if something he does that's effective at the moment that becomes a real problem with the system later