Strange history: the fall of Rome explained inHereditas

Abstract

In 1921 Hereditas published an article on the fall of Rome written by the famous classical scholar Martin P:son Nilsson. Why was a paper on this unexpected topic printed in the newly founded journal? To Nilsson, the demise of the Roman Empire was explained by the "bastardization" occurring between "races" from different parts of the realm. Offspring from mixed couples were of a less stable "type" than their parents, due to the breaking up by recombination of the original hereditary dispositions, which led to a general loss of competence to rule and govern. Thus, the "hardness" of human genes, together with their recombination, was - according to Nilsson - the main cause of the fall of Rome. Nilsson's argument is not particularly convincingly presented. Human "races" are taken to have the same genetic structure as inbred crop strains, and Nilsson believes in a metaphysical unity between the individual and the race to which it belongs. However, in my view, Martin P:son Nilsson and his friend Herman Nilsson-Ehle had wider aims with the article than to explain a historical event. The article can be read as indicating strong support from the classical human sciences to the ambitious new science of genetics. Support is also transferred from genetics to the conservative worldview, where the immutability and inflexibility of the Mendelian genes are used to strengthen the wish for greater stability in politics and life. The strange article in Hereditas can, thus, be read as an early instance in the - still ongoing - tug-of-war between the conservative and the liberal ideological poles over how genetic results best are socially interpreted.

An efficient method to identify, date and describe admixture events using haplotype information

“…The inferred point estimate dates of these events span a relatively small range of 400-650CE (Table S5), though slightly later (750-800CE) in clusters C45 and C48. While the historical events driving these signals are unclear, a plausible explanation is that it relates to the Roman Empire, which covered all of present-day Belgium, Germany, France, Turkey, North Africa and elsewhere prior to its decline and eventual fall in 476CE [36]. In particular individuals carrying ancestry recently related to that found in present-day people from North Africa, West Asia and southern Europe could have moved across the empire during this time.…”

An efficient method to identify, date, and describe admixture events using haplotype information

“…The inferred point estimate dates of these events span a relatively small range of 400-650CE (Table S5), though slightly later (750-800CE) in clusters C45 and C48. While the historical events driving these signals are unclear, a plausible explanation is that it relates to the Roman Empire, which covered all of present-day Belgium, Germany, France, Turkey, North Africa and elsewhere prior to its decline and eventual fall in 476CE (Bengtsson and Nilsson 2014). In particular individuals carrying ancestry recently related to that found in present-day people from North Africa, West Asia and southern Europe could have moved across the empire during this time.…”