Basement Whatever

Rome invents the republic model of representative democracy. Rome builds on Greek experiments with democracy and philosophy, to invent and propagate the first republic system of government. Rome successfully runs this republic model for 500 years. Julius Caesar/Augustus overthrow the republic and make Rome an imperial power.

Routine Roman expansion sets off a powerful chain of events. Rome regularly conquests surrounding areas (Gallic tribes in what is today France, Germanic tribes in what is today Germany, Druids in England). Rome invades and conquers Judea in approximately 10 AD, overthrowing a small, eccentric group (the Jews) and taking Jerusalem from them. The Jews are odd to the Romans because they worship a single god. The Jews seethe at the Roman occupation of their ancestral land. One Jew, named Jesus, calls himself the “king” of the Jews and becomes an annoyance to the empire, so the Romans crucify Him, just like they’ve crucified so many before. To the Romans, there is nothing unusual about this.

A new religion forms, but is unimportant to Rome at first. The fame of Jesus the Jew spreads, and a small group of His followers live in Jerusalem and preach to the humble people there. The legend of Jesus grows in this time, and all sorts of cults form with Him at the center. One of the most successful comes from St. Paul. Instead of preaching to the Jews, St. Paul preaches to wealthier Roman citizens. There is conflict between St. Paul (who controls wealthy followers) and St. Peter (who controls the original followers who have less power). St. Paul wants to ignore the requirement of circumcision, because no 40 year old wealthy convert wants to volunteer for circumcision, even though it’s a tenant of Judaism, the signing of a contract on the body with God. We are not sure how this argument ends, but we have a clue: The books of the New Testament (which form Christianity) were written entirely by St. Paul and his followers, don’t require circumcision, and in the Letter to the Galatians, St. Paul makes a revolutionary break with Judaism.

The religion spreads, damaging Rome. Following the work of St. Paul, Christianity continues spreading through the Roman Empire. The Romans don’t care who people worship, so long as they show up to worship the gods of state. The Christians won’t do that. The Christians continue to annoy the Roman Empire by failing to recognize its laws, and the Romans start persecuting them. Rome at this time is the capital of the world, the most powerful city on earth, and rules Europe. Eventually, Christianity is so powerful that Emperor Constantine declares that the Roman Empire is now a Christian empire. Rome eventually disintegrates; the most notable historian of Rome says that Christianity was one of the forces that disintegrated the empire; Nietzsche later agrees.

Rome collapses; Europe is ruled by warlords. With Rome collapsed, Europe falls into the dark ages. Peasants squat inside the ruins of Roman buildings, lacking the knowledge to rebuild them. Europe is ruled by a succession of warlords.

The Church takes over. Christianity is headquartered in Rome, and fills the leadership gap. It models its new church after the Roman Empire, its popes and bishops corresponding to the Roman army. This Catholic Church is the last savior of learning, maintaining libraries and monasteries and saving the knowledge of the past. It transforms the monumental, imposing Roman temples into monumental, imposing churches. The Catholic Church becomes the new Rome and the new rulers of Europe. They act as peacekeepers among the warlords vying for power.

The Church becomes corrupted; reformers emerge. Eventually the Church grows corrupted with its power, and a split occurs. The split is bloody. More is at stake than religion – the new religions threaten existing power bases. Eventually the two sides reach a stalemate and religion gradually loses its power. During this phase, power shifts to England, which eventually colonizes and rules the world.

An English colony rebels, forming a new Roman republic. A distant English colony rebels against the English king, wanting to form a government of the people. They recognize the Roman Republic as the first and most successful Republic, and model their government after it. The United States of America is born, in the tradition of the Roman Republic.

TLDR: Rome ruled Europe. Rome became the Catholic Church, which ruled Europe. The Catholic Church became the Protestant Church, out of which sprung Enlightenment ideals and England ruled the world. The United States split from England, built a government based on the Roman Republic and ruled the world.