The decline of the Roman empire was so slow, I think it would have been almost unnoticable to anyone living through it in real time. People living through revolutions, though, they probably felt and feel similarly about a completely uncertain future.
Better comparison would be the Bronze Age collapse. Basically every empire in the east Mediterranean was wiped out in the span of 10-30 years (save for Egypt, which never recovered). Much more rapid and similar to a modern empire falling apart.
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The decline of the Roman empire was so slow, I think it would have been almost unnoticable to anyone living through it in real time. People living through revolutions, though, they probably felt and feel similarly about a completely uncertain future.
Better comparison would be the Bronze Age collapse. Basically every empire in the east Mediterranean was wiped out in the span of 10-30 years (save for Egypt, which never recovered). Much more rapid and similar to a modern empire falling apart.