Roman history (l8th Century): * see Endnote 30

The preeminent historian of the Roman Empire in the 18th century was Gibbon (1737-1794) and his Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire.

 

Gustavus Adolphus (his death):

killed at the Battle of Lützen (1632); a decisive battle of the Thirty Years' War; a Protestant victory but Gustavus Adolphus death (6 November) led the German Protestants to lose direction.  He was killed when separated from his troops while leading a cavalry charge on his wing.  The consequence of his death allowed the Catholic Habsburgs to regain their balance & subsequently retake some of their losses.  It also meant that Catholic France gained firmer control of the anti-Habsburg alliance, forcing Sweden's new regency to accept a far less dominant role than it had held before Lutzen.

 

Alexander (his death): * see Endnote 31

He died 11 June, 323 BC, age 32, in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon; probably of typhoid fever (which, along with malaria, was common in ancient Babylon).  In the week before his death, accounts mention chills, sweats, exhaustion & high fever, typical symptoms of infectious diseases, including typhoid fever.  While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until late antiquity (and was then lost).

 

intermezzo:

a short dramatic, musical, or other entertainment of light character, introduced between the acts of a drama or opera.

 

Napoleon's "transit":

Spengler’s ironic comment on Napoleon's meteoric 20 year rise & fall, from "a whiff of grapeshot (October 1795); "the 18th Brumaire" & First Consul (9 November 1799); Emperor, (2 December 1804); Austerlitz (2 December 1805); Wagram (5–6 July 1809); the Russia campaign (1812) abdication (4 April 1814), Waterloo (18 June 1815) and exile (1815-21).

 

prince of historical tragedy:

Spengler means Shakespeare (and is referencing Anthony & Cleopatra, act 2 scene 7) whom he believed depreciated the practical planned elements of politics in favour of trivial & accidental hinges of Fate.

 

social & economic interpretation (biological cast): * see Endnote  32

Spengler is referring to the new school of sociology and the impact of Social Darwinism in Western thinking.  Social Darwinism refers to various theories from the second half of the 19th century in which the evolutionary concept of natural selection was applied to human society. The term itself emerged in the 1880s.  

 

Marengo:

battle 14 June 1800 between French under Napoleon & Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy.  The battle was close run but near the end of the day, the French overcame Gen. Michael von Melas's surprise attack, driving the Austrians out of Italy and enhancing Napoleon's political position in Paris as First Consul following his coup d’état the previous November.  Although critics blamed Napoleon for several tactical mistakes preceding the battle, they have also praised his audacity for selecting a risky campaign strategy, choosing to invade the Italian peninsula from the north.  Napoleon's triumph at Marengo secured his political authority and boosted his popularity back home,