The Russian economy is not in the greatest of shapes. That being the case, one would have thought friendly diplomatic and economic relations with the West would be a priority for Vladimir Putin, given his need for cash to build weapons against threats from superpowers such as Estonia. A little Roman history would help.
As has been well documented, the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west in the 5th C ad heralded something of an economic dark age for Europe for some 200 years. The long-nurtured Roman economic networks extending east as far as China simply could not survive the break-up that would create the beginnings of today’s Europe.
The ancient sources, as well as the archaeological record, make clear just how connected that world had been. The emperors made sure the infrastructure was in place. As Pliny the Younger said of Trajan, ‘he has opened up roads, built harbours, created overland routes, let the sea into the shore, and moved the shore out to sea’.
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