Roman Empire Overexpansion

As the “abundance of slaves led to the growth of latifudia” (Document 3) the great estates took over the agricultural industry. As latifundia took over, more farmers became out of work and in the persuit of finding work they moved into the cities and “added to the unemployment there” (Document 3). But the expansion didn’t stop there. As “the overwhelming majority of the population had been systematically excluded from political responsibilities, they could not… protect themselves… serve in the army… Their economic plight was hopeless” (Document 1). As missionaries fled into the Roman Armies, the citizens were being forced to pay a huge amount of taxes. But with no farmers to grow the food for the soldiers, who would? Expansion brought wealth into the empire, but “when the empire ceased to expand; however economic progress soon ceased” (Document 3). The inflation rate spiked, the rise in prices on everyday necessities decreased the value of money. The Romans were having to trade with exterior partners for items that could not be produced. The flow of money coming in could not match the amount of money going out. The values of the Romans depleted as their economy crumbled.

To begin with, one of the main problems of the Roman Empire was their economic problems and corruption. For example, in an excerpt of a historical text written by Priscus, which was a Roman ambassador to the Huns in 449 C.E, he reported a conversation he had with a former citizen whose land had been conquered by the Huns. In their conversation the former Roman citizen stated, “ The conditions of [Roman] subjects in time of peace [is worse than war]...taxes are very severe, and unprincipled men inflict injuries on others… A [wealthy lawbreaker] … is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man … undergoes the legal penalty… The climax of misery is to have to pay in order to obtain justice…” This supports that one main problem that ended the Roman empire was economic problems and corruption because it shows that if rich people in Rome committed a crime they would only have to bribe their way out of trouble while on the other hand poor people will have to face their consequences which is unfair so when they got invaded by the Huns they decided that it was best if they conquered than to join the military to help their empire. In addition another economic problem is that the the Roman Emperors had to pay their own soldiers to stay loyal which lead to emperors having to mint more coins which is further supported by BrainPop which states, “Roman emperors often bribed their soldiers with money to make sure they remained loyal. And when emperors didn’t have enough to pay their troops, they would mint cheaper coins. This caused the value of Roman money to plummet.” This also supports that one important cause that caused the Roman Empire to decline was the corruption and economic problems because in order for a empire or a civilization to function efficiently, they need to respect all people

The Roman Empire was one of the most popular empires that there ever was. It was also one of the largest as it went as far as Memphis in the South and Europe in the North (document 3). The empire’s location was not the best. Water practically surrounded the entire empire. The Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Caspian Sea were all ports of water around it. However, that did not hold back the empire’s power, as it quickly adapted and used it to their advantage. Sea trade, deep harbors, and roads are a few of the ways that the Roman Empire used their location to help themselves.

The powerful and well known Roman army was another key factor in maintaining the empire. The Roman army was large, well equipped, well trained, disciplined and skilled military force that was stationed throughout the empire to prevent uprisings and crush rebellion. Military training was a very important and arduous affair in the Roman Empire. It was essential for each soldier to achieve a high level of skill in fighting and using their weapons. They also had to march 30 kilometers 3 times a month wearing 20kg armor, do drills twice a day, learn to build camps, swim, mount and ride a horse and fight mock battles. The Roman army was quite ruthless when it came to crushing rebellion. They did not hesitate to hurt or even slaughter the people who went against the Roman rule.

Between approximately 509 BCE and the third century CE the Roman empire continually expanded and became one of the largest in history. While this expansion was due to many reasons, not the least of which was greed, to a great extent it was made possible because of Rome's overwhelming military and its combination of a democratic and republic government. (Lee) (Ferril)

The Roman Army was the most important factor that led to the Romans maintaining such a large empire. The army was very well organised into many groups, and the whips kept by the group leader ensured that the army would be obedient and

As Rome increased in supremacy around the expanse of the Mediterranean Sea, various enemies were made that caused numerous invasions, increasing Rome’s vulnerability. The archeological record shows that the population on the outskirts of the Roman empire was increasing and this might have led to a scarcity of resources (Goldsworthy 2009). Due to the increased population and decrease in resources the barbarians attacked the empire frequently (Goldsworthy 2009). The first of these more devastating attacks were conducted by the Huns in central and eastern Europe in the years 376 A.D. and 405 A.D. (Heather 2005). Damages from these attacks as well as from other invaders caused massive amounts of revenue lost to

As Rome was facing attacks from the outside there was an even deeper problem happening from within and it was their economy. Rome’s constant war and overspending in building its empire was becoming costly. As their treasury depleted they decided to impose hard taxation to account for the new expense they were generating. Which actually caused many people who were apart of the upper class to move to the countryside to avoid the oppressive taxes(Andrews) . Another economic problem is that inflation began to occur. Marcus Aurelius increased the copper content of the silver coins and then after that there was even more severe inflation on it way(Starr 144-145). A third problem with the economy, also politically, was that there was an ever growing expansion of bureaucracy. The expansion of their government caused more and more officials to have to be paid. Not to mentions cities already were having a hard

The Roman Empire conquered land at a previously unparalleled rate, within the known world, affecting its institutions from the rest of the Empire’s prevalence. From Hispania to Britannia sweeping across the mediterranean, gaining Egypt, ending in Persia; the absorption of Carthage and North Africa, and finally the civil war being won by Augustus, all brought upon the negative effects of their conquest. The Empire continued to grow from the year 200 B.C.E. to the year 200 C.E.; this growth had many effects upon the Empire. Although expansion and conquest are often good, seen as liberating, or wholly expansive in mathematical, philosophic, and scientific thought, this is not inherently the case. The Roman Empire’s expansion was not entirely as powerful and awe inspiring as many claim it to be; the greedily performed collection of lands resulted in many negative outcomes. These outcomes largely presented Rome with an issue they would never be able to recover from: empiric decay. The effects of militaristic expansion, of the Roman Empire, resulted in the decay of previously prosperous economic, political, and social institutions.

The Roman Empire was increasing in size as they kept conquering more and more countries, and eventually the empire was over 5,460,000,000 yards at its peak.(Doc 2 and OI) It was incredibly difficult to defend, especially with the military problem, of under-population of soldiers.(Doc 5) Many barbaric tribes such as the Ostrogoths, Huns, and Northmen, invaded the Roman Empire, and since, at times, some tribes would attack at once, the Roman soldiers couldn’t defend the empire. (Doc 6)

Between 500 BCE and 500 CE, the Roman civilization experienced changes both politically and culturally. Firstly, Rome’s government transitioned from a Republic to an Empire. Later, that empire was split into two parts; east and west. In terms of changes in culture, it was impacted by the shift in religion, as the Romans shifted from polytheism to monotheism. Despite all the changes, Rome still remained culturally diverse.

Economics contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. According to Document 4, “Part of the money went into… the maintenance of the army and of the vest bureaucracy required by a centralized government.. The expense led to strangling taxation..” the Roman government had large expenses because it needed money for the army, the bureaucracy, and welfare. This lead to the increase of taxes. However, high taxation affected the people

The War with Veii played a significant role in the expansion of the Roman Empire. The war, which ended in 410 B.C., set in motion an entirely different Roman army. No longer was the army a volunteer militia, instead it became a paying and contractual organization. The “Roman victory brought an end to Rome’s most threatening neighbor and began its rise to prominence in the central Italian peninsula” (www.warandgameinfo.com).

They had been pushing since before World War I. The Indians were promised in the 1930’s that they would be granted independence but

Rome had a better system due to the vast population, wider acceptance of citizens, and an organized Senate. It is important to include those specific attributes in an empire for organization and prevention of overpopulation. According to the background essay, citizens of a state or empire not only meant meeting certain responsibilities, but also enjoying certain rights. Citizenship is also defined as a status given by a government. In the modern world citizenship involves a balance between individual rights and responsibilities. In Rome however, the idea of a good citizen was particularly different. In contrast to modern day citizens, Roman citizens were looked upon how they acted with their family, neighbors, and property. Rome had a population