The most important reason for the collapse of Rome was the failure to actually integrate what they conquered. When Roman soldiers conquered new lands, it was rare that they ever attempted to force their culture, ideals, or laws upon the natives and barbarians. Thus, when the Empire began suffering internal struggles, the natives they had conquered decided to take action, which lead to the swift collapse by barbarian invasion from all sides. It's hard to pick a LEAST important reason, seeing that there were many of them, but I suppose a contender would most likely be the common refusal of the Empire to even acknowledge that barbarians were rising. On the outer edges of their territory, in places like Gaul and Morocco, the Roman government was reluctant to even recognize the threat of the barbarians, thinking that even accepting that these barbarians were causing trouble would weaken their prestige in the public eye.
What year does these photos take place. Where did you live at the time of these photos? Who is Aunt M?
A state can be defined as a 'political community' which gathers under one leader and abide by a specfic set of rules and laws.
The early states as those seen in the Sumer, where city-states. Small in size, ruled by a king with the support of the local people and land lords.
The ruler also had a small army to maintain local order and to protect against foriegn invasions.
D. 18th century I believe.
