There is no shortage of explanations for the fall of the Roman Empire: Christianity and the loss of traditional values, the rise of the Eastern Empire, government corruption and political instability as well as overexpansion and military overspending have been identified as the chief cause of Rome’s destruction. The Roman military was the glue which held the empire together. The Romans could never have created their vast empire without a strong army. From the middle of the third century and onward this essential component to the success and stability of the empire slowly withered away. The declining quality of the military paired with the poor imperial strategy left the empire vulnerable to increasing barbarian attacks. However, the crumbling economic structure which was in financial peril was the chief factor in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Furthermore, the exact date the Empire’s fall cannot be identified since Rome …show more content…
During the Pax Romana, society was vulnerable as they turned a blind eye to the perils plaguing them. The ruling class of Rome was sleepwalking into a catastrophe as the oppressed lower class did not fear the Barbarians, but instead looked to them for aid. A priest noted, “in the districts taken over by the barbarians, there is one desire among all the Romans, that they should never again find it necessary to pass under Roman jurisdiction .” The fact that so many people were willing to rebel against their empire speaks to the declining quality of the empire. The invasions were not so much a cause of Rome’s decline as a result of its significant economic and political weakness. St. Jerome stated, “[I]t is the end of the world…Words fail me. My sobs break in…The city which took captive the whole world has been captured
The Roman Civilization, which lasted from 509 BCE to 476 CE and was located in present day Italy, was one of history’s greatest empires. Ancient Rome met the criteria to being a civilization by having a powerful government, a capable military and vigorous trading. Rome’s remarkable government was the reason why Rome lasted for more than 500 years. It provided employment for hundreds of thousands of workers, and Rome experienced rapid growth because of that (Bently 271). Trade brought new products and traders exchanged vast ideas and thoughts which led to Rome being very prosperous (Bently 284).
The Germanic uprising lead to King Alaric pummeling the city of Rome. From that moment, Rome would spend the next several decades under constant threat and attack. But soon after, the “Eternal City” would be attacked again in 455 this time by the Vandals. Because of such turmoil that had
Fall of The Roman Empire Although many factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, the two that influenced influenced it the most are the fact that the empire split, and that the roman legions were weak towards the fall. A quote that supports my claim is “East and West failed to effectively work together and to combat outside threats, and the two often argued over resources and military aid… most importantly, the strength of the East served to divert barbarian invasions to the west.” This supports my claim because it showed that the two could not work well together causing the East to grow while the West fell. Another quote that supports my claim is “Unable to recruit enough soldiers from the Roman people, emperors like Diocletian
So because of the Roman soldier being replaced by German mercenaries and the stoppage of expansion the Roman military lost its power. When the invasions of the western tribes came and destroyed Rome, there was nothing they could
With little funds for the army, leads to recruitment problems. Many of Rome's citizens would try to avoid the draft for the army because of low pay. Rome's government tried to fix this by overspending on the army, which lead to a lack of funding to any other branches of Rome. With Rome's government unable to recruit enough soldiers to fight in the army, their government had 2 decisions. To either force the citizens to join the Roman army or hire mercenaries/barbarians.
Given these reasons, it can be concluded of how Rome fell. Rome was too big and when plagues were brought over and were spread, it decreased the population and hassled the economic life because they didn’t have the resources to pay back the Germanic soldiers. When social and military issues came into play, it led to great cities being lost. Lastly, the reason the contributed the most to the fall of Rome was the weak or selfish emperors and the state being ruined because the government was not following the spirit of past
The Roman Empire lasted from 96-180 C.E thanks to its large completed conquest and its flourishing arts, literature, and commerce, but there is more than just that to its success as it is said in 155 C.E by
For hundreds of years, the Roman Empire was a prosperous nation with a stable and growing population. However, the years were not kind to the empire, and it fell into disarray. One of the reasons for the fall had to do with the Germanic invasions. Herff Jones Education Division’s Nystrom Atlas of World History, an atlas depicting many stages of world history, shows the fracturing of the Roman Empire between 350-476 AD. In particular, it shows the many attacks on Rome, specifically when in 410, the “Visigoths attack Rome,” and in 455, when the “Vandals attack Rome.”
Marquan Wade Summer 2015 Final Paper The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire A century ago, Roman Empire represented a success story for imperialist Britain as well as other European states with imperial ambitions. The Roman story of conquest was imitated, but never fully matched or even replicated. The dream that an imperial empire could not only conquer, but also create a Pax Romana, a vast area of peace, prosperity, and unity was a genuine inspiration for other empires. No other empire was capable of having such a successful reign of power, control, and satisfaction among their people as the Roman Empire did.
At the height of its legacy, Rome was a formidable and respected empire. It gave the world many architectural and technological innovations such as the arch, the aqueduct, and concrete. The Empire stretched from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, and few dared to challenge it. But internal plights such as assassination plots and corrupted rulers, kept it from thriving longer than it should have. The Roman empire’s eventual decline was caused by a negligent upper class, venal political leaders, and an unsatisfied populace.
Imagine the world's biggest statue ever begin to fall apart over many years. Essentially this is what happened to Rome. There were many reasons why this happened. There were three signifi cant reasons for the “fall” of Rome which include a weakening military, foreign invaders, and the most important of the three, natural disasters. One important reason that Rome fell was there weakening military.
In conclusion, while there were many factors that contributed to the decline of the Roman Republic, the breakdown of the traditional system of government and the rise of powerful individuals was the single most important factor. This trend undermined the checks and balances that had been established to prevent the concentration of power and led to increased corruption, social unrest, and military expansion. The lessons of the Roman Republic continue to be relevant today, as we strive to maintain a balance of power and prevent the rise of powerful individuals who seek to manipulate the system for their own
It seems that the fall of the Roman Republic was not a singular event that occurred instantaneously, but rather a long process that saw the increasing use of methods outside of Republican institutions to settle conflicts between members of the aristocracy over political power. Even as the Roman government transitioned form Kingdom to Republic and then to Empire, the competition between aristocratic families remained a relative constant in across the centuries. So too has the desire to mythologize the past. The romans attributed both the fall of the Kingdom of Rome and the fall of the Roman Republic to moral rot, while a more reasonable assessment might place the blame on a dissatisfied and competitive elite class and an inefficient and unresponsive governmental system that was unwilling or unable to address their concerns. In much the same way, modern observers of the Roman Republic have tended to mythologize the fall of the Republic in the service of creating a moral narrative about the unconscionable tyranny of Cesar and the righteousness of the Senate, or whatever alternative narrative is befitting of the historical moment and audience.
The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful and influential empires of its time, controlling a large portion of Europe. The Empire ruled for over 1000 years, starting in 625 BC and falling in 476 AD. Roman success during that time was significantly based upon its military strategies and drive for expansion. Roman military success was advanced in many critical ways, including incentives to obey through economic investments of land and the promise of citizenship, the creation of the Roman legion, systems of rewards and punishments, and rigorous training centralized in fighting as a unit. The tactical organization of Roman methods of war reflects the value of expansion to Roman society.
There were many crises that took place on the way to the fall of the Roman Empire. Rome’s political disorder was a large reason, they were very inefficient. The government had a abrupt rise in size and they were suffering from unstable and poor leadership. They did not have a set plan for finding out a successor to the emperor. The army became increasingly more a part of political affairs, and armies became quick to promote a military leader to emperor.