Essay on Internal Factors Responsible for the Fall of Rome

While the fall of the Roman Empire is well known, the exact causes of why it fell can be difficult to pinpoint. Many historians believe that Rome 's downfall was due to poor leadership, weakened economics, or perhaps a combination of the two along with other seemingly unrelated factors. However, there is a string of evidence suggesting that there were three main components that took place to bring about the fall of the Roman Empire. These determinant attributes did not happen all at once, and there was a domino effect with each one directly influencing the others. The fall of Rome occurred after a series of preventable events, including unacceptable emperors, the heavy reliance on slaves, and the increasingly uncontrollable borders of Rome.

The seemingly unstoppable Roman empire was certain to fall in a matter of time. Even though Rome was majorly affected by external attacks, I feel like the fall was because of the internal decline. The economy and social issues were the key factors that led to the descent of the large empire. A vast amount of their problems came from within the city. Every decision that Rome made had an extensive effect on the city itself and the rest of the world. Many foolish decisions made by terrible emperors weakened the city and eventually cause the many aspects of Roman life to crumble.

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 Roman Empire took over after the Greeks fell and it thrived over the years. But when the Pax Romana came along, the empire was developing a “soft belly” which was becuase of the upper class becoming lazy and losing their edge. At this point is where they fall. The reasons for the great empire fell because of their government, military, and the natural disaster problems.

The first reason for the fall of Rome was Natural disasters. “The Roman world was shaken by earthquakes”, states Document F. Also, Document F states that, “The shores of the Mediterranean were left dry by the sudden retreat of the sea.” Lastly Document F states that “The tide soon returned to the weight of immense floods.” Earthquakes, drought,

Although the fall of Rome remains obscure, what many historians fail to realize is that the decline of the Roman Empire was the epitome of cause and effect relationships. Properly analyzing the fall of Rome leads historians to realize that a chain of circumstances, beginning with the political corruption of the Western empire, was a catalyst for superfluous military spending and economic failure, all which contributed to the fall of Rome. Because the Praetorian Guard would select the highest bidder and put him into office, the emperors would not represent the people as a whole and did not instill the beliefs that the people held. In Document 1, Roman Emperors, 235-285, a chart shows the inconsistency of the Roman emperors and the violence

- Basically, the main reasons other than the invasions include. Lack of Trade. Mistreatment of lower-class citizens. Environmental disasters (Pompeii). A decline in population. To many emperors can lead to an unstable government, mainly because of assassination or war/ disease. And some

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

It is true that there are other great reasons why Rome fell. For example, legal injustice which is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly -but not always- defined as either the absence or the opposite of justice. However, the three reasons represented above- political assassinations, foreign invaders, and especially natural disasters- provide the best explanation for why Rome finally crumbled in the 5th century

One critical aspect in the fall of the Western Roman empire were the political issue in the government. Several Emperors in Rome were unfit for the throne, for many different reasons. Numerous numbers of them were greedy, and only looked out for their own well being, instead of all of the citizens. A big chunk of them, had inherited the throne from their ancestors, and

The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful political, social, and economic structures in western civilization. Unfortunately, an empire so strong was bound to collapse one way or another because of the many problems beginning to form before the actual fall in 475 AD. These problems included some of the social aspect, some of the economic aspect, and some of the political aspect. Above all reasons, the social problems of the Roman Empire are proven to be the most fatal because it was the population of Rome that helped cause its decline.

The cost of sustaining the military ended up being too great for the citizens of Rome. The middle class was impoverished by the military tax, and the farmers that Rome was initially built off of could not continue their business. The decline of the lower classes also lead to many people no longer believing in the benefit of the empire. There was also controversy regarding the army.

Many political reasons as to why Rome fell. Rome’s government had weakened, its currency’s value had been reduced, and Rome was split into two parts. Many of Rome’s emperors accepted bribes and were forced to pay increasingly higher wages to their soldiers. When these payments could not be made, the soldiers turned against the emperor. After the old emperor had been dethroned, legions would fight legions to put a new emperor on the throne. This weakened Rome because

However other people believe that another main reason why the Empire fell is because of economic issues such as inflation and taxation in an effort to escape being taxed many wealthy people moved out to the west and set up independent fiefdoms. At the same time the empire was experiencing a lack of manpower both in its military and it’s agricultural due to the fact that they expanding the Empire within the second century this means that they would no longer conquering lands and because of the fact that they were continuously battling with other tribes it left him vulnerable this situation got even worse in the fifth century when the Vandals claimed North Africa and began disrupting the empire’s trade by prowling the Mediterranean as pirates. Another major cause of the empire’s collapse is it separation the reason I say this is because although it allowed the Empire to run more smoothly that is the same as if a person were just to look at it in short terms, however once looked at in a long-term matter it is clear that it was difficult for them to continue having the same beliefs provide military support and economic support and in the end ensure that one ruler did not obtain too much power combine that with the idea of government corruption and the fact that during the second and third century becoming the Roman leader practically became a death sentence due to the fact that deleted bodyguard

After the Emperor Septimius Severus transformed the government from civil control to martial control, large problems began to arise. Generals gained immense amounts of power under this new form of government. After the last rightful successor to the role of Emperor was killed, civil unrest rapidly spread. With the Emperor gone, the military began to take over. There was no clear law about succession, and so the powerful Roman generals and their fractions fought to be the new ruler of Rome. During this period, dozens of generals claimed to be Emperor. The generals gathered supporters and had them fight with the other generals supporters. Everyone who had grabbed power before could now claim to be the rightful ruler, and at one point Rome was being ruled by over 20 different Emperors. This period is often referred to as the “Crisis of the Third Century.” After 50 years of the Generals fighting, assassinating each other, and pushing through civil wars, Emperor Diocletian assumed the throne. The adjustments that he made to the country had long lasting negative