Reasons Why Roman Republic Felled Down

The greatest cause for the fall of Rome, has been debated by historians for years. Some say that it was the invasions. Others argue that is was the natural disasters that made Rome fall. However the greatest cause of Rome’s fall was the weak military. The military was at one point one of Rome’s best qualities.

To start off with, economic problems and corruption are one of the main reasons for Rome’s decline. For example, Document E, written by Priscus, Roman ambassador for the Huns, is a reported conversation he had with a Roman citizen who had been conquered by the Huns. It states, “[He]...considered his new life...better than his old life among the Romans…”. According to this sentence, Romans who are being conquered by the Huns are enjoying their lives more than when they were Roman citizens. Also, in the same document, it states, “...A [wealthy lawbreaker] … is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man… undergoes the legal penalty…” In other words, the poor

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.

One of the main reasons Rome fell was because of it’s government. It’s bad leadership and selfish officials that create a divide between the government and the people. Document 4, an excerpt from The New Deal in Old Rome by Henry Haskell, a journalist for Kansas City Star, allows us to infer that the gap between the government and people could not be fixed. The government increased taxes in order to fund the army and the government itself. These actions taken by the government caused severe economic decline and unemployment as the phrase “people learned to expect something from nothing” became prevalent in Rome at the time.

The third most important reason why Rome fell was economic and civic decay. “The condition of [Roman] subjects in time of peace [is worse than war]... taxes are very severe… The climax of misery is to have to pay in order to obtain justice” (Doc E). The high taxes and prices led many people to poverty. The people of Rome also had to pay for justice, which should have been free, making it unfair for the innocent poor people.

There are many reasons for what happened to the Roman empire from economic problems and corruption, disasters and disease, foreign invasions, military weakness, and weak leadership. Out of all of those ideas, weak leadership might have caused many of the problems to happen. Weak leadership might have caused everything because leaders that do poorly in their job causes bad military, in control of the empire, and many assassinations of leaders making citizens feel unsafe according to document A (Roman Emperors, 235-285 C.E.). The government of Rome is not fair, has no justice, and has been becoming a dictatorship which they want everything. All of these political problems change Rome from a republic to a dictatorship.

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 reason Rome fell was the economic problems and corruption. First of all, since the military was so weak, the leaders kept dying. Mostly of assassination. For example, in the chart in document A, 13 emperors were assassinated. Also a lot of the time the leaders would have bribed the military to stay loyal. The leaders, the people chose, had enemies. The enemies would assassinate them, and take their place. The leaders also made horrible decisions. The empire got weaker and weaker every leader. Everything kept changing. Since most of the leaders didn’t agree with what the other leader previously made legal. The laws were all over the place.

The primary reasons Rome “fell” were the government had a poor system, the military had problems, and Rome misunderstood the outsiders. Rome “fell” because they had poor government. First of all, Rome had good rules but no one followed them. For example “Many people were exempt from the military draft”(Doc B). This was a problem because it was unfair to the people who aren’t part of the group who were exempt.

Ancient Rome grew to be one of the greatest empires in the world. Constantly gaining land and wealth, by 200 BCE Rome was a mighty giant, spilling over its borders, no longer an unremarkable settlement, but nothing less than a powerhouse (Primary Reasons for “Fall” of Rome). Sorrowfully, all great things must come to an end. In 5th century BCE ancient Rome shattered: The ferocious beast had fallen (Primary Reasons for “Fall” of Rome). As people recall their knowledge of Rome, a key point always comes back into play. How did Rome crash? Why did the grand empire fall? Three vital troubles led Rome to deteriorate: Rome had an attack of lethal, natural disasters and plagues narrowed its population; Rome’s upper class lost their edge; Rome had

The Roman Government had to have large expenses to fix their army and fill in their vast bureaucracy. There was a major downfall though caused by the high taxation on the people, and it was the lost of jobs. There was high unemployment due to the high taxation, and the less jobs there were, the harder it was on their economy. Companies and businesses were taken away, and more jobs were lost due to the establishment of a government welfare system. With all the failing businesses, and lost of jobs, there was no hope of fixing the system and getting everyone their jobs back(Doc.4). These Government Issues were one of many reasons why the Roman Empire

Arguably the greatest contribution to the eventual downfall of the Roman Republic was the institution of Gaius Marius' popular, yet dangerous reforms, and his repeated usage of questionable political tactics to achieve his underlying personal goals. By undermining the power of the senate through illegal political conduct, and by introducing reforms that created the open potential for abuse of military power, Marius paved the way for future military monarchies, civil conflict and the eventual downfall and segregation of the Roman Republic.

Roman republic began with the over throw of the roman monarchy and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elect annually by the citizens and advised by senate. During the first two centuries of its existence the Roman republic expanded rapidly through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. Then republic continues to conquest new land such as North Africa, Greece, Southern France and Spain. For about 500 years, the Roman republic exists and has many significant achievements in many fields. However, the republic finally collapsed and reformed as participate. Octavian becomes the first Augustus which was the first Roman emperor.

Three ideals and traditions of the Roman Republic, lust for power, greed, and loyalty, each contributed to the collapse of the Republic. Desire for power played a major role in the collapse of the Republic because Caesar, the man who arguably began the Republic’s downfall, marched on Rome because he wanted power. The second ideal that led to the Republic’s collapse was greed and the power of money, for example bribing officials in Rome, Crassus’ shocking alliance with Caesar, and Pompey’s strategy to fight Caesar during the first civil war. The last ideal that aided the downfall of the Republic was loyalty, specifically citizens’ loyalty to political leaders or military generals, loyalty between generals and their veterans, and loyalty between political leaders.

The term “all great things must come to an end” is commonly associated with the decline of empires, dynasties, and rulers. When an empire with the capability of conquering nearly the entire Mediterranean area starts to see a decline in their republic after hundreds of years of gaining power and land, something must kick start such an event. One event that caused great turmoil in Roman history was the end of the Roman Republic. The focus of this paper will be on three events that contributed to the decline of the Roman Republic, which arguable came to an end in 49 BCE. Drawing from the works of Sallust, Cicero, lecture presentations, and various other authors, this paper will specifically focus on the decline of the Roman Republic from the