The Mediterranean Climate in Modern and Roman Times Essay -- Roman Emp

The Mediterranean Climate in Modern and Roman TimesFlorence, Italy lies in the Tuscan region in the middle of the Italian peninsula, and is a part of the clement Mediterranean climate region. Being in such a temperate zone means that Italy is less subject to extreme climate counterchange than other parts of the world. This does not mean that throughout recorded chronicle the climate of the region has been static, however we can see many similarities surrounded by the climate today and that of the time of the Roman Empire. H.H. Lamb describes a procrastinating global warming in Europe leading up to AD (CE) 400. As he says, this is consistent with a rising sea take during the same period of time. We have evidence of Roman writers indicating that olive and the vine could be grown farther north than earlier in Roman fib (Lamb, 157). As those two crops are actually prominent cultural aspects of Rome, this is a very culturally pertinent piece of evidence. Not only was this blue cultivation of olive and vine possible during Plinys time (1 st century CE), exactly it is still possible now, as olives and wine are two very important parts of Mediterranean culture. Ptolemy kept a weather daybook in the 2 nd century, near the time of Pliny, which Lamb refers to, citing incident of rain in every month of the year except August, of flourish in all summer months, and in that days of great awake were commonest in July and August (Lamb, 159). This is still more or less veritable of the Mediterranean, particularly Florence. tu30.jpgWhile Lamb says that today the continual north and northwest winds get through the sea in July, August lower the temperature, Ptolemy kept his journal in Alexandria, farther south than Florence. While Florence may not have expe... ...e had shifted dramatically south. Eventually, as we know, the Roman Empire fell apart and was unable to maintain its order of magnitude or its grandeur, and its downfall is closely linked to climate chan ge. The ecotone currently lies in southern France, where, as Fagan tells us, we can see the vegetation change from Mediterranean to temperate within a few meters. The trend today suggests warming, hardly unlike in the high period of the Roman Empire, today a lot of this warming appears to be caused by human activity. Political trends state that an Empire of such magnitude as Rome would not be possible today, but undeniably the history of human life is secure closely to our climate. BibliographyLamb, H. H. Climate, History, and the Modern World. 2nd ed. London and smart York Routledge, 1982. 156-170. Fagan, Brain. The Long Summer. New York Basic Books, 2004. 189-212.