Western Roman Empire Research Paper

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.

Before the fall of the Roman Empire, the Empire was at its highest point. It was known as the Pax Romana, 200 years of peace and prosperity. Trade was vast, goods were obtained from all of Rome. Agriculture provided for all of those in the Empire. There was political stability, the government was stable and employment was high. The Rome Empire stood as a Role Model. After 200 CE, the Roman Empire began to decay. There were many causes for the fall of the Roman Empire. First, loss of money and goods were economical issues Rome faced. Following, the lack of Roman influence and infiltration of barbarians caused political instability. Lastly, Social division and lack of responsibility were social factors that contributed as well.

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.

Due to the mass amounts of civil war taken place on Roman land, farming and agriculture greatly suffered. Land was over worked and overused causing the land to become infertile. Soon food shortages and diseases caused the population to decrease. From the cumulations of lost money to war and farming the economy weakened and inflation became high. The gap between the rich and poor gradually increased and the economy weakened. Between civil wars, high taxation, and food shortages, citizens lost a sense patriotism that once flourished throughout society.

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

However, at the end of Pax Romana, 180 A.D the empire began to decline. The fall of the western Roman Empire was due to many contributing factors in the political, social, economic, and military areas. The decline on the economic areas also contributed to the fall of the western Roman empire. According to Document 4, “Part of the money went into… the maintenance of the army and of the vast bureaucracy required by a centralized government..

The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by many things from barbarian invasions to a failing economy, many things went wrong for this empire all at one time the economy started to fail and even the people stopped working and joining the army and I want to know why and in this paper I will be explaining how exactly such a strong and once prosperous empire fell so quickly. If we really want to figure what actually happened to the Roman Empire we must start at the beginning of the downfall and many believe this was in the year 295 A.D when the Roman Emperor Theodosius died and the empire was taken over by his two sons Arcadius in the east and Honorius in the west and they were relatively good emperors and many people loved Honorius and he was the staple emperor for the Western Half of The Empire. But then the barbaric invasions started 11 years later and that was really the start of the fall but they also had other problems besides that, many of the politicians were only concerned with beating each other out of the political positions and not focusing to much on the threat of the

The Decline of Rome The most significant factors that contributed to the downfall of the Western Roman Empire were barbarian invasions due to a weakened military and a meager population that held resentment towards Rome. These problems converged and created a domino effect that was able to topple the formerly strong and dignified Roman Empire. Rome had lost the essence of what made the Roman empire Roman. This included a disciplined and driven military made of many soldiers who believed in Rome and its power.

The Western Roman Empire is historically known for their drastic fall. Before they were an empire, 509 BC to 27 BC, they were a republic. The republic ended when Octavian changed his name to Augustus and took control. The empire was preserved from Augustus’s reign in 27 BC to the fall in 476 AD. What caused the fall of the empire? The social and cultural aspect in the Western Roman Empire was declining, as was the economy, which led to the weakening of the military- all causing the fall of the Roman Empire. The Roman culture was being changed dramatically, including the old Roman virtues. The economy was in trouble with jobs and therefore, money. And lastly, what some believe to be the main cause, the inability of the army to hold back the invaders.

In conclusion, the previous events that lead to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, include many things. One of the catastrophic events that

Rome was a great nation of conquerors, vast wealth and riches which stretched most of Europe, parts of North Africa, and areas of Asia. Its army is arguably the longest surviving and most effective fighting force in military history. Every empire has to terminate and Rome disassembled rather swiftly. The fall of the empire is mentioned in virtually every type of informative media including books and television networks. The fall of the Western Roman Empire was caused by the lack of monetary funds, the formation and following of a new religion, and an increasingly forlorn and debilitated army.

The Fall of the Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire was the most advanced at its time. It was also the largest empire at its time, and even in this time too. But not everything lasts forever. Eventually it met it’s demise from Political problems, Economic disasters, Diseases, and Foreign attacks that devastate and eventually end the Western Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire was at its Height. Despite many historians and professors attribute the fall of the Roman empire to excess and corruption, the role of Christianity shifting power, increased technology beyond the borders of the empire, the passing of power and trade created a situation that made the fall of such a large cumbersome empire inevitable.

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).

After 50 thousand deaths, it was clear, Rome was seen, as a declining empire and a sinking world. I think the fall of the Roman Empire was due to Military weakness, weak leadership, and disasters and diseases.