Sometimes it seems as if modern society is simply obsessed with the end of the world. Popular culture is giving out more and more information about the invasions of zombies, giant meteorites from space and, much more likely, the nuclear destruction of the entire planet. In fact, humanity has successfully survived more than one end of the world, which could well become the end of the history of our race. Here are some examples of how we dealt with this problem in the distant past.
Boxer rebellion
China has always been the most populous place on earth. Unsurprisingly, the fall of the Chinese government during the Qing dynasty caused a collapse that affected many neighboring countries. In the Celestial Empire itself, a terrible famine began, inflation made even basic foodstuffs inaccessible. In addition, the use of opium flourished. By the 18th century, China's population had swelled to half a billion, but now every year millions of people die of hunger. Mass riots, later called the Boxer Rebellion, claimed the lives of tens of millions. The fact that the state - and with it many neighboring countries - was able to recover from a blow of such force can be considered a real miracle.
Armageddon
The city of Megiddo was an important center for trade, culture and power in the ancient world. The two largest powers of the time, the Assyrians and the Egyptians, were in constant battle for this area. The memory of those large-scale, bloody battles is so embedded in human consciousness that they are reflected in the mythology of almost every nationality. The three major Abrahamic religions also mention Megiddo. The battles that Thutmose III organized trying to capture the city were so terrifying that later the Greek name Megiddo became synonymous with the end of the world. You've probably heard it more than once - Armageddon. Christians still consider this area to be the final battlefield of Good and Evil.
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Fall of the Roman Empire
For nearly a thousand years, Rome has had a profound influence on Mediterranean and European culture. Many states, with varying success, tried to imitate the great empire. The fall of the Western Roman Empire almost became the end of all civilized society as a whole. From the 5th to the 8th century AD, the Visigoths, Goths and the notorious vandals (whose name became a household name due to the cruel customs of the tribe) plundered and destroyed half of modern Europe. The world could well return to the Dark Ages again.
The Second World War
The last fire of the world war will forever remain an indelible scar in our history. Every corner of the globe saw bloody battles between the Allies and the German fascist troops. Europe and Asia were devastated, with 80 million officially dead. Hunger, cold and poverty became a way of life for others. This was followed by a huge economic downturn - it was no longer necessary to produce so many industrial products. The Cold War between the USSR and the USA seemed to everyone the inevitably approaching end of the world, from which only a miracle saved the world.
Mongol invasion
A merciless wave of Mongol conquerors hit Asia and Europe like a plague. During the 13th century, Genghis Khan was able to forge an effective and destructive war machine from the disparate tribes of the Central Asian steppes, rolling out China, the Middle East, Russia and part of Europe with a steam roller. So many people have died that the decline in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has led to numerous storms and hurricanes - just imagine how many millions of people must stop producing carbon dioxide in order to affect the state of the entire planet.