The warm summer makes the Roman Empire prosper

A new study by the Swiss Federal Research Institute recently published by the American journal Science shows that warm summers are probably the key to the Roman Empire's prosperity at the time.

Fortress of the ancient Roman empire

While prolonged drought, sudden cold spells along with other climate changes are probably part of the reason for the historical upheaval, from the savage invasion (barbarian) that leads to the collapse of the Roman Empire until the " Black Death " pandemic (plague) cleared nearly half of the European population in 1347.

The paleontologist, Ulf Buntgen, head of the research team, said: " Looking back at 2,500 years ago, we now have specimens that show climate change has affected species history. people ".

Ulf Buntgen and colleagues set up a database of more than 9,000 wood samples dating back 2,500 years, mostly collected from France and Germany over the past 30 years.

To get the annual temperature, scientists measured the growth rings of the high-altitude trees living in the highlands, while to determine the rainfall, they looked at the growth ring of low-lying oak trees. .

The above results are a record to determine the weather in France and Germany over the period of 2,500 years ago. At stable and prosperous social times, like the Roman Empire's prosperous period from 300 BC until 200 AD, Europe experienced the warm, humid summers. Ideal for agricultural development .

Similar conditions also took place during the peak years of medieval Europe between 1000 and 1200 AD.

The study also shows that climate change and disasters often go hand in hand. In the 3rd century BC, prolonged droughts occurred at the same time as the cruel invasions and political upheavals in Europe. While around 1300 AD, a sudden cold spell combined with wet summers coincided with famines as well as the " Black Death " pandemic.

Earth science expert David Stahle of the University of Arkansas said that the study provided a new special evidence to better understand the history of human societies. In the prosperous epochs, trees are heavily exploited to build houses and fuel, leading archaeologists to collect more wood samples today.

At other times, like the years after the " Black Death " pandemic and the so-called " Migration Period " between the years of 300 and 600 AD, the number of wood samples fell to almost zero. " It's a measure of interesting demographic trends and is really the most prominent part of the study ," Stahle concluded.

Although these correlations have not proved much, new findings have helped show how climate impacts as one of the factors that changed the face of the Roman Empire at the time. hours.