Fall Of Rome Research Paper

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.

The military might of Rome was second to none in its prime. Victorious battle after battle did nothing but

The Roman Empire began when Julius Caesar became one of the leaders to reign and conquer Rome. Rome was commonly referred to as “the eternal city.” Rome had a total of 19 emperors from 235 to 285 CE. Those 19 emperors might have caused the fall of Rome to happen. The decline of Rome, or the “fall” of Rome, was due to economic problems, Roman emperors, and natural disasters and disease.

Rome fell for many reasons but the main reasons were because they were not well prepared for the battle, there were many natural disasters wiping

The Roman Empire may have been massive and strong, but that didn’t always work out for them. With an empire stretching to it’s very limits there wasn’t a chance of doubt on whether it’s borders were hard to defend from raids and attacks. According to the DBQ, “Rome’s fall was an inevitable effect of it’s grand size…borders became difficult to secure…” (Doc 2). The Roman Empire was an incredible feat of the ancient world but it wasn’t also the easiest thing to defend.

It was so big it became practically impossible for the Romans to maintain and the money needed to maintain safety was never enough. Doc 5 says that,” At the same time, Rome’s eastern and northern borders grew so large they became difficult to maintain.” This shows that Rome’s size was so big that for the Romans to maintain it was almost impossible. Doc 2 states that,” ...borders became difficult to secure and the amount of gold needed to maintain roads and perform routine maintenance was never enough.”

As Rome’s army started to get lazy and didn’t wear armor they fought the Goths. Rome’s army did not have any armor on so they

To begin with, the first thing that contributed to the fall of Rome was economic problems and corruption. Roman citizens who lived in places that were conquered by the Huns enjoyed life there more than life in the Roman Empire. In the excerpt of a historical text by Priscus, a Roman ambassador to the Huns, interviews a former Roman citizen whose land was conquered by the Huns, he states, “The conditions of Roman subjects in time of peace is worse than war… taxes are very severe, unprincipled men inflict injuries on others.” (Document E) This explains that less severe taxes made being conquered by Huns better than living in the Roman Empire. Priscus also states, “He said that the laws and constitution of the Romans were fair, but deplored the governors, not possessing the spirit of the former generations, were ruining the state.” This

This shows that the Roman military were not very strong or motivated when it came to protecting their people They just gave up and put their life on the line while doing it. Strength and motivation are very important when it comes to having a good army and since Rome’s army did not have any of these qualities, towards the end of the Roman Empire’s life, their army was not any help at all. This is relevant because if the army is lazy and very easy to beat then Rome would be vulnerable and invaders could attack and conquer them at any time. If invaders attacked them then Rome would immediately have to surrender, throwing away all their hard work. Even though the military’s problems were a massive part in Rome’s decline, Rome still had many more difficult situations to deal

But at war they were unloyal and would fight against Rome. One of Rome’s causes to fall was it grew to big to protect. The borders of Rome became hard to protect, and had grown to large for it to be protected at the level needed. According to Doc 2, “Borders became difficult to secure and the amount of gold needed to maintain roads and perform routine maintenance was never enough.”

The economy of Rome was suffering. Rome had a great deal of money but they didn’t know what to use it for. Too much money was being used to provide protection and keep unity in the empire. Cities began to crumble that became poor and some cities even began to lose control. The senate became dishonest and then they started giving away their spots in office. Some people murdered or assassinated the emperors (Doc. A), and that’s when city revolts fired up and citizens of Rome started rebelling against government. The civilizations economic rottened.

One of the reasons that Rome fell was its military. The German attacks are what caught Rome off of its feet. During the late empire, Rome got complacent with the training and discipline of their soldiers. In order to have enough soldiers to protect the empire, Rome hired mercenaries who were mostly made up of German warriors who felt little loyalty to Rome. If Rome hired soldiers who were more loyal to their, such as their own people, and continued to train their soldiers, they would have

    Though Rome was a great empire that conquered countless territories, it was not immune to the numerous attacks from barbarians such as the Huns, the Visigoths, the Vandals, and others. The barbarians would raid and sack the capital and other cities in ancient Rome, leaving them without money or tradable items. The Vandals did so much damage to the cities that their name is associated with the crime of extensive damage to property. The Huns were another destructive group of barbarians that were led by Attila. They raided Rome in 451 AD, leaving an immense trail of destruction. Other barbarians attacked Rome at different times, each leaving Rome weaker and helpless. Each attack destroyed their economy and left them desperate for a solution. The Ostrogoths finally caused the Western Empire to fall when Odoacer chased Romulus Augustus, the last of the Roman emperors, off the

There are many other legitimate theories on what caused the fall of Rome. One such theory is that the Romans did not develop new technology to increase efficiency, as they relied heavily on human and animal labor (Fall of the Roman Empire). Thus, they could not keep up with the needs of the growing population. But the events I focused on,

Rome had to add outsiders to its military and it had to deal with the betrayal of its soldiers and the lack of loyalty. Politics also contributed to the fall of Rome, the economy wasn’t the best for an Empire. The expansion of Rome hurt its military, and