The Fishman
Resident Megalomaniac
Disclaimer: I am not a historian myself, and I just have an interest in learning about history. This is not a theory I have made, it is just some observations.
There is a strange pattern I have noticed with some countries, a tendency for a particular configuration of states to re-appear repeatedly after they are destroyed.
It seems to have been happening ever since classical times. For example, Persia always exists in one form or another, and if it is conquered it always re-appears. In the west of the middle east, an analogue to the Byzantine Empire repeatedly forms, breaks apart and then re-forms again. And China is always either in one piece, or broken into a southern dynasty and a few northern dynasties.
But the best example of this is Mongolia. Ever since the third century BC, an incarnation of Mongolia has formed and expanded, then collapsed into chaos, only to be re-established by another ethinic group a while later. Then this one disapears as well. Unlike the other empires mentioned above, each successive Mongolia has no link to the previous one, they are all established by different peoples.
The cycle of the rise and fall of Mongolia was only broken twice. Once when the Kyrgyz destroyed the Uighur Empire, leaving a space of three centuries when mongolia was split between various khanates based in Manchuria and Northern China. And again, after the fall of the Mongol Empire, when the Chinese decided they had had enough with steppe empires and deliberately tried to get all the tribes of Mongolia to fight and not become united again. When Chinese power waned in the 1800s and 1900s, Mongolia re-established itself again and still exists today.
Does anybody have an idea of these strange rise and fall cycles, and why the existance of particular states seems to be favoured?
A list of the states that this applies to:
-Mongolia: Repeatedly re-appears after being destroyed, from 3rd Century BC to 16th century AD, with another reappearance in the 20th century.
-Persia: Repeatedly reappears after being destroyed, from 7th century BC to 20th century. Sometimes includes Mesopotamia.
-Eastern Mediterranean: Either exists as a unified empire (Alexander's Empire (?), Rome, Byzantium, Arab Caliphates, Fatimids, Ottomans) or is broken into various analogues of Egypt and Anatolia. Mesopotamia is sometimes included.
-China: Analogues of China have always existed, though they are mainly all directly connected to eachother.
-Mesopotamia: This is another very good example. If it isn't part of a Persian or Mediterranean Empire, then there is a very good chance of an independent state comprising all of Mesopotamia existing. Mesopotamia has been repeatedly resurrected thoughout history, the current state of Iraq being it's latest incarnation. These mesopotamian states often have no cultural link to their predescessors.
The existence of such a state can probably be attributed to the geography of the region. As a fertile river valley surrounded by mountains on two sides, desert on one and infertile steppe on another, it is likely that civilisation will thrive here but remain confined to the area.
There is a strange pattern I have noticed with some countries, a tendency for a particular configuration of states to re-appear repeatedly after they are destroyed.
It seems to have been happening ever since classical times. For example, Persia always exists in one form or another, and if it is conquered it always re-appears. In the west of the middle east, an analogue to the Byzantine Empire repeatedly forms, breaks apart and then re-forms again. And China is always either in one piece, or broken into a southern dynasty and a few northern dynasties.
But the best example of this is Mongolia. Ever since the third century BC, an incarnation of Mongolia has formed and expanded, then collapsed into chaos, only to be re-established by another ethinic group a while later. Then this one disapears as well. Unlike the other empires mentioned above, each successive Mongolia has no link to the previous one, they are all established by different peoples.
The cycle of the rise and fall of Mongolia was only broken twice. Once when the Kyrgyz destroyed the Uighur Empire, leaving a space of three centuries when mongolia was split between various khanates based in Manchuria and Northern China. And again, after the fall of the Mongol Empire, when the Chinese decided they had had enough with steppe empires and deliberately tried to get all the tribes of Mongolia to fight and not become united again. When Chinese power waned in the 1800s and 1900s, Mongolia re-established itself again and still exists today.
Does anybody have an idea of these strange rise and fall cycles, and why the existance of particular states seems to be favoured?
A list of the states that this applies to:
-Mongolia: Repeatedly re-appears after being destroyed, from 3rd Century BC to 16th century AD, with another reappearance in the 20th century.
-Persia: Repeatedly reappears after being destroyed, from 7th century BC to 20th century. Sometimes includes Mesopotamia.
-Eastern Mediterranean: Either exists as a unified empire (Alexander's Empire (?), Rome, Byzantium, Arab Caliphates, Fatimids, Ottomans) or is broken into various analogues of Egypt and Anatolia. Mesopotamia is sometimes included.
-China: Analogues of China have always existed, though they are mainly all directly connected to eachother.
-Mesopotamia: This is another very good example. If it isn't part of a Persian or Mediterranean Empire, then there is a very good chance of an independent state comprising all of Mesopotamia existing. Mesopotamia has been repeatedly resurrected thoughout history, the current state of Iraq being it's latest incarnation. These mesopotamian states often have no cultural link to their predescessors.
The existence of such a state can probably be attributed to the geography of the region. As a fertile river valley surrounded by mountains on two sides, desert on one and infertile steppe on another, it is likely that civilisation will thrive here but remain confined to the area.
