Today, it almost seems as if the world is tired of living under their current political system. Many feel as if they’re being oppressed. Some groups, like socialists, radical Moslems, or anarchists, may feel like it would help their cause to enlist the help of others that share a common enemy (which today, for many, are the capitalists). By taking a look at history, we can see that uniting with someone stronger than you to try to defeat a common enemy is often a bad idea.
Julius Caesar Helps in Ancient Britain
Most people who know a thing or two about history know that the Roman Empire spread far and wide, and controlled people living as far north as ancient Britain. The Britons didn’t give up without a fight though. When Julius Caesar first attacked the island, the British were able to repel his attempts to put them under subjection. Then the British nobility started fighting amongst each other. The nephew of one of the dukes fought with the king’s nephew. When the king tried to punish the duke’s nephew, the duke decided to rebel. Instead of fighting with all British forces, the duke decided to write Julius Caesar and ask for assistance. The Britons lost the next battle, and Caesar set up a king that was friendly to Rome, which led the way to Rome’s permanent conquest of the kingdom years later.
Vortigern to the Saxons: Help Us!
Hundreds of years later, the Roman Empire was in decline, and Britons were once again free. Unfortunately for them, at around the same time, other invaders started appearing, like the Picts and the Irish. The British king, Vortigern, invited some Saxon warlords to come and help them fend off the invasion. Unfortunately, these invitations often come with a price. The Saxons were soon taking over the whole island.
The Visigoths Fight Among Themselves
The British weren’t the only ones who begged foreign generals for their help. The Visigoths also asked for assistance, and found themselves a conquered people as a result. When a dispute arose over which brother should succeed their father as king, one of the brothers decided to enlist the help of Tariq bin Ziyad, an Islamic general. Bin Ziyad sailed the small distance of the Mediterranean between North Africa and Spain, told his men to burn their ships, and decided to conquer the Visigoths instead of help. They became known as the Moors, and the Rock of Gibraltar (Jabral Tariq) was named after the general.
Be Careful of Who You Ally With
The same lessons hold true for us today. If we are in a dispute with someone, we need to be careful on who are allies are. If you are an anarchist that hates capitalism, you might think that it’s a good idea to team up with a socialist that also hates capitalism. If you’re leading a protest movement against some corrupt dictator, you might think that getting help from someone who also hates the dictator might be a smart idea. When you team up with someone that has little in common with you other than a common enemy, you may get burned. It has happened time and time again throughout history.
Sources:
Geoffrey of Monmouth. The History of the Kings of Britain. Section iv.8-iv.9.
Lorren, Brooke. Gibraltar, the Mountain of Tariq. Associated Content, 26 Aug 2010.