Rome was conquered to destroy the aristocracy and force rome to submit to byzant

Rome was conquered to destroy the aristocracy and force rome to submit to byzantine rule. Hence the Christian destruction of the arts, letters, schools, buildings, architecture, and killing or ostracization of the philosophers, and the closing of the schools and academies.

The byzantines adopted semitic religious rule (cheap, low trust) vs greco roman institutional rule (costly, high trust) and while rome would have easily recovered from the plague and the conquests, their defeat by byzantines brought about the Christian dark age of ignorance superstition de-urbanization, poverty, depopulation, and decline.

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