Decome Essay : The Decline Of The Roman Empire

One of the greatest civilizations ever born was the Roman Empire.  When it started off Rome was known as a “sleepy little town”(Background essay) that had awakened once the Greek empire began to fall.  During the time of Julius Caesar was when Rome turned from republic to an Empire with Caesar as its first emperor.  Soon over the years Rome became a powerhouse with its lands stretching all around the Mediterranean Sea.  However unlike other civilizations where they fell because of other civilizations, Rome fell from within its walls because of several possible reasons and theories.

The great Roman Empire expanded across all of Europe and into the Middle East. Its military was one of the finest. With major trading in Africa and Britain, the economy flourished with brining many citizens a healthy income. With amazing advancements in culture and technology, Roman society was at its finest. During the Pax Romana, the Romans had 200 years of peace and good ruling by level headed dictators and emperors. Despite Rome’s greatness in all of these areas, Rome would eventually fall. Surprisingly all of these qualities that led up to a flourishing empire were the same ones that led to its demise. As Germanic tribes invaded, the military weakened and the government became unstable.

For hundreds of years, the Roman Empire influenced most of the world today by architecture, art, philosophy, engineering, and government. For about 1,000 years, the Empire of Rome was in control of the Mediterranean world. As the empire prospered it was starting to fall apart. Most of the problems occurred from within Rome itself as well as other outside invasions that also led to the fall of the Roman Empire. Most scholars ponder on what exactly led to the decline Rome. The primary reasons for the ¨Fall¨ of Rome were disasters (Doc F), foreign invasions (Doc C/D), and diseases (Doc F).

The Roman Empire was the most powerful Empire during it’s time.It is considered to have “fallen” in 476. Many speculation that have been presented as to why it fell, from flawed economic and social policies. The actual cause of Rome’s fall is the result of many factors, but was mainly caused by Rome’s poor economic strategy. Categorized socio-economic problems and political corruption with the emperors and senate with their selfish,indulgence lifestyles.Constant wars and attacks from enemies. The empire suffered economic decline and political issues within their own government. The decline and eventually the fall the empire led to changes that still affect the modern world in several different sector.

The political corruption happening in the Roman Empire was a main contributing part to its downfall. According to the authors in document 1, very little

For a long period of time, Rome seemed like an unstoppable empire. It conquered the majority of the land surrounding it, including Greece, Turkey, Iraq, and many of its other neighboring countries. It seemed as though Rome would conquer the entire world, as it was the center of it, until it began to decline in 476 C.E. The very aspects that made it so successful were the ones that caused its collapse. Various political, religious, and economic reasons caused its downfall. The fact that the entire economy of Rome collapsed and money became worthless was a major reason for the empire’s collapse. In addition, the loss of a common religion and lack of efficient ruling in relation to its vast territory affected the empire. The Roman

The Roman Empire fell for primarily political reasons within the government itself. The Emperors were unfit to rule even though they inherited their throne or were payed to rule since they had no official way to decide emperor. These leaders were mentally unstable; one of the emperors even tried to put his horse in senate! They were especially greedy, for emperors, and had no system to replace the emperors if they died. A lot of the time they were killed by their own praetorian guard! These unfit emperors made taxes higher and made their living conditions worse, as a result, the citizen of Rome revolted against them.

Great. Powerful. Fearless. Invincible. Those are just some of the words used to describe the Roman Empire. With its sheer size, its overwhelming population, and its powerful army, it seemed as if the Romans would never fall. But all great civilizations must fall one day. The end of the Roman Empire is an event that has been studied by historians again and again, yet no one seems to have a concrete reason for its downfall. The answer is simpler than one may think. Rome’s corrupt government, its weakening army, and the many foreign invasions all led to its decline, with this corrupt government being the primary cause for its fall.

The enraged public rejected his authority, and his liberality (Gibbon-1776-pg. 94). But we can never be absolutely sure of the reasons. It could have been something like the lead pipes used in their aqueducts or even an evolution of human society to the next level. Another aspect for the Roman Empires decline and eventual fall was the dwindling of the Roman Empire's economic might. This affected nearly every aspect of Roman life, from the decline of the population to the lack of maintenance of foundation. Between 218 AD and 268 AD, there were about fifty different Emperors (Grant-1978-pg.363). There were also some military aspects that led to their demise and because people became disinterested in joining the Roman army Rome was left unprotected against all of their enemies. That, in turn, was caused by the army’s lack of respect for the autocratic power of the Emperor (Grant-1990-pg.60). This outcome caused deterioration in the economy, which was the lack of circulating currency in the Western Empire. Two reasons for the lack of funds were wholesale stock piling of bullion by Roman citizens, and the widespread looting of the Roman treasury by the barbarians. These two factors, combined with the massive trade deficit with Eastern Regions of the Empire extinguished the growth of wealth in the west. The changing rainfall patterns and climate in the Mediterranean began to alternate annually between hot droughts and cold rainy seasons. This decreased the number of crops

In the later half of the fourth century the Western Roman Empire fell after nearly a five hundred years of dominance and is still widely considered the world’s greatest superpower (Andrews). Many people attribute the crumbling of the empire to multiple different reasons, like corrupt and insane leaders to overspending and inflation. As J.B Bury said once “the fall of the roman empire was a series of contingent events. In this paper we are going to cover the three main reasons. Political and Economical problems plus problems with the military(Wood).

Rome, from its inception as a monarchy to its transition to a republic and then an empire, has set patterns in government, religion, and technology for later civilizations. In its prime, Rome dominated the Western world, controlling trade, taxes, and agriculture throughout the Mediterranean. Eventually, due to many internal and external issues, the Roman empire transitioned from a time of prosperity during the Pax Romana and the early days of the empire to an age of chaos, war, and fear. Like any empire, Rome fell, leaving starving and vulnerable people in its wake. With little resources, destroyed cities, and lack of government and law enforcement, the people were left to fend for themselves, creating a system that shaped Western Europe and

Many anthropologists and historians have speculated about the different causes and effects of the fall of the Roman Empire. Some have even stated that Rome did not fall but instead, was merely transformed. However, there were many causes that did end this prodigious empire. Many seemingly small decisions made by powerful emperors over the course of just over a century lead to its destruction. In this paper it will be established that the Roman emperors, in an effort to save their political power, made adjustments to warfare/treaty practices and made political changes which over time lead to the inevitable collapse of the realm, this caused a drastic regression in the living standards of the Roman citizens, implying that the Empire did indeed collapse and not transform.

The Roman Empire was a glorious civilization that lasted for a long period of time, and was two million square miles in size. It is mostly known because of how big and strong it was, but the Roman Empire could have held that title for a longer period of time. There were several entities that can be held responsible for the fall of Rome, such as Emperor Diocletian, the government and ethnic groups that were new to the empire. Unfortunately the extremely famous, big and strong empire started to fall gradually between 190 A.D. 410 A.D. due to three causes. The causes for the fall of the Roman Empire were the empire’s sheer size, racial weakening, and splitting of the empire into two.

The Roman Empire was a vast territory that expanded to three different continents.They were a place of honor, tradition, and respect. Rome has had several different periods, some of peace, and some of violence or unrest, but those were solved quickly and effectively. However, such a magnificent empire could not hold up under the strains that were slowly causing it to collapse. Rome began to face many problems that together allowed the fall of the Roman Empire. The three main problems that caused Rome to fall were invasions by barbarians, an unstable government, and pure laziness and negligence.

The era dominated by Roman empire is one the most well-known and influential periods of history, home to famous names from Julius Caesar to Jesus Christ. At its height, Rome’s territory stretched from the Atlantic coastline to the Middle East, reigning over 60 million people, one-fifth of the population of the ancient world. However, the Roman empire’s treatment of their conquered people’s and their own citizens ultimately led to the permanent downfall of Rome.