There is currently a captivating documentary mini-series broadcasted on the History Channel entitled “The Colosseum.” It uses the iconic Roman Colosseum as the focal point to explore and discuss all things that were good and bad with Europe’s largest ever empire. In the last few episodes, the viewer is offered some insights into the fall of the Roman Empire – political corruption, plague, never-ending wars and of course the barbarians who wanted nothing to do with this form of civilization. Emperor Commodus, who ruled from 176 to 192 AD is highlighted as the leader who bought on the beginning of the end for empire as he vilified and targeted members of the ruling Senate, made peace with the barbarians which was doomed to fail, and devalued their currency by minting coins with a lower percentage of silver. Thus, he could produce much more currency, but the decreased value led to hyperinflation.
If you are interested in history, we highly recommend this series and can only hope that the obvious parallels to current events are nothing more than historical coincidence.
