#PaxAmericana

July 20

17:27 2016

Print This Article

BY JUSTIN IJEH

Hannibal, Viriathus, Spartacus, Arminius, Boudica, Alaric, Attila, Geiseric. Any student of the history of civilizations or military history would have recognized these names already. Some would recognize those made popular by film and popular literature – Hannibal, Spartacus and Attila.

These are the names of the kings, a queen, and leaders of various races and tribes that fought Roman occupation and domination over a period spanning hundreds of years. (I have tried to list them in chronological order).

These men and women led bloody revolts that continued to nip at the heels of the well-oiled Roman war machine until ‘Pax Romana’ failed; Rome imploded and the great empire fizzled out.

My understanding of different historical accounts is that Rome was a victim of its own arrogance and sense of indestructibility, which led it to its treatment of its conquered subjects with utter disdain, heavy-handed oppression and repression. Systematic genocide was a state mandate and it was executed with precision by the Roman army, which ironically often employed soldiers and militia from the conquered peoples to extend its imperial agenda.

Some historians argue that this was necessary to expand and maintain the vast empire. What is unarguable is that Rome eventually fell to those it had oppressed relentlessly — those she called ‘barbarians’.

Military academies study and teach the methods of some of these names. Hannibal, especially, is acknowledged as arguably the greatest military strategist who ever lived. He only ever lost one battle to Rome until his longtime adversary, General Publius Scipio, studied his methods and then used them against him in battle.

Hannibal was the son of a King until he became one himself. A trained soldier, he was brought up to defeat Rome and he was resolute on the tactics that led to the fall of Rome. He showed the whole world that Romans could bleed. He was King of Carthage, a city-state that spanned parts of North Africa.

He was a black man.

These stories are quite illustrative.

The United States reminds of Ancient Rome. Its military might, non-assimilative expansion of political and socio-cultural influence, heritage of slavery, interracial dynamics and tensions, illusions of equality, patronizing tokenism — I could go on — but most instructively (I see) a world power in decline.

History is repeating itself and it is saddening that a country, which, in my opinion, has the best chance of making the human race endure and thrive because of its unique history, is making the same mistakes great empires before it did. Ironically, this is because of the same historical antecedents. I see its influence in attrition, catalyzed by internal contradictions of politics and racial tensions between the oppressor and the oppressed. You’d think that people should know better by now.

One is reminded of Hegel’s Dialectics too. Freidrich Hegel was the German philosopher who theorized about an analytical or problem resolution framework that is now called Hegelian Dialectics. It is applicable in several contexts but essentially states that an idea, or opinion contains within itself contradictions that constitute an opposing idea or opinion. The interaction of the first idea and the contradictory one then resolves into a new idea, which is a combination of both a compromise if you like. It is typically expressed in the formulaic ‘Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis’.

I am reminded of it now because it can be used to explain how civilizations rise and fall.

I hope what we have seen unfolding the past week in the United States is not indicative of the rise of modern day Hannibals and Attilas. I hope it is not Spartacus reincarnating and manifesting beyond the popular STARZ Television Series.

The Igbo people of Nigeria have a saying, “You should not beat a child and command it not to cry”. The black man in America has been beaten severely. He will cry. He has been crying. At some point, the tears will no longer be borne of sorrow. Rage also cries.