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Causes Of The Roman Empire

Decent Essays

Kacie Lee
Tomasetti
AP World P.6
12/06/17
Practice Essay #2

The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful and influential empires of ancient history. Although external strife such as the invasion and attacks from barbarian/Germanic groups contributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire, the internal problems were the main factors in the empire’s fall because poor hereditary leadership and the empire becoming too large to administer and manage weakened the empire significantly, which allowed Germanic groups the vanquish the Roman Empire. The Silk Roads were created by Han Wudi during the Han Dynasty, and were trade routes that connected China to the West as far as the Mediterranean Sea. Many items such as religion, disease, technologies, spices, slaves, and animals were traded on these routes, which helped globalize this time period. Many empires/regions such as China, the Islamic States, and the Roman/Byzantine Empire used these trade routes to trade their ideas, technologies, and more. Under the rule of the first Roman emperor, Augustus (also known as Octavian), the Pax Romana started. It was the start of 200 years of Roman peace and tranquility in the Mediterranean region with very little military growth. This period is often considered Rome’s golden age with an increase of trade and creation of roads. After the Pax Romana ended, the Roman Empire was split into two, with the Eastern section becoming the Byzantine Empire and the Western section being ruled by Maximian.

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