woof woof wrote on May 23
rd, 2013 at 6:16pm:
They also infiltrated Rome from the north but the mighty empire foolishly ignored the invasion as something that could be contained.
Soon, many Barbarians began to settle deep within the borders of the empire. It was allowed to happen despite the Barbarian culture openly embracing a bloodthirsty and arrogant war-like lifestyle.
I don't think that is an accurate understanding of how the Roman Empire buckled under pressure from the barbarian tribes, not from all the books I read on the subject when I was in high school. The prevailing message was twofold: (1) by the time the barbarian hordes started invading the Empire, the Empire had already been suffering from two centuries of civil war and political instability, of emperors being assassinated, challenged by rebellious generals and deposed; (2) it was not complacency that doomed the Empire, but military weakness due to internal collapse. The Roman Army fought the barbarian hordes but could not hold them back. It suffered from defeat after defeat because it consisted mostly of infantry, which could not hold back an enemy that used cavalry as its main offensive weapon.
woof woof wrote on May 23
rd, 2013 at 6:16pm:
The Roman Empire, along with its mighty legions, was brought to its knees by the immigration of a subversive foreign culture.
It was the other way round. The barbarians weren't much of a civilisation. They started to integrate Roman ideas into their own cultures. They became more Roman. Of course they didn't stop raiding villages. It took a while to end their barbarian ways and put down the sword.
woof woof wrote on May 23
rd, 2013 at 6:16pm:
Rome was to regret that it did not initially meet the Barbarian threat head on when it could easily have dealt with it.
No, it couldn't. It would never have defeated the barbarians, even if it started from day one. Marcus Aurelius was the last of the great emperors who ever confronted them. It was too weak militarily and it wasn't politically stable. Their infantry was ineffective against barbarian cavalry. The government was barely functioning.
As the Empire grew weaker, some emperors and some generals started using the barbarian tribes for their own selfish agendas. Emperors used them as mercenaries to maintain their power. Rebellious generals used them as allies to subvert the authority of the emperor. The barbarian tribes started to replace the traditional Roman army.
woof woof wrote on May 23
rd, 2013 at 6:16pm:
Sixteen hundred years later we discard history in the name of politically correct multiculturalism.
You're trying to twist ancient history to describe what you see as a modern problem. It didn't happen the way you're describing here. The Romans were never strong enough to beat the barbarians. They had the wrong weapons and tactics.
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