The More Things Change….

…the more they stay the same.

This article is in regard to “the end of Roman Warm Period”:  http://www.co2science.org/subject/r/summaries/rwpeurope.php

There is an active volcano in continuous eruption under surveillance by the Japanese volcano people. They are keeping a weather eye on it.  https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/ebeko/news/106914/Ebeko-Volcano-Volcanic-Ash-Advisory-ERUPTION-AT-202007210510Z-FL100-EXTD-SE-REPORTED-OBS-VA-DTG-2105.html

Ebeko is producing a high volume of ash and gases which are rising to over 30,000 feet. It hasn’t reached us yet, but give it time to float around up there.

Stromboli has also erupted this morning with a very gassy, ash-laden burp. More info is available at https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/stromboli/news.html

This article from WUWT adds more information about the influence of active volcanism over prolonged periods of time. It’s the ash volume along with the altitude it reaches that is the concern. Enough particulates reaching a high altitude will do more than clog jet engines. Once these particulates, which are volcanic “dust”, if you will, reach an altitude at the stratospheric level, they can and will block the sun’s light and heat. This happens during solar eclipses, too.  People going to totality parties consistently report drops in temperature, and during the last total solar eclipse, when I was out on my front steps with a camera, getting that photo, the air was noticeably cooler than it had been in the morning. If the sun is inactive now, as it has been since 2008, then it is producing less heat than normal, which may explain our “wacky weather” and fewer hurricanes.  The last el Nino event ended in 2016, and another one is not expected any time soon.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/07/13/alaskan-volcano-linked-to-mysterious-period-with-extreme-climate-in-ancient-rome/

During the Roman Warm Period, the Alaskan volcano Okmok in the Aleutian Islands chain erupted continuously for 2 (two) long years, altering solar influence and weather patterns in the northern hemisphere. Evidence has been found in several places, including a cave in China. A continuous eruption for two years, producing a lot of ejecta that reach the upper atmosphere, will substantially block the amount of sunlight reaching the planet’s surface.

That eruption in 43AD ended the Roman Warm Period, shortly after Gaius Iulius Caesar was assassinated. It did not stop the expansion of the Roman Imperium into Europe, which had begun well over a century earlier, and may indeed have been partly responsible for Rome’s increased efforts at northward and eastward territorial acquisitions and expanded trade.

The Roman government, through its military branch, had been pushing the native tribes such as Gauls and Bretons, et al., further and further north into the British Isles for over 500 years. Some Bretons stayed in France, mostly in what is now Brittany. And the Breton language is still spoken, and is thought to be a form of Gallic, which became Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic. Those are two different dialects of the same language, with different pronunciations and rules of grammar.  http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub368/item2092.html

The Picts (Scots), those guys who were trained to fight by the women in the family and went into battle buck naked and painted blue, were already living there. You can probably imagine the resentment they felt at these invading refugees.

(You do understand that this is a shortened version of the story, right?)

The point is that the Roman government needed funds in the form of shiny gold and shiny silver and funds from other stuff, as well as the tin that could be imported from what is now Wales and Cornwall. Copper came from Cyprus. While the Bronze Age had ended some time earlier, any weapon that would not rust was valuable.

The end of the Roman Warm Period may have had more to do with Rome’s expansion than anything else.

Conquering foreign tribes or populations means that you can tax them and trade with them. Taxes go to the government, and at the time, the Roman Empire was one of the wealthiest governments in the known world.

Rome did, in fact, impress the Chinese enough to persuade the Chinese government to not pick fights with them, as Rome was, in fact, a major trading partner with China going back to the BCE 200s, even though Parthia (Persia/Middle East) and the Kushans were trying to retain control over what is now the Old Silk Road. (Taxes again! Fees for travel! Tax on imported goods!) Does any of this sound familiar?

Why is it called the Old Silk Road? Because silk fabric back then was a major commodity in several countries, including Rome and Parthia, and that ancient route was a major highway for traders, just as our national highways are major routes for commercial traffic now.

Is there a parallel between then and now? Absolutely, there is. The Late Bronze Age populations were heavily involved in trade around the eastern Mediterranean until some event happened, which may have been invading refugees from western Europe escaping warfare and diseases, as well as an unexpected change in the weather patterns of the Mediterranean.  Much later after that, the Roman Warm Period came to an abrupt end when Okmok began its eruptions and outgassing with ejecta, and while Rome still prospered, it began to slowly decline, with other factors also being involved, one of them being high traffic trading with countries like China and Parthia.

It boils down to the cash in the cash drawer. Trade with foreign powers will make both parties wealthy, and possibly one may become wealthier than the other.  Always follow the money, people. Always follow the money.

Category: Historical