Roman Empire Overexpansion

In Document B it is said that in the Roman Empire’s past footsoldiers wore breast plates and helmets for protection. The soldiers began to become lazier and thought that the armor was too heavy for them. Rome fought the Goths without any armor and soldiers were often killed by archers. Rome needed as much protection as possible and with the number of soldiers decreasing drastically such protection was not possible. To have a lasting an empire, the military needs to have soldiers who accustom to harsh labor and who are industrious, Rome did not have this, which led to its decline. Also, an empire needs to have regular conscriptions, which people

At the height of its power, Rome controlled the greatest empire ever seen in Europe at that time. Many of the conquered nations benefited from Rome. Roman public baths, roads, water supplies, all appeared in Western Europe. The sheer size of the empire was a major reason for the collapse of Rome. In AD 284, the Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire in two parts to make it easier to rule. He created the Western Empire and the Eastern Empire, each with its own leader. Diocletian faced more than just administrative problems. More and

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.

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

Emperor Domitian, who ruled from 81 A.D. to 96 A.D., had left the Roman Empire in a nearly balanced economy during the greater part of his reign. It is estimated that Domitian’s annual income was more than 1,200 million sestertii (Roman Currency) which over one-third would presumably have been spent maintaining the Roman army. The other major of major expense was the extensive reconstruction of Rome (Domitian).

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 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 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

Upon their return to Palestine after their release from exile, the Jews were struggling to “maintain their religious and social identity” (Wenham & Walton, 2011, p. 7) and found themselves in the midst of great military powers, first the Greeks, and then the Romans. Their influences on the Jews were remarkable. This essay will examine the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD by describing a typical Greco-Roman city, then discuss the various levels of Roman administrative structure, explain where local authority resided in the cities/villages of 1st-century Palestine, and finally support with Scripture the structure of authority within the Gospels and Acts.

Rome, the ever growing metropolis, one of the most strongest military forces we know today, a haven for riches and trade, and one of the most successful empires to history today. Rome was a growing empire, with its professional army quickly conquering several kingdoms left, right, up, and down, from the two Punic wars with Carthage, a war with Gaul, the conquering of Egypt, and Iberia, but, these expanding territories had its advantages and disadvantages. Rome had to quickly invent something able to move its soldiers to all of its territories that would give them enough time to get around to manage conquered people. The seas connecting Rome’s empire also played a role into how it’s geographical location would play into their success and prosperity.

Disasters and diseases are one reason of Rome’s fall. According to Document F, it states that “the Roman world was shaken by a violent and destructive earthquake … but the tide soon returned with the weight of an immense [flood] which was severely felt on the coasts of Sicily, … Greece, and of Egypt.” This shows that the earthquake had destroyed the Valens’ empire, which would be very costly to repair all the damage the disaster had done. The flood had also caused a tremendous amount of damage which would contribute to the cost of the earthquake. “Fifty thousand persons had lost their lives in the flood [in the city of Alexandria alone],” which meant that their population would decrease. Diseases also proved the decline of Rome. Different types of plagues “swept over the empire … which brought diseases [from] southern Asia to new areas like the Mediterranean.” (pg 35, Doc. F) These diseases were very

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

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

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).