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And how well did that work out for Alexander? His empire was fracturing before his body was cold, with his generals collaborating with existing local power stru

And how well did that work out for Alexander? His empire was fracturing before his body was cold, with his generals collaborating with existing local power structures to carve out their own fiefdoms. I don't think it's really possible to fairly compare the situations given the vast differences in technology, logistics, communication, etc, but you picked a rather poor case study to make your point.

skissane 3y ago
It didn’t work out well for Alexander’s own empire, but the Hellenistic kingdoms it spawned survived for much longer - the Seleucid Empire endured for almost 250 years. And Rome, as I mentioned, was closer to Alexander in this regard than to the British. Twice, Rome even had a Syrian Arab as its Emperor (first Elagabalus and then Philip)-can you imagine the British Empire ever being ruled by someone from the colonies?
- telotortium 3y ago
  The UK is now being ruled by someone from the colonies. Granted, Elagabalus became emperor during a time when the empire was past its peak but before entering real decline. The UK didn't get Sunak until at least its Crisis of the Third Century, if not later - post-Theodosius, after which the Roman Empire was permanently split into East and West. I hope we don't see a Sack of London soon at this rate.
  - skissane 3y ago
    Sunak didn’t come to power until 70 years after the British Empire had already officially been declared to be over, and ~50 years after the time by which the vast majority of its colonies had already been let go. If his great grandfather had been UK PM a century earlier, it would have been a very different history. An Indian as UK PM in the 1920s could well have killed off the Indian independence movement - it would have made British claims that “every subject of the Empire is equal” far more believable. The contemporary UK is not the Empire - it is like early mediaeval Rome, the Empire gone for good (at least in the West) but a lot of impressive buildings still standing, many more than today

skissane 3y ago

It didn’t work out well for Alexander’s own empire, but the Hellenistic kingdoms it spawned survived for much longer - the Seleucid Empire endured for almost 250 years. And Rome, as I mentioned, was closer to Alexander in this regard than to the British. Twice, Rome even had a Syrian Arab as its Emperor (first Elagabalus and then Philip)-can you imagine the British Empire ever being ruled by someone from the colonies?

telotortium 3y ago
The UK is now being ruled by someone from the colonies. Granted, Elagabalus became emperor during a time when the empire was past its peak but before entering real decline. The UK didn't get Sunak until at least its Crisis of the Third Century, if not later - post-Theodosius, after which the Roman Empire was permanently split into East and West. I hope we don't see a Sack of London soon at this rate.
- skissane 3y ago
  Sunak didn’t come to power until 70 years after the British Empire had already officially been declared to be over, and ~50 years after the time by which the vast majority of its colonies had already been let go. If his great grandfather had been UK PM a century earlier, it would have been a very different history. An Indian as UK PM in the 1920s could well have killed off the Indian independence movement - it would have made British claims that “every subject of the Empire is equal” far more believable. The contemporary UK is not the Empire - it is like early mediaeval Rome, the Empire gone for good (at least in the West) but a lot of impressive buildings still standing, many more than today