Davin News Server

On Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:20:10 -0000 (UTC)
Dhu on Gate <campbell@neotext.ca> wrote:

> On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:58:13 -0700, Dr. Rocktor wrote:
>=20
> >> The Holocene is due to end. The Holocene is overdue to
> >> end!  And, no, not because of Gwobull Warbling. It was
> >> already overdue to end in Roman times... pre Roman times! =20
> >=20
> > Many trace the decline of the Roman empire to a series of colder and
> > drier winters that played havoc with grain production and thus
> > hobbled their armies' conquest and retention progress. =20
>=20
> Na.  Roman Armies (actually all armies) needed to "eat peasants" as
> they moved: "gleaners" went an' took what there was.  They ran into
> trouble in places where there were no peasants with grain stores to
> steal, like Scotland: smoked fish and mussels don't keep so well in
> the rain.
>=20
> Dhu

Not what really happened.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-climate-change-and-diseas=
e-helped-fall-rome-180967591/

The end of this lucky climate regime did not immediately, or in any simple =
deterministic sense, spell the doom of Rome. Rather, a less favorable clima=
te undermined its power just when the empire was imperilled by more dangero=
us enemies=E2=80=94Germans, Persians=E2=80=94from without. Climate instabil=
ity peaked in the sixth century, during the reign of Justinian. Work by den=
dro-chronologists and ice-core experts points to an enormous spasm of volca=
nic activity in the 530s and 540s CE, unlike anything else in the past few =
thousand years. This violent sequence of eruptions triggered what is now ca=
lled the =E2=80=98Late Antique Little Ice Age,=E2=80=99 when much colder te=
mperatures endured for at least 150 years.

This phase of climate deterioration had decisive effects in Rome=E2=80=99s
unravelling. It was also intimately linked to a catastrophe of even
greater moment: the outbreak of the first pandemic of bubonic plague.

https://medium.com/@michaelzibulevsky/when-the-earth-shifted-how-climate-ch=
ange-sowed-the-seeds-of-romes-fall-51cd631b6ade

As the environment that sustained Rome=E2=80=99s agricultural system began =
to
shift, the empire faced a slow unraveling that no legion or law could
halt. This is the story of how changing weather patterns, faltering
harvests, and dwindling populations undermined the foundation of one of
history=E2=80=99s greatest civilizations.

A Changing World
By the 4th century, however, the climate began to shift. The Roman Climate =
Optimum gave way to cooler, less stable conditions, marking the onset of th=
e Late Antique Little Ice Age. This period brought irregular rainfall, long=
er droughts, and harsher winters. North Africa, once lush with wheat fields=
, faced desertification as the Sahara expanded. Fertile farmland transforme=
d into arid plains, and irrigation systems, neglected due to war and resour=
ce scarcity, worsened the crisis.

In the heartland of Italy, harvests began to fail. The once-reliable agricu=
ltural output of the empire could no longer meet the demands of its growing=
 urban centers and armies. The interconnected system of cities and farms, a=
lready stretched thin, began to break down.

The Consequences of Collapse
The consequences of these changes were profound. Grain shortages in
Rome and Constantinople sparked unrest among urban populations. In
rural areas, farmers abandoned their lands as repeated crop failures
left them unable to pay taxes or sustain their families. Much of this
abandoned land fell into the hands of large estate owners, but even
they could not fully exploit it without the labor force that Rome=E2=80=99s
dwindling population could no longer provide.