What does "lasted" mean? What a crock.

No nation or civilization has lasted, Einstein. That's what history is about. In fact, the Romans became the greatest and longest Empire in history because the countries they conquered and occupied were always "allowed" to keep their religion and culture, as long as they paid their taxes to Caesar.

If you have ever heard of or read the Bible, you would know this, even without reading any other history book. Powerful Caesar didn't want to kill Jesus, he washed his hands and sent him to the local yokels, who then sentenced him to death.

But, Pagan though he was, he respected the Jewish culture and religion...which is how they treated all of their occupied nations and why they lasted the longest. They only went belly-up because they had too many young Roman boys in faraway lands who didn't come back home to marry the Roman girls, whose parents were overtaxed for the military empire.