Title: |
The End Of Everything |
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Author: |
Victor Davis Hanson |
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Category: |
Non-fiction |
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Rating: |
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Date Reviewed: |
March 21, 2025 |
The first chapter tells the tale of doomed Thebes. Thebes was once a prominent Greek city state, on par with Athens and Sparta. But when Alexander the Great came to power on the Macedonian throne upon the death of his father, Thebes revolted against his rule. Apparently they felt that their fortified city could withstand any assault, plus there was a rumor the Alexander himself had been assassinated. Alexander marched his army to the gates of Thebes (thus proving that he was very much alive.) Alexander was about to embark on a campaign to conquer the known world, he could not afford to have cities rising upon in rebellion while he was off in Asia. Thebes was made a lesson that all the other Greek cities would understand - Alexander was not tolerant of rebellion. Thebes citizens end up massacred or enslaved, and their proud city was razed. The destruction of Carthage is told in the second chapter. Previously, Carthage had fought two ruinous wars with Rome. Although Rome won both the first and second Punic War, those victories came at heavy cost. Now, decades after Carthage's defeat in the second Punic War, Rome marched to the walls of Carthage, even though Carthage posed no threat at all. It had shrunk from its previous empire down to the capital city of Carthage, with most of its lands confiscated. Despite Carthage posing no threat, Cato the Elder railed in the Roman Senate that Carthage must be destroyed (perhaps Cato claimed that Carthage harbored weapons of mass destruction.) When the Roman army showed up outside the walls of Carthage, Carthage had no desire to fight. Rome demanded that Carthage disarm - and they did! Rome demanded that Carthage turn over its war elephants - and Carthage did! Finally finding an excuse to attack, Rome demanded that the citizens of Carthage abandon their city and found a new one ten miles inland, and that the Carthaginians could not do. Rome launched its attack, and a three year siege resulted. Although Carthage fought valiantly, eventually they were overwhelmed and their city was razed (though eventually the Romans would construct their own city on the same site). An orgy of slaughter, rape, looting and enslavement lasted for three days when the Romans finally broke through the walls. Similar to Carthage, Byzantium posed no threat to the Ottoman Turks. Byzantium had also shrunk from its previous empire until almost nothing remained except the proud capital city behind its towering walls. But the young Sultan Memhet II was detemined to prove his right to rule, and so gathered a huge army, including the new-fangled cannons that the he hoped would breach the famous defensive walls (they did not). Despite being vastly outnumbered by the invaders, Byzantium managed to repel attack after attack, until a fateful moment when their commanding officer was struck and carried bleeding from his post on the walls. Suddenly, the defenders all panicked and fled from their positions and the Turks at last managed to enter the city. By now the reader knows the drill: rape, loot, slaughter and enslave. The chapter on Cortes attack on the Aztecs explains how such an outnumbered band of conquistadors was able to prevail against the warlike Aztecs that outnumbered them a thousand to one. Hint: the warlike Aztecs were reviled by their neighbors, and so revenge-minded native nations gladly aligned themselves with the Spaniards. Cortes was the leader, but the army he commanded was comprised of Tlaxcalan warriors with a core of hardened Spanish soldiers armed with steel, guns and horses (which the New World inhabitants had never before encountered.) Also, the Spanish unintentionally also brought the smallpox plague which had a devastating effect on the native populations. Cortes attacked because he lusted for the riches of the Aztec empire. Hanson calls Cortes a military genius multiple times in this book, but it sounded to me that Cortes was a sociopath blinded by his lust for riches and power and was willing to commit any atrocity to achieve his goals. Does that make someone a genius? When the final assault came, the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan was flattened by the fierce fighting. Cortes discovered a wonderous city that rivaled anything back in Europe at the time, and he left it a smoking ruin. Mexico City was built on top of the former city, and the Aztecs passed into history. My impression upon finishing this book is that these four destructions are nothing exceptional. Almost any set of nations fighting each other soon escalate to acts of savagery and brutality. If each combatant could wipe out the other side completely, they willingly would do so. (Is there any doubt that Hamas or Israeli would gladly kill the entirety of the other side, if only they could? Same with Ukraine and the Russians.) Now many nations are equipped with nuclear weapons, so the blood lust that infects most everyone once a war starts could lead to disaster for all of humanity. This is a grim read, not intended for readers who have positive views of their fellow man. |
