Empires collapse not from sudden shocks but from the slow er... - Fernand Braudel

"Empires collapse not from sudden shocks but from the slow erosion of their material base."

Fernand Braudel History

Historian French 1902–1985

More from Fernand Braudel

"History is a set of lies agreed upon."

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

"Geography is destiny."

"Civilizations are mortal like men."

"I've seen a lot of things in my time."

"That's how we archaeologists tell time."

"We must learn from history or be doomed to repeat it."

"Every artifact tells a story."