History is fucked up.

Elegiac · January 31, 2015, 10:55:28 AM

I was under no illusions going into this, but still, it is what it is.

I'm 75 pages into my History of the Byzantine State and Society and already every person mentioned has died and been replaced about 20 times. I've read a church history and plenty of historical fiction; watched documentaries and studied history in school, but this is the first time I've read a big, thick, clinical history book. The death toll mounts and mounts page by page.

They just cannot stop killing each other. Even when they're fighting other countries they can find the time to have a civil war as well. They'll even invite the other countries/tribes to join in before they tell them to fuck off with swords again... "So, we're warring, but I'm also warring with my brother over here who's also warring with those other guys a little further up the road. I was thinking we could all pile in somewhere over there and make it a proper party, sound good?"

Madness. No wonder we have so much trouble controlling ourselves even today when we know we could wipe out the entire species in a couple of weeks or so.

w/e · January 31, 2015, 10:58:03 AM

I'd do the same thing-

Have you played atwar? It's a game where you take over countries, and you can ally up. To betray friends and join the enemy is a good move sometimes, and it should be done in secret.

The end result? You get the most points, and you win faster.

DAS B00T x2 · January 31, 2015, 10:58:19 AM

Well yeah, the sheer amount of infighting within the Roman and Byzantine empires was a defining feature of their political dealings.

clum clum · January 31, 2015, 10:58:50 AM

That's humans for you. We like to fight.

Elegiac · January 31, 2015, 11:00:35 AM

-_____-

Elegiac · January 31, 2015, 11:03:11 AM

Quote from: Royal Light on January 31, 2015, 10:58:03 AM

I'd do the same thing-

Have you played atwar? It's a game where you take over countries, and you can ally up. To betray friends and join the enemy is a good move sometimes, and it should be done in secret.

The end result? You get the most points, and you win faster.

These guys all just die faster. Which is what happens irl

Mat Cauthon · January 31, 2015, 11:04:45 AM

Yeah, it is.
Hell, don't even look back to the Romans, look at the last 100 years.

Elegiac · January 31, 2015, 11:09:29 AM

Quote from: Nagato on January 31, 2015, 11:04:45 AM

Yeah, it is.
Hell, don't even look back to the Romans, look at the last 100 years.

Look at right now.

CyberGama · January 31, 2015, 11:37:39 AM

History does repeat itself so......

Spoiler

Yes, fucked up.

Epsira · January 31, 2015, 01:00:27 PM

I'm trying to approach this issue in a story I'm writing. I'm interested in the way societies perpetuate struggle through history, and how individuals are influenced in gradients to carry out its will against their better judgment.

Elegiac · January 31, 2015, 01:10:14 PM

Quote from: Epsira on January 31, 2015, 01:00:27 PM

I'm trying to approach this issue in a story I'm writing. I'm interested in the way societies perpetuate struggle through history, and how individuals are influenced in gradients to carry out its will against their better judgment.

Shit is complicated.