what caused the fall of the western roman empire essay

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The Fall of Rome: When, Why, and How Did Rome Fall?

The fall of Rome and of the Western Roman Empire was a complex process driven by a combination of economic, political, military, and social factors, along with external barbarian invasions. It took place over several centuries and culminated in the deposition of the last Roman emperor in 476 CE.

Table of Contents

When Did Rome Fall?

The generally agreed-upon date for the fall of Rome is September 4, 476 AD. On this date, the Germanic king Odaecer stormed the city of Rome and deposed its emperor, leading to its collapse.

But the story of the fall of Rome is not this simple. By this point in the Roman Empire timeline , there were two empires, the Eastern and Western Roman empires.

READ MORE: The Foundation of Rome: The Birth of an Ancient Power

Whilst the western empire fell in 476 AD, the eastern half of the empire lived on, transformed into the Byzantine Empire, and flourished until 1453. Nevertheless, it is the fall of the Western Empire that has most captured the hearts and minds of later thinkers and has been immortalized in debate as “the fall of Rome.”

The Effects of the Fall of Rome

Although debate continues around the exact nature of what followed, the demise of the Western Roman Empire has traditionally been depicted as the demise of civilization in Western Europe. Matters in the East carried on, much as they always had (with “Roman” power now centered on Byzantium (modern Istanbul), but the West experienced a collapse of centralized, imperial Roman infrastructure.

Again, according to traditional perspectives, this collapse led to the “Dark Ages” of instability and crises that beset much of Europe. No longer could cities and communities look to Rome, Roman emperors , or formidable Roman army ; moving forward there would be a splintering of the Roman world into a number of different polities, many of which were controlled by Germanic “barbarians” (a term used by the Romans to describe anyone who wasn’t Roman), from the northeast of Europe.

Such a transition has fascinated thinkers, from the time it was actually happening, up until the modern day. For modern political and social analysts, it is a complex but captivating case study, that many experts still explore to find answers about how superpower states can collapse.

How Did Rome Fall?

Rome did not fall overnight. Instead, the fall of the Western Roman Empire was the result of a process that took place over the course of several centuries. It came about due to political and financial instability and invasions from Germanic tribes moving into Roman territories.

The Story of the Fall of Rome

To give some background and context to the fall of the Roman Empire (in the West), it is necessary to go as far back as the second century AD. During much of this century, Rome was ruled by the famous “ Five Good Emperors ” who made up most of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty. Whilst this period was heralded as a “kingdom of gold” by the historian Cassius Dio , largely due to its political stability and territorial expansion, the empire has been seen to undergo a steady decline after it.

There were periods of relative stability and peace that came after the Nerva-Antonine’s, fostered by the Severans (a dynasty started by Septimius Severus ), the Tetrarchy , and Constantine the Great . Yet, none of these periods of peace really strengthened the frontiers or the political infrastructure of Rome; none set the empire on a long-term trajectory of improvement.

Moreover, even during the Nerva-Antonines, the precarious status quo between the emperors and the senate was beginning to unravel. Under the “Five Good Emperors,” power was increasingly centered on the emperor – a recipe for success in those times under “Good” Emperors, but it was inevitable that less praiseworthy emperors would follow, leading to corruption and political instability.

Then came Commodus , who designated his duties to greedy confidants and made the city of Rome his plaything. After he was murdered by his wrestling partner, the “High Empire” of the Nerva-Antonines came to an abrupt close. What followed, after a vicious civil war, was the military absolutism of the Severans, where the ideal of a military monarch took prominence and the murder of these monarchs became the norm.

The Crisis of the Third Century

Soon came the Crisis of the Third Century after the last Severan, Severus Alexander , was assassinated in 235 AD. During this infamous fifty-year period the Roman Empire was beset by repeated defeats in the east – to the Persians, and in the north, to Germanic invaders.

READ MORE: Ancient Persia: From the Achaemenid Empire to the History of Iran

It also witnessed the chaotic secession of several provinces, which revolted as a result of poor management and a lack of regard from the center. Additionally, the empire was beset by a serious financial crisis that reduced the silver content of the coinage so far that it practically became useless. Moreover, there were recurrent civil wars that saw the empire ruled by a long succession of short-lived emperors.

Diocletian and the Tetrarchy

In 293 AD the emperor Diocletian sought to find a solution to the empire’s recurrent problems by establishing the Tetrarchy, also known as the rule of four. As the name suggests, this involved splitting the empire into four divisions, each ruled by a different emperor – two senior ones titled “Augusti,” and two junior ones called “Caesares,” each ruling their portion of territory.

Such an agreement lasted until 324 AD, when Constantine the Great retook control of the whole empire, having defeated his last opponent Licinius (who had ruled in the east, whereas Constantine had begun his power grab in the northwest of Europe). Constantine certainly stands out in the history of the Roman Empire, not only for reuniting it under one person’s rule and reigning over the empire for 31 years but also for being the emperor who brought Christianity to the center of the state infrastructure.

READ MORE: How Did Christianity Spread: Origins, Expansion, and Impact

Many scholars and analysts have pointed to the spread and cementing of Christianity as the state religion as an important, if not fundamental cause for Rome’s fall.

The Rule of Constantine

Constantine’s reign however, as well as his enfranchisement of Christianity, did not provide a wholly reliable solution to the problems that still beset the empire. Chief amongst these included an increasingly expensive army, threatened by an increasingly dwindling population (especially in the west). Straight after Constantine, his sons degenerated into civil war, splitting the empire in two again in a story that really seems very representative of the empire since its heyday under the Nerva-Antonines.

There were intermittent periods of stability for the remainder of the 4 th century AD, with rare rulers of authority and ability, such as Valentinian I and Theodosius . Yet by the beginning of the 5 th century, most analysts argue, things began to fall apart.

The Fall of Rome Itself: Invasions from the North

Similar to the chaotic invasions seen in the Third Century, the beginning of the 5 th century AD witnessed an immense number of “barbarians” crossing over into Roman territory, caused amongst other reasons by the spread of warmongering Huns from northeastern Europe.

This started with the Goths (constituted by the Visigoths and Ostrogoths ), which first breached the frontiers of the Eastern Empire in the late 4 th century AD.

Although they routed an Eastern army at Hadrianopolis in 378 AD and then turned to blunder much of the Balkans, they soon turned their attentions to the Western Roman Empire, along with other Germanic peoples.

These included the Vandals , Suebes , and Alans, who crossed the Rhine in 406/7 AD and recurrently laid waste to Gaul, Spain, and Italy. Moreover, the Western Empire they faced was not the same force that enabled the campaigns of the warlike emperors Trajan , Septimius Severus , or Aurelian.

Instead, it was greatly weakened and as many contemporaries noted, had lost effective control of many of its frontier provinces. Rather than looking to Rome, many cities and provinces had begun to rely on themselves for relief and refuge.

This, combined with the historic loss at Hadrianopolis, on top of recurrent bouts of civil discord and rebellion, meant that the door was practically open for marauding armies of Germans to take what they liked. This included not only large swathes of Gaul (much of modern-day France), Spain, Britain, and Italy, but Rome itself.

Indeed, after they had plundered their way through Italy from 401 AD onwards, the Goths sacked Rome in 410 AD – something that had not happened since 390 BC! After this travesty and the devastation that was wrought upon the Italian countryside, the government granted tax exemption to large swathes of the population, even though it was sorely needed for defense.

A Weakened Rome Faces Increased Pressure from Invaders

Much the same story was mirrored in Gaul and Spain, wherein the former was a chaotic and contested war zone between a litany of different peoples, and in the latter, the Goths and Vandals had free reign to their riches and people. At the time, many Christian writers wrote as though the apocalypse had reached the western half of the empire, from Spain to Britain.

The barbarian hordes are depicted as ruthless and avaricious plunderers of everything they can set their eyes upon, in terms of both wealth and women. Confused by what had caused this now-Christian empire to succumb to such catastrophe, many Christian writers blamed the invasions on the sins of the Roman Empire, past and present.

Yet neither penance nor politics could help salvage the situation for Rome, as the successive emperors of the 5 th century AD were largely unable or unwilling to meet the invaders in much decisive, open battles. Instead, they tried to pay them off or failed to raise sufficiently large armies to defeat them.

The Roman Empire on the Verge of Bankruptcy

Moreover, whilst the emperors in the west still had the rich citizens of North Africa paying tax, they could just about afford to field new armies (many of the soldiers in fact taken from various barbarian tribes), but that source of income was soon to be devastated as well. In 429 AD, in a significant development, the Vandals crossed over the strait of Gibraltar and within 10 years, had effectively taken control of Roman North Africa.

This was perhaps the final blow from which Rome was unable to recover. It was by this point the case that much of the empire in the west had fallen into barbarian hands and the Roman emperor and his government did not have the resources to take these territories back. In some instances, lands were granted to different tribes in return for peaceful coexistence or military allegiance, although such terms were not always kept.

By now the Huns had begun to arrive along the fringes of the old Roman frontiers in the west, united behind the terrifying figure of Attila. He had previously led campaigns with his brother Bleda against the Eastern Roman Empire in the 430s and 440s, only to turn his eyes west when a senator’s betrothed astonishingly appealed to him for help.

He claimed her as his bride in waiting and half of the Western Roman Empire as his dowry! Unsurprisingly this was not met with much acceptance by the emperor Valentinian III , and so Attila headed westwards from the Balkans laying waste to large swathes of Gaul and Northern Italy.

In a famous episode in 452 AD, he was stopped from actually besieging the city of Rome, by a delegation of negotiators, including Pope Leo I. The next year Attila died from a hemorrhage, after which the Hunnic peoples soon broke up and disintegrated, to the joy of both Roman and German alike.

Whilst there had been some successful battles against the Huns throughout the first half of the 450s, much of this was won by the help of the Goths and other Germanic tribes. Rome had effectively ceased to be the securer of peace and stability it had once been, and its existence as a separate political entity, no doubt appeared increasingly dubious.

This was compounded by the fact that this period was also punctuated by constant rebellions and revolts in the lands still nominally under Roman rule, as other tribes such as the Lombards, Burgundians, and Franks had established footholds in Gaul.

Rome’s Final Breath

One of these rebellions in 476 AD finally gave the fatal blow, led by a Germanic general named Odoacer, who deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus . He styled himself as both “dux” (king) and client to the Eastern Roman Empire. But was soon deposed by the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great .

Henceforth, from 493 AD the Ostrogoths ruled Italy, the Vandals North Africa, the Visigoths Spain and parts of Gaul, the rest of which was controlled by Franks, Burgundians, and the Suebes (who also ruled parts of Spain and Portugal). Across the channel, the Anglo-Saxons had for some time ruled much of Britain.

There was a time, under the reign of Justinian the Great when the Eastern Roman Empire retook Italy, North Africa, and parts of Southern Spain, yet these conquests were only temporary and constituted the expansion of the new Byzantine Empire, rather than the Roman Empire of Antiquity. Rome and its empire had fallen, never again to reach its former glory.

Why Did Rome Fall?

Since the fall of Rome in 476 and indeed before that fateful year itself, arguments for the empire’s decline and collapse have come and gone over time. Whilst the English historian Edward Gibbon articulated the most famous and well-established arguments in his seminal work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , his inquiry, and his explanation, are only one of many.

For example, in 1984 a German historian listed a total of 210 reasons that had been given for the fall of the Roman Empire, ranging from excessive bathing (which apparently caused impotency and demographic decline) to excessive deforestation.

Many of these arguments have often aligned with the sentiments and fashions of the time. For instance, in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, the fall of Roman civilization was explained through the reductionist theories of racial or class degeneration that were prominent in certain intellectual circles.

Around the time of the fall as well – as has already been alluded to – contemporary Christians blamed the disintegration of the empire on the last remaining vestiges of Paganism, or the unrecognized sins of professed Christians. The parallel view, at the time and subsequently popular with an array of different thinkers (including Edward Gibbon) was that Christianity had caused the fall.

The Barbarian Invasions and the Fall of Rome

The immediate cause of the empire’s fall was the unprecedented number of barbarians, aka those living outside Roman territory, invading the lands of Rome.

Of course, the Romans had had their fair share of barbarians on their doorstep, considering they were constantly involved in different conflicts along their long frontiers. In that sense, their security had always been somewhat precarious, especially as they needed a professionally manned army to protect their empire.

These armies needed constant replenishment, due to the retirement or death of soldiers in their ranks. Mercenaries could be used from different regions inside or outside the empire, but these were almost always sent home after their term of service, whether it was for a single campaign or several months.

As such, the Roman army needed a constant and colossal supply of soldiers, which it began to increasingly struggle to procure as the population of the empire continued to decrease (from the 2 nd century onwards). This meant more reliance on barbarian mercenaries, which could not always be as readily relied upon to fight for a civilization they felt little fealty towards.

Pressure on the Roman Borders

At the end of the 4 th century AD, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Germanic peoples, migrated westwards towards the Roman frontiers. The traditional (and still most commonly asserted) reason given for this is that the nomadic Huns spread out from their homeland in Central Asia, attacking Germanic tribes as they went.

This forced a mass migration of Germanic peoples to escape the wrath of the dreaded Huns by entering Roman territory. Therefore, unlike in previous campaigns along their northeastern frontier, the Romans were facing a prodigious mass of peoples united in common purpose, whereas they had, up until now, been infamous for their internecine squabbles and resentments. This unity was simply too much for Rome to handle.

Yet, this tells only half of the story and is an argument that has not satisfied most later thinkers who wanted to explain the fall in terms of the internal issues entrenched in the empire itself. It seems that these migrations were for the most part, out of Roman control, but why did they fail so miserably to either repel the barbarians or accommodate them within the empire, as they had previously done with other problematic tribes across the frontier?

Edward Gibbon and His Arguments for the Fall

Edward Gibbon was perhaps the most famous figure to address these questions and has, for the most part, been heavily influential for all subsequent thinkers. Besides the aforementioned barbarian invasions, Gibbon blamed the fall on the inevitable decline all empires faced, the degeneration of civic virtues in the empire, the waste of precious resources, and the emergence and subsequent domination of Christianity.

Each cause is given significant stress by Gibbon, who essentially believed that the empire had experienced a gradual decline in its morals, virtues, and ethics, yet his critical reading of Christianity was the accusation that caused the most controversy at the time.

The Role of Christianity According to Gibbon

As with the other explanations given, Gibbon saw in Christianity an enervating characteristic that sapped the empire not only of its wealth (going to churches and monasteries) but also its warlike persona that had molded its image for much of its early and middle history.

Whilst the writers of the Roman Republic and early empire encouraged manliness and service to one’s state, Christian writers impelled allegiance to God and discouraged conflict between his people. The world had not yet experienced the religiously endorsed Crusades that would see Christians wage war against non-Christians. Moreover, many of the Germanic peoples who entered the empire were themselves Christian!

Outside of these religious contexts, Gibbon saw the Roman Empire rotting from within, more focused on the decadence of its aristocracy and the vainglory of its militaristic emperors, than the long-term health of its empire. Since the heyday of the Nerva-Antonines, the Roman Empire had experienced crisis after crisis exacerbated in large part by poor decisions and megalomaniacal, disinterested, or avaricious rulers. Inevitably, Gibbon argued, this had to catch up with them.

Economic Mismanagement of the Empire

Whilst Gibbon did point out how wasteful Rome was with its resources, he did not really delve too heavily into the economics of the empire. However, this is where many recent historians have pointed the finger, and is with the other arguments already mentioned, one of the main stances taken up by later thinkers.

It has been well noted that Rome did not really have a cohesive or coherent economy in the more modern developed sense. It raised taxes to pay for its defense but did not have a centrally planned economy in any meaningful sense, outside of the considerations it made for the army.

There was no department of education or health; things were run on more of a case-by-case, or emperor-by-emperor basis. Programmes were carried out on sporadic initiatives and the vast majority of the empire was agrarian, with some specialized hubs of industry dotted about.

It did however have to raise taxes for its defense and this came at a colossal cost to the imperial coffers. For example, it is estimated that the pay needed for the whole army in 150 AD would constitute 60-80% of the imperial budget, leaving little room for periods of disaster or invasion.

Whilst soldier pay was initially contained, it was recurrently increased as time went by (partly because of increasing inflation). Emperors would also tend to pay donatives to the army when becoming emperor – a very costly affair if an emperor only lasted a short amount of time (as was the case from the Third Century Crisis onwards).

This was therefore a ticking time bomb, which ensured that any massive shock to the Roman system – like endless hordes of barbarian invaders – would be increasingly difficult to deal with, until, they couldn’t be dealt with at all. Indeed, the Roman state likely ran out of money on a number of occasions throughout the 5 th century AD.

Continuity Beyond the Fall: Did Rome Really Collapse?

On top of arguing about the causes of the Roman Empire’s fall in the West, scholars are also racked in debate about whether there was an actual fall or collapse at all. Similarly, they question whether we should so readily call to mind the apparent “dark ages” that followed the dissolution of the Roman state as it had existed in the West.

Traditionally, the end of the Western Roman empire is supposed to have heralded the end of civilization itself. This image was molded by contemporaries who depicted the cataclysmic and apocalyptic series of events that surrounded the deposition of the last emperor. It was then compounded by later writers, especially during the Renaissance and Enlightenment, when the collapse of Rome was seen as a massive step backward in art and culture.

Indeed, Gibbon was instrumental in cementing this presentation for subsequent historians. Yet from as early as Henri Pirenne (1862-1935) scholars have argued for a strong element of continuity during and after the apparent decline. According to this picture, many of the provinces of the Western Roman Empire were already in some way detached from the Italian center and did not experience a seismic shift in their everyday life, as is usually depicted.

Revisionism in the Idea of “Late Antiquity”

This has developed in more recent scholarship into the idea of “Late Antiquity” to replace the cataclysmic idea of the “Dark Ages. One of its most prominent and celebrated proponents is Peter Brown, who has written extensively on the subject, pointing to the continuity of much Roman culture, politics, and administrative infrastructure, as well as the flourishing of Christian Art and literature.

According to Brown, as well as other proponents of this model, it is therefore misleading and reductionist to talk of a decline or fall of the Roman Empire, but instead to explore its “transformation.”

In this vein, the idea of barbarian invasions causing the collapse of a civilization has become deeply problematic. It has instead been argued that there was an (albeit complex) “accommodation” of the migrating Germanic populations that reached the empire’s borders around the turn of the 5 th century AD.

Such arguments point to the fact that various settlements and treaties were signed with the Germanic peoples, who were for the most part escaping the marauding Huns (and are therefore posed often as refugees or asylum seekers). One such settlement was the 419 Settlement of Aquitaine, where the Visigoths were granted land in the valley of the Garonne by the Roman state.

As has already been alluded to above, the Romans also had various Germanic tribes fighting alongside them in this period, most notably against the Huns. It is also undoubtedly clear that the Romans throughout their time as a Republic and a Principate, were very prejudiced against “the other” and would collectively assume that anybody beyond their borders was in many ways uncivilized.

This aligns with the fact that the (originally Greek) derogatory term “barbarian” itself, derived from the perception that such people spoke a coarse and simple language, repeating “bar bar bar” repeatedly.

The Continuation of Roman Administration

Regardless of this prejudice, it is also clear, as the historians discussed above have studied, that many aspects of Roman administration and culture did continue in the Germanic kingdoms and territories that replaced the Roman Empire in the West.

This included much of the law that was carried out by Roman magistrates (with Germanic additions), much of the administrative apparatus, and indeed everyday life, for most individuals, will have carried on quite similarly, differing in extent from place to place. Whilst we know that a lot of land was taken by the new German masters, and henceforth Goths would be privileged legally in Italy, or Franks in Gaul, many individual families would not have been affected too much.

This is because it was obviously easier for their new Visigoth, Ostrogoth, or Frankish overlords to keep much of the infrastructure in place that had worked so well up until then. In many instances and passages from contemporary historians, or edicts from Germanic rulers, it was also clear that they respected much about Roman culture and in a number of ways, wanted to preserve it; in Italy for instance the Ostrogoths claimed “The glory of the Goths is to protect the civil life of the Romans.”

Moreover, since many of them converted to Christianity, the continuity of the Church was taken for granted. There was therefore a lot of assimilations, with both Latin and Gothic being spoken in Italy for example and Gothic mustaches being sported by aristocrats, whilst clad in Roman clothing.

Issues with Revisionism

However, this change of opinion has inevitably been reversed as well in more recent academic work – particularly in Ward-Perkin’s The Fall of Rome – wherein he strongly states that violence and aggressive seizure of land was the norm, rather than the peaceful accommodation that many revisionists have suggested .

He argues that these scant treaties are given far too much attention and stress when practically all of them were clearly signed and agreed to by the Roman state under pressure – as an expedient solution to contemporary problems. Moreover, in quite typical fashion, the 419 Settlement of Aquitaine was mostly ignored by the Visigoths as they subsequently spread out and aggressively expanded far beyond their designated limits.

Aside from these issues with the narrative of “accommodation,” the archaeological evidence also demonstrates a sharp decline in standards of living between the 5 th and 7 th centuries AD, across all of the western Roman Empire’s former territories (albeit under varying degrees), strongly suggested a significant and profound “decline” or “fall” of a civilization.

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This is shown, in part, by the significant decrease of post-roman finds of pottery and other cookware across the West and the fact that what is found is considerably less durable and sophisticated. This rings true for buildings as well, which began to be made more often in perishable materials like wood (rather than stone) and were notably smaller in size and grandeur.

Coinage also completely disappeared in large parts of the old empire or regressed in quality. Alongside this, literacy and education seem to have been greatly reduced across communities and even the size of livestock shrunk considerably – to bronze-age levels! Nowhere was this regression more pronounced than in Britain, where the islands fell into pre-Iron Age levels of economic complexity.

READ MORE: Prehistory: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic Periods, and More

Rome’s Role in the Western European Empire

There are many specific reasons given for these developments, but they can almost all be linked to the fact that the Roman Empire had kept together and maintained a large, Mediterranean economy and state infrastructure. Whilst there was an essential commercial element to the Roman economy, distinct from state initiative, things like the army or the political apparatus of messengers, and governor’s staff, meant that roads needed to be maintained and repaired, ships needed to be available, soldiers needed to be clothed, fed, and moved around.

When the empire disintegrated into opposing or partially opposed kingdoms, the long-distance trade and political systems fell apart too, leaving communities dependent on themselves. This had a catastrophic effect on the many communities that had relied upon long-distance trade, state security, and political hierarchies to manage and maintain their trade and lives.

Regardless, then, of whether there was continuity in many areas of society, the communities that carried on and “transformed” were seemingly poorer, less connected, and less “Roman” than they had been. Whilst much spiritual and religious debate flourished still in the West, this was almost exclusively centered around the Christian church and its widely dispersed monasteries.

Later Models in Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire: An Eternal Rome?

However, it can also be pointed out, quite rightly, that the Roman Empire may have fallen (to whatever extent) in the West, but the Eastern Roman Empire flourished and grew at this time, experiencing somewhat of a “golden age.” The city of Byzantium was seen as the “New Rome” and the quality of life and culture in the east certainly did not meet the same fate as the west.

There was also the “Holy Roman Empire” which grew out of the Frankish Empire when its ruler, the famous Charlemagne, was appointed emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 AD. Although this possessed the name “Roman” and was adopted by the Franks who had continued to endorse various Roman customs and traditions, it was decidedly distinct from the old Roman Empire of antiquity.

These examples also call to mind the fact that the Roman Empire has always held an important place as a subject of study for historians, just as many of its most famous poets, writers, and speakers are still read or studied today. In this sense, although the empire itself collapsed in the West in 476 AD, much of its culture and spirit is still very alive today.

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Major Causes of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire

by World History Edu · November 26, 2019

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

After a rise, comes a fall. And of course, good times don’t last forever. This was the deplorable situation that struck a once unified and soaring Roman Empire. Somewhere in the 5th century, Rome’s influence and standing in the world took a nosedive, ushering in its worse days of disunity and conflicts. Whether you cast your mind on the Western Empire that crumbled earlier in the 5th century or the Eastern side that followed suit centuries later, the fact is that Rome (as a whole) did fall eventually, after witnessing unprecedented growth.

What were the causes of Rome’s decline? This remains the million-dollar question that has prodded the minds of historians as they debate frequently to find the truth.

In this article, we share historical insights into the major causes of the fall of the Roman Empire.

Why Rome Fell

Just like any normal civilization fall, the stories behind Rome’s decline are rooted in a plethora of internal and external factors. It’s hard to pinpoint one causative factor of Rome’s fall, but we do know that invasions, religion, imperial incompetence, diseases, and divisions were just some of the reasons why Rome fell.

Barbarian Invasion

Barbarians sacking Rome in 410 CE

Most people hold strong assertions that the underlying cause of the collapse of the mighty Rome was the empire’s inability to defend herself from the Barbarian invasion. For many centuries, Romans warred with Germanic tribal groups, but they didn’t succumb to them. But around 300 CE, Barbarians penetrated Rome and caused considerable havoc. In 410 CE , King Alaric of the Visigoths did the impossible thing when he literally conquered Rome and sacked them from the city.

The Roman Empire became vulnerable to attacks; its troubles increased further when the Vandals attacked the Eternal City in 455 CE. In 476 CE, still not finished yet, King Odoacer cleared down the remaining legs of Roman rule in Italy when he rose up against Emperors Romulus & Augustulus. It’s no wonder why some historians state 476 CE as the exact year the Western Empire got annihilated.

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Division and Cracks in Rome

The rulers of ancient Rome failed to pay heed to unity – “Divided we fall, united we stand”. When Emperor Diclotian controversially divided a once unified Rome into West and East during the late 3rd century CE, he created room for a quick fall of the Western side.

Government wise, the division favored the effective rule of both halves, but in the long, the two empires stood far apart. Instead of working together as Roman citizens, the West and East weakened their ties by engaging in minor conflicts over resources.

As time went on, the East grew stronger than the West. The weak Western Empire, therefore, became a vulnerable target to the Barbarian attacks. By the 5th century CE, the West had collapsed, but the East would go on to live for 1000 years before succumbing to the Ottoman Empire in 1453.

Introduction of Christianity

Christianity became a turning point when it was introduced to the Romans as a new religion. When Emperor Constantine (306-337 CE ) brought religious change (Christianity) to Rome, he was naïve about the long-term consequences of what he did. For centuries, Romans were used to the idea of many gods and goddesses (polytheism); emperors like Caligula even viewed himself as a god.

When Christianity came preaching a monotheistic (one) God, it was completely contrary to the established religious doctrines of ancient Romans. Consequently, Christians faced a series of persecutions. But they were once again saved by the anti-persecution principles of Emperor Constantine.

By embracing this new religion and throwing away their core traditions, Romans severely committed a suicidal change of faith. To speed up the Roman decadence, Christianity was made the empire’s main religion. This lessened the authority of their imperial rulers; within an eye’s blink, Roman emperors became nobody. How could the empire have survived without a respected leader?

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Lead Poisoning

Some historians move the fall issue from social problems to chemical poisoning. It’s unbelievable how ancient Romans played with the tail of a lion – they were drinking lead-infested water from water pipes. Even though ancient Romans supposedly had some knowledge of the dangers of lead, they went ahead to carelessly tamper with it.

With time their bodies absorbed and accumulated lethal amounts of the poisonous metal. Scholars argue that lead poisoning could have decreased the fertility rate and intelligence of Romans, leaving them with unwise population and leaders. In all, this might have contributed to their vulnerability and eventual breakdown.

Military Decay

Why Rome fell – Military Decay

According to historian Vegetus, the Roman army degraded internally. In the long absence of wars, the army retired to sleep without training. This made them ill-prepared for the invasions that finally came their way. They were struck down by relatively superior enemy weapons. This decay of the army was partly caused by incompetent leadership. Due to a lack of motivation (rewards), soldiers laid down their tools and lived as ordinary civilians.

Economic Downturn

After the reign of the Great Marcus Aurelius , Romans made little to no expansionism efforts. When you erect a building and leave it uncompleted at the peak, it would gradually fall down. This may have been the exact case of the Romans when they grew tired of expanding their empire.

Moreover, they spent lavishly at a time when gold supply to the empire was scaled down. The Roman currency lost its value when minting of their coins was done with little gold. In this vein, some theorists suggest that the empire collapsed on itself because it expanded so high. The bigger it got, the harder it became to govern.

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Diseases and Misery

What can wipe out a civilization better than a disease? Historians think that massive depopulation hit hard at Western Rome, leaving them to be downtrodden by the Barbarian invasion. Between the 2nd & 3rd centuries CE, two catastrophic plagues visited the Roman Empire and killed the majority of its workforce. The Antonine & Cyprian epidemics were able to devastate Rome because of the empire’s extended trade links to China, India, and the East African coastline.

The number of Roman lives that were claimed by diseases was quite significant – some towns became empty, but exact death figures are unavailable. Consequently, the unhealthy Roman soldiers could hardly defend against the Barbarian invasion.

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Tags: Antonine & Cyprian epidemics King Alaric Sacking of Rome Lead Poisoning Roman Emperors Rome's Fall

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May 16, 2023

Essay on the Fall of Rome

Introduction, the main reasons for the fall of rome, works cited.

The founders of Rome appear to have lived in heroic poverty, sacrificing the little they had to ensure that the empire prospered. However, their successors who had not participated in the struggle to make the empire big and wealthy did not face any pressure to exercise austerity (Brown 57). The new Rome became famous for ostentatious parties and a shared sense of enthusiasm in the high and low classes, who lived a laxer way of life (Brown 57).

As this essay shows, the main reason for the fall of Rome was the lack of financial austerity. The empire grew too big and allowed corruption to reign. It also failed to become innovative in its economic sectors to survive the eventual loss of revenue and gold reserves. When observed in another way, the primary cause of the collapse was the conflict between the need to manage wealth and the desire to spend it.

Moreover, there was a conflict between those who invaded the city and those who lived in the city. Rome also fell because it was expanding. It experimented with the delegation of power to other entities that were not originally Roman, thereby causing the primary ideals and identities, as well as central control of Rome to disappear. Another argument for the fall of Rome is that it did not fall due to an invasion, but it disappeared after losing relevance and being replaced with other civilizations (Ward-Perkins 47-50). This paper will stick to the idea of an actual fall that happened after about 500 years of running as the world’s greatest superpower (Andrews par. 1).

The major reasons for the collapse of Rome are discussed below. First, there was a persistent invasion of the Barbarian tribes. The prosperity of Rome attracted other civilizations around it, who wanted to overthrow the empire (Thompson 17). They opted to use military invasions to take a part of the empire. They did this from all sides, encroaching a little of the empire’s territory at a time. On its part, the empire did everything possible to keep the invaders away (Andrews par 2). German-speaking groups surrounded the Roman Empire. They fought each other and sometimes colluded to fight the Roman Empire (Heather 54).

Each conquest of the groups around the empire somehow modified the structure and culture of the entire empire. The empire had grown big and multifaceted by the time it fell. The expansion of the Empire also created an additional need for bureaucracy, which would eventually undermine a responsive ruling class. Overall, the inclusion of the Barbarians, a term used to describe the collective tribes surrounding the empire, and the vandals created factions in the Empire and diverted fiscal revenue meant for the capital. With insufficient funds, Rome could not hold together and defeat breakaway groups from the Empire.

Accommodating groups, instead of fighting them, also led to the weakening of the Roman army. The army lost its focus on enemies and became weak in battle following many years of peace (Rosenwein 23). Leaders also became less concerned with security and focused on dealing with bureaucracy to enhance their power in the Empire. The quest for power and greatness among the ruling class led to a continuous progression towards the fall of Rome.

Success in the distant wars that the Roman Empire fought increased the wealth of the Empire. The property was acquired from the defeated groups. However, when the wars diminished, rulers continued to live as if Rome had an unlimited supply of wealth. They failed to notice the consequences of their behavior. There was no way out of the mess other than falling, given the lack of any additional warfare to enrich the coffers of the empire and sustain the extravagance of its people. Foreign citizens had taken a part of the Empire and would later create their empires at the time of the decline. Some of them were the Visigoths, who settled in Moesia after being allowed to do so by Emperor Valens (Waldman and Mason 139).

Rome fell because of internal disintegration. Failure to sustain a strong military and exercise moderation in enjoying its wealth made it vulnerable to any attack. Eventually, Rome went through a severe financial crisis, as it was losing its revenue sources from the areas that the factions had developed when they split from the center of power. Rome also increased in size, but it had not participated in conquests for a long time.

Moreover, it did not have a sufficient source of wealth to support the behavior of its ruling class. The imperial coffers could not keep up with wages and other recurrent demands and fund various projects and traditions at the same time. The only solution at the time was to increase taxation and boost the supply of money. However, these actions led to inflation and increased the division between the rich and the poor.

Rome built an internal enemy to its prosperity, given that many poor people failed to afford the basics of life (Atkins and Osborne 205). The rulers of Rome, such as Constantine, reached the extent of hiring mercenaries to join the military because the population was becoming smaller. This weakened the Roman military further. The trend allowed foreigners to gain control of the Roman military. Eventually, the Germanic Goths and Barbarians had too much influence in the military, and they turned against their Roman employers (Andrews par. 9).

Politicians in Rome had bodyguards. The emperor also had guards. However, with hardly any warfare happening in and out of the Empire, the bodyguards became motivated to use their proximity to power for personal enrichment. Eventually, corruption had become so common that the soldiers who worked as bodyguards became independent from the power of the ruler. Instead, they acted as equal partners in the government. They could decide when to remove an emperor and make a replacement. Such was the extent of their power, which led to more corruption because it made the emperors and politicians bribe them to obtain their protection. In the provinces, the poor workers became disillusioned, as their earnings and taxes paid for the affluent and arrogant behaviors of the patriarch (Ward-Perkins 108-115).

Meanwhile, the empire had to do something about the increasing number of poor people caused by the plundering of its coffers by members of the ruling class. The empire provided free food to the poor in Rome and Constantinople. However, the larger proportion of expenditure on food went to the purchase of exotic spices and other delicacies outside the empire. Eventually, the empire would run out of gold to replenish its coffers and became bankrupt. The rulers stripped assets from provinces, such that they were unable to sustain the Empire’s expenditure. They borrowed from central coffers and fell into debt. It was easy for the emerging factions to break away and seek self-rule because many provinces were in debt, and there were no signs of prosperity. The empire had expanded so much that its system of governance could not support it. The ungovernable size stretched from Spain to the modern day Egypt.

Another cause of the fall of Rome was the natural plagues that affected the health of the Roman population. Diseases coming from West Europe wiped out a significant population. The cost of dealing with the diseases, in addition to the loss of revenue because of workers dying from diseases, became a major contributor to the decline of the Empire.

Christianity flourished in the Roman Empire at the time of Constantine. The emperor gave Christians the freedom to practice their religion within the Empire. He was also available to handle any Christian disputes that emerged regarding control or jurisdiction. Embracing Christianity created conflict with the traditional pagan cults that the Romans practiced. Christianity enjoyed power given to it by the emperor; thus, the other Roman religions died.

The growth of Christianity and its linkage to the rulers of Rome created a complex relationship, where the church officials became as influential as the political leaders. In addition, the political leaders appointed bishops to the early Christianity in the Roman Empire. This arrangement created avenues for lobbying for political or church leadership. With the ongoing corruption in the Empire, Christianity became another channel for exercising opposing powers that would eventually destroy the fabric of leadership in Rome. Christianity eventually became the dominant determinant of morals in Rome, following the destruction of other religions due to the lack of political support. However, the corruption in its leadership served as a bad example to the rest of the Empire and contributed to the overall loss of morals.

The traditional Roman values disappeared as the new faith rose to become a state religion in 380 AD. The Emperor was viewed as a divine being, thereby making people revere the empire. Such beliefs provided the meaning of hard work, sacrifice, and order in the Empire as part of their reverence for the divine one. However, the dominance of Christianity and the destruction of the polytheistic beliefs detached people’s actions from direct implications on the emperor. The popes and church leaders acted as opinion shapers in political matters; thus, the center of spiritual power became decentralized and caused people to have varied inclinations to obey moral conduct. It also created a habit of thinking about self-gain before thinking of the overall welfare of the Empire. The change of beliefs and attitudes contributed to the corruption and plunder of wealth in the Empire (Andrews par. 8).

A combination of corruption and political influences in Rome created laxity in the enforcement of moral conduct among public officials. Eventually, the citizens of Rome became accustomed to their new way of life. Respect for life dwindled; people could easily kill each other following disputes and get away with it because of their affiliation with those in power or because they belonged to a higher social class than their victims.

There was a salient disrespect for human and animal life. The lack of morals eventually created chaos in the public life. At the time, Rome also depended on slave labor. Rome had a high influx of slaves who provided cheap labor for its citizens when the Empire was growing through conquests. Unfortunately, the dependence on slaves became an obsession and a way of life. The citizens failed to do their duties of taking care of others and themselves.

They also reduced their efforts of building wealth and being innovative in finding better ways of doing things. Eventually, the entire Rome was lazy because it mainly relied on slave labor to accomplish even the simplest duties. There was no motivation to excel, while things became mediocre because of too much cheap labor. The standards of work plummeted, and the Empire became uncompetitive.

The problem of depending on slaves added to the problem of the affluent behavior of the rich, who opted to import goods that were not available in the Empire. The quality of products in the Empire was poor; thus, people chose to import rather than focus on improving the quality of the Roman products. Eventually, the imports were more than the exports, and the Empire got into the balance of payment problems.

Rome could not support its huge import bill, in addition to the lack of sufficient technological capacity to support domestic production (Fenner par. 2-4). Slavery dependence robbed Rome of the hard work ethics that it had cultivated among its people during the years of early expansion. The Romans had lost the value of being productive, in addition to their lack of the ability to enhance their production prowess. They had little motivation to find superior sources of energy that would sustain competitiveness and make the Empire prosper in trade, transport, and communications. As a result, the Empire lacked sufficient industries to employ its population and grow its wealth. The economic decline became a significant catalyst for the other problems highlighted above, which eventually caused the fall of Rome (Fenner par. 6-8).

The division of the empire into the West and East side, with capitals in Milan and Constantinople respectively, could also be another reason for the decline. There was a bigger chance of the two halves drifting apart in their political and economic ways due to the lack of a central leadership. The two sides failed to work as one Empire when facing outside threats, which made the Empire vulnerable. Language dominance in the two halves also created divisions, with the Greek-speaking East side enjoying moderate economic success, while the Latin-speaking West side was descending into misery. The symbolic capital of the empire was Rome, which remained vulnerable to the invasion of the Barbarians, as Constantinople remained guarded (Andrews par. 6).

In summary, the key events and causes that led to the fall of Rome were the wrong decisions made by several emperors and the increase in the civilization of the people in the empire. These events led to reduced reliance on military support, which caused the weakening of the army. Invasion of the neighboring Barbarians and their habitation of Rome, such as the settlement of the Visigoths in Moesia, also played a part in destabilizing revenue sources for the Empire. Overall, the lack of innovativeness in the economy and a lot of expenses on an unsustainable expansion and consumption of the ruling class caused Rome to fall. Moderation in expenditure and expansion would have saved Rome from falling.

Andrews, Evan. “8 Reasons Why Rome Fell.” 2014. History Lists. Web.

Atkins, Margaret and Robin Osborne, Poverty in the Roman World . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print.

Brown, Peter. Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350 -550 AD . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012. Print.

Fenner, Julian. To What Extent Were Economic Factors to Blame for the Deterioration of the Roman Empire in The Third Century A.D? 2015. Web.

Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.

Rosenwein, Barbara H. A Short History of the Middle Ages: Fourth Edition, Volume 1 . Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014. Print.

Thompson, Edward Arthur. Romans and Barbarians: the Decline of the Western Empire. Madison: Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2002. Print.

Waldman, Carl and Catherine Mason. Encyclopedia of Europeans Peoples . New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 2006. Print.

Ward-Perkins, Bryan. The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

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Ancient History

Why did the Western Roman Empire fall?

The Western Roman Empire is one of the most fascinating and complex empires in history.

It was, at its peak, one of the largest empires ever to exist, and it controlled a territory that extended from Britain to North Africa and from Spain to the fertile crescent.

However, by AD 476, the Western Roman Empire had fallen.

External causes

There were a number of external factors that contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

One of these was barbarian invasions; as the empire became weaker, it became an increasingly attractive target for barbarian tribes.

Initially, these Germanic tribes wanted permission to live within the empire but were not allowed.

Some were hired as mercenaries for the Roman armies, but they were never fully integrated into western Roman society.

This bred resentment and, eventually, the tribes began attacking and taking what they wanted.

At the Battle of Adrianople, in 378 AD, a Roman army was defeated by the Goths – this event is often seen as a symbol of the decline of the Western Roman Empire.

Some of the most destructive of these tribes were the Vandals, who sacked Rome in AD 455, the Visigoths, who sacked Rome in AD 410, and the Huns, who ravaged much of the empire in the 450s AD.

Another major external factor was disease. The Plague of Cyprian (also known as the Antonine Plague) was a devastating pandemic that struck the empire between 249 to 262.

It is estimated to have killed up to one-third of the empire's population, and it severely weakened its economy and military.

Social causes

One of the most important factors in the fall of the Western Roman Empire was the growing divide between the empire’s two halves, the Latin West and the Greek East.

This division was largely a result of different cultures and languages; while the people in the West spoke Latin and followed Roman law, those in the East spoke Greek and were more influenced by Greek culture.

This division ultimately led to a split in imperial power, with each half having its own emperor. This was an initiative created by Emperor Diocletian .

He decided that the vast size of the Roman Empire meant that it could not be effectively led by one single individual.

As a result, Diocletian assigned an emperor, known as an 'Augustus', for each half of his territories.

Under each of the Augusti was a second-in-charge known as the 'Caesar', who would take over from one of the Augusti when they ended their time in power.

However, the division of the empire in this manner developed a deep division. The east was far wealthier than the west, while the west faced most of the military pressures from external invasions.

Combined with the language and cultural differences, enmity between the Augusti and Caesars threatened to spill over into civil war.

Additionally, a growing religious divide added to this tension. Christianity began to grow in popularity during this time, and many people saw it as a threat to traditional Roman values.

Economic causes

In addition to external factors, there were also a number of internal factors that contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

One of these was government corruption. This became increasingly common in the later years of the empire, as emperors began to excessively tax the people to fund their lavish lifestyles.

This led to widespread discontent among the population, and many people began to lose faith in the government.

Another significant factor was the heavy reliance on slave labor, and as slavery became less common, this put a strain on the economy.

Additionally, the costs of running such a large empire were becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.

By AD 400, tax revenue had decreased dramatically, due to both corruption and invasions.

This decrease in revenue meant that there was less money available for things like maintaining roads and paying soldiers.

This, combined with the growing divide between the East and West, made it difficult for the empire to function effectively.

Political causes

There were a number of political factors that contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

One of these was political instability; over the course of its history, the Western Roman Empire saw a number of military coups and civil wars.

This internal strife made it difficult for the empire to defend itself against external threats.

One of these was the increasing power of regional governors (known as “barbarian generals”), who began to challenge the authority of the emperor.

Additionally, many people began to question the legitimacy of the emperor and his right to rule.

This was exacerbated by a series of military disasters in the mid-400s AD, which led to a loss of confidence in the imperial government.

One of the most influential of these leaders was the barbarian chief, Odoacer, who deposed the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, in AD 476.

Odoacer would become the ruler of Italy but didn't call himself emperor. Instead, he called himself 'king'.

These political factors, combined with external factors like barbarian invasions and disease, made it increasingly difficult for the Western Roman Empire to function effectively.

By AD 476, it had collapsed completely.

Environmental causes

In addition to the economic, political, and military factors that contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, there were also a number of environmental factors.

One of these was a series of devastating natural disasters, including floods, droughts, and earthquakes.

In the 5th century AD, a volcanic eruption in Italy caused widespread damage and death.

These disasters led to widespread famine and death, which put further strain on an already weakened empire.

The eastern Roman Empire would still survive for centuries to come. Its capital city was Constantinople and would become known as the Byzantine Empire.

The Emperor Zeno, who ruled Byzantium when the western Roman Empire fell, still believed that the west was destined to be conquered by the east once more.

Different interpretations

The various reasons listed above seemed to have worked together to undermine the stability of the Western Roman Empire.

While most modern historians avoid blaming just one of these things as the only reason it collapsed, some of them to argue that some of these causes were more responsible than others.

Some historians emphasize the importance of external factors, arguing that the empire was simply too large and difficult to defend against barbarian invasions.

Others focus on internal factors, arguing that government corruption and economic decline were more significant than any external threat.

Still others believe that it was a combination of both external and internal factors that led to the empire’s demise.

Whatever the cause, the fall of the Western Roman Empire was a complex event with many contributing factors.

Legacy of the Western Roman Empire

Many elements of the Western Roman Empire have survived to this day in the institution of the Roman Catholic Church.

The papacy, for example, traces its origins back to the bishop of Rome, who was the recognized head of the Western Church.

Also, the bureaucratic structure of church organisation is based on ancient Roman models, including the division of regions into 'dioceses'.

One of the most obvious similarities is the use of the Latin language by the church.

Other aspects of Roman culture also survived in the Byzantine Empire, which kept alive many of the traditions of the west.

For example, Byzantine art is a direct continuation of Roman art, and much of what we know about Ancient Rome comes from Byzantine historians.

The fall of the Western Roman Empire is widely seen as one of the most significant events in history.

It marked the end of an era and had far-reaching consequences for both the people who lived through it and those who came after.

While there are many different interpretations of why it happened, there is no single answer that can explain its complexity.

However, by understanding the various factors that contributed to its decline, we can gain a better understanding of this important event in history.

Chapter 6 The Roman Empire

The decline and fall of the roman empire, learning objective.

Analyze, broadly, the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire
Throughout the 5th century, the empire’s territories in western Europe and northwestern Africa, including Italy, fell to various invading or indigenous peoples, in what is sometimes called the Migration Period.
By the late 3rd century, the city of Rome no longer served as an effective capital for the emperor, and various cities were used as new administrative capitals. Successive emperors, starting with Constantine, privileged the eastern city of Byzantium, which he had entirely rebuilt after a siege.
In 476, after being refused lands in Italy, Odacer and his Germanic mercenaries took Ravenna, the Western Roman capital at the time, and deposed Western Emperor Romulus Augustus. The whole of Italy was quickly conquered, and Odoacer’s rule became recognized in the Eastern Empire.
Four broad schools of thought exist on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire: decay owing to general malaise, monocausal decay, catastrophic collapse, and transformation.

Migration Period

Also known as the period of the Barbarian Invasions, it was a period of intensified human migration in Europe from about 400 to 800 CE, during the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages.

A soldier, who came to power in the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE. His reign is commonly seen as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.

The Fall of the Western Roman Empire was the process of decline during which the empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast territory was divided into several successor polities. The Roman Empire lost the strengths that had allowed it to exercise effective control; modern historians mention factors including the effectiveness and numbers of the army, the health and numbers of the Roman population, the strength of the economy, the competence of the emperor, the religious changes of the period, and the efficiency of the civil administration. Increasing pressure from barbarians outside Roman culture also contributed greatly to the collapse. The reasons for the collapse are major subjects of the historiography of the ancient world, and they inform much modern discourse on state failure.

By 476 CE, when Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus, the Western Roman Empire wielded negligible military, political, or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered western domains that could still be described as Roman. Invading “barbarians” had established their own polities on most of the area of the Western Empire. While its legitimacy lasted for centuries longer and its cultural influence remains today, the Western Empire never had the strength to rise again.

It is important to note, however, that the so-called fall of the Roman Empire specifically refers to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, since the Eastern Roman Empire, or what became known as the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was founded by Constantine, remained for another 1,000 years. Theodosius was the last emperor who ruled over the whole empire. After his death in 395, he gave the two halves of the empire to his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius; Arcadius became ruler in the east, with his capital in Constantinople, and Honorius became ruler in the west, with his capital in Milan, and later Ravenna.

Rome in the 5th Century CE

Throughout the 5th century, the empire’s territories in western Europe and northwestern Africa, including Italy, fell to various invading or indigenous peoples in what is sometimes called the Migration Period, also known as the Barbarian Invasions, from the Roman and South European perspective. The first migrations of peoples were made by Germanic tribes, such as the Goths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Lombards, Suebi, Frisii, Jutes and Franks; they were later pushed westwards by the Huns, Avars, Slavs, and Bulgars.

Although the eastern half still survived with borders essentially intact for several centuries (until the Muslim conquests), the Empire as a whole had initiated major cultural and political transformations since the Crisis of the Third Century, with the shift towards a more openly autocratic and ritualized form of government, the adoption of Christianity as the state religion, and a general rejection of the traditions and values of Classical Antiquity.

The reasons for the decline of the Empire are still debated today, and are likely multiple. Historians infer that the population appears to have diminished in many provinces (especially western Europe), judging from the diminishing size of fortifications built to protect the cities from barbarian incursions from the 3rd century on. Some historians even have suggested that parts of the periphery were no longer inhabited, because these fortifications were restricted to the center of the city only. By the late 3rd century, the city of Rome no longer served as an effective capital for the emperor, and various cities were used as new administrative capitals. Successive emperors, starting with Constantine, privileged the eastern city of Byzantium, which he had entirely rebuilt after a siege. Later renamed Constantinople, and protected by formidable walls in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, it was to become the largest and most powerful city of Christian Europe in the Early Middle Ages. Since the Crisis of the Third Century, the empire was intermittently ruled by more than one emperor at once (usually two), presiding over different regions.

The Latin-speaking west, under dreadful demographic crisis, and the wealthier Greek-speaking east, also began to diverge politically and culturally. Although this was a gradual process, still incomplete when Italy came under the rule of barbarian chieftains in the last quarter of the 5th century, it deepened further afterward, and had lasting consequences for the medieval history of Europe.

In 476, after being refused lands in Italy, Orestes’ Germanic mercenaries, under the leadership of the chieftain Odoacer, captured and executed Orestes and took Ravenna, the Western Roman capital at the time, deposing Western Emperor Romulus Augustus. The whole of Italy was quickly conquered, and Odoacer’s rule became recognized in the Eastern Empire. Meanwhile, much of the rest of the Western provinces were conquered by waves of Germanic invasions, most of them being disconnected politically from the east altogether, and continuing a slow decline. Although Roman political authority in the west was lost, Roman culture would last in most parts of the former western provinces into the 6th century and beyond.

Romulus Augustus Resigns the Crown. Charlotte Mary Yonge’s 1880 artist rendition of Romulus Augustus resigning the crown to Odoacer.

Theories on the Decline and Fall

The various theories and explanations for the fall of the Roman Empire in the west may be very broadly classified into four schools of thought (although the classification is not without overlap):

Decay owing to general malaise
Monocausal decay
Catastrophic collapse
Transformation

The tradition positing general malaise goes back to the historian, Edward Gibbon, who argued that the edifice of the Roman Empire had been built on unsound foundations from the beginning. According to Gibbon, the fall was—in the final analysis—inevitable. On the other hand, Gibbon had assigned a major portion of the responsibility for the decay to the influence of Christianity, and is often, though perhaps unjustly, seen as the founding father of the school of monocausal explanation. On the other hand, the school of catastrophic collapse holds that the fall of the empire had not been a pre-determined event and need not be taken for granted. Rather, it was due to the combined effect of a number of adverse processes, many of them set in motion by the Migration Period, that together applied too much stress to the empire’s basically sound structure. Finally, the transformation school challenges the whole notion of the ‘fall’ of the empire, asking instead to distinguish between the fall into disuse of a particular political dispensation, anyway unworkable towards its end; and the fate of the Roman civilization that under-girded the empire. According to this school, drawing its basic premise from the Pirenne thesis, the Roman world underwent a gradual (though often violent) series of transformations, morphing into the medieval world. The historians belonging to this school often prefer to speak of Late Antiquity, instead of the Fall of the Roman Empire.

The Ostrogothic Kingdom, which rose from the ruins of the Western Roman Empire.

Boundless World History. Authored by : Boundless. Located at : https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-textbook/ . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

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8 Reasons Why Rome Fell

By: Evan Andrews

Updated: September 5, 2023 | Original: January 14, 2014

The Course of Empire. Destruction, 1836. Found in the collection of New York Historical Society.

1. Invasions by Barbarian tribes

The most straightforward theory for Western Rome’s collapse pins the fall on a string of military losses sustained against outside forces. Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths had encroached beyond the Empire’s borders. The Romans weathered a Germanic uprising in the late fourth century, but in 410 the Visigoth King Alaric successfully sacked the city of Rome.

The Empire spent the next several decades under constant threat before “the Eternal City” was raided again in 455, this time by the Vandals. Finally, in 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus. From then on, no Roman emperor would ever again rule from a post in Italy, leading many to cite 476 as the year the Western Empire suffered its death blow.

2. Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor

Even as Rome was under attack from outside forces, it was also crumbling from within thanks to a severe financial crisis. Constant wars and overspending had significantly lightened imperial coffers, and oppressive taxation and inflation had widened the gap between rich and poor. In the hope of avoiding the taxman, many members of the wealthy classes had even fled to the countryside and set up independent fiefdoms.

At the same time, the empire was rocked by a labor deficit. Rome’s economy depended on slaves to till its fields and work as craftsmen, and its military might had traditionally provided a fresh influx of conquered peoples to put to work. But when expansion ground to a halt in the second century, Rome’s supply of slaves and other war treasures began to dry up. A further blow came in the fifth century, when the Vandals claimed North Africa and began disrupting the empire’s trade by prowling the Mediterranean as pirates. With its economy faltering and its commercial and agricultural production in decline, the Empire began to lose its grip on Europe.

3. The rise of the Eastern Empire

The fate of Western Rome was partially sealed in the late third century, when Emperor Diocletian divided the Empire into two halves—the Western Empire seated in the city of Milan, and the Eastern Empire in Byzantium, later known as Constantinople. The division made the empire more easily governable in the short term, but over time the two halves drifted apart. East and West failed to adequately work together to combat outside threats, and the two often squabbled over resources and military aid.

As the gulf widened, the largely Greek-speaking Eastern Empire grew in wealth while the Latin-speaking West descended into an economic crisis. Most importantly, the strength of the Eastern Empire served to divert Barbarian invasions to the West. Emperors like Constantine ensured that the city of Constantinople was fortified and well guarded, but Italy and the city of Rome—which only had symbolic value for many in the East—were left vulnerable. The Western political structure would finally disintegrate in the fifth century, but the Eastern Empire endured in some form for another thousand years before being overwhelmed by the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s.

4. Overexpansion and military overspending

At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Euphrates River in the Middle East, but its grandeur may have also been its downfall. With such a vast territory to govern, the empire faced an administrative and logistical nightmare. Even with their excellent road systems, the Romans were unable to communicate quickly or effectively enough to manage their holdings.

Rome struggled to marshal enough troops and resources to defend its frontiers from local rebellions and outside attacks, and by the second century, the Emperor Hadrian was forced to build his famous wall in Britain just to keep the enemy at bay. As more and more funds were funneled into the military upkeep of the empire, technological advancement slowed and Rome’s civil infrastructure fell into disrepair.

5. Government corruption and political instability

If Rome’s sheer size made it difficult to govern, ineffective and inconsistent leadership only served to magnify the problem. Being the Roman emperor had always been a particularly dangerous job, but during the tumultuous second and third centuries it nearly became a death sentence. Civil war thrust the empire into chaos, and more than 20 men took the throne in the span of only 75 years, usually after the murder of their predecessor.

The Praetorian Guard—the emperor’s personal bodyguards—assassinated and installed new sovereigns at will, and once even auctioned the spot off to the highest bidder. The political rot also extended to the Roman Senate, which failed to temper the excesses of the emperors due to its own widespread corruption and incompetence. As the situation worsened, civic pride waned and many Roman citizens lost trust in their leadership.

6. The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes

The Barbarian attacks on Rome partially stemmed from a mass migration caused by the Huns’ invasion of Europe in the late fourth century. When these Eurasian warriors rampaged through northern Europe, they drove many Germanic tribes to the borders of the Roman Empire. The Romans grudgingly allowed members of the Visigoth tribe to cross south of the Danube and into the safety of Roman territory, but they treated them with extreme cruelty.

According to the historian Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman officials even forced the starving Goths to trade their children into slavery in exchange for dog meat. In brutalizing the Goths, the Romans created a dangerous enemy within their own borders. When the oppression became too much to bear, the Goths rose up in revolt and eventually routed a Roman army and killed the Eastern Emperor Valens during the Battle of Adrianople in A.D. 378. The shocked Romans negotiated a flimsy peace with the barbarians, but the truce unraveled in 410, when the Goth King Alaric moved west and sacked Rome. With the Western Empire weakened, Germanic tribes like the Vandals and the Saxons were able to surge across its borders and occupy Britain, Spain and North Africa.

7. Christianity and the loss of traditional values

The decline of Rome dovetailed with the spread of Christianity, and some have argued that the rise of a new faith helped contribute to the empire’s fall. The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in 313, and it later became the state religion in 380. These decrees ended centuries of persecution, but they may have also eroded the traditional Roman values system. Christianity displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and onto a sole deity.

Meanwhile, popes and other church leaders took an increased role in political affairs, further complicating governance. The 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon was the most famous proponent of this theory, but his take has since been widely criticized. While the spread of Christianity may have played a small role in curbing Roman civic virtue, most scholars now argue that its influence paled in comparison to military, economic and administrative factors.

8. Weakening of the Roman legions

For most of its history, Rome’s military was the envy of the ancient world. But during the decline, the makeup of the once mighty legions began to change. Unable to recruit enough soldiers from the Roman citizenry, emperors like Diocletian and Constantine began hiring foreign mercenaries to prop up their armies. The ranks of the legions eventually swelled with Germanic Goths and other barbarians, so much so that Romans began using the Latin word “barbarus” in place of “soldier.”

While these Germanic soldiers of fortune proved to be fierce warriors, they also had little or no loyalty to the empire, and their power-hungry officers often turned against their Roman employers. In fact, many of the barbarians who sacked the city of Rome and brought down the Western Empire had earned their military stripes while serving in the Roman legions.

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The Fall of the Roman Empire: Understanding its Causes and Consequences

Share share tweetoverview introduction to the roman empire the roman empire was one of the most powerful and influential civilizations in history. spanning over a thousand years, from 27 bc to 476 ad, it encompassed vast territories and had a profound impact on the development of western civilization. the empire was characterized by its strong […].

by Andrei Tapalaga | Nov 10, 2023 | Culture

Introduction to the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful and influential civilizations in history. Spanning over a thousand years, from 27 BC to 476 AD, it encompassed vast territories and had a profound impact on the development of Western civilization. The empire was characterized by its strong military, advanced infrastructure, and sophisticated governance system. It was during this time that important works of literature , such as the book by Adam Miller , were produced, shaping the cultural and intellectual landscape of the empire.

The Rise and Expansion of the Roman Empire

The rise and expansion of the Roman Empire marked a significant period of growth and dominance in ancient history. Starting as a small city-state in Italy, Rome gradually extended its influence through military conquests and strategic alliances. Ambitious emperors like Julius Caesar and Augustus played pivotal roles in expanding the empire’s borders and consolidating power. Through a combination of military strength, political cunning, and effective governance, Rome established itself as a formidable force in the Mediterranean region. The empire’s expansion brought numerous benefits, including economic prosperity, cultural exchange, and technological advancements. Roman engineering marvels such as aqueducts, roads, and architectural wonders still stand as testaments to the empire’s grandeur and ingenuity. However, the rapid expansion also posed challenges and set the stage for future problems that would contribute to the eventual fall of the Roman Empire .

The Peak of the Roman Empire

At its peak, the Roman Empire was an awe-inspiring civilization that stretched across vast territories, encompassing diverse cultures and peoples. With a strong centralized government and a highly efficient bureaucracy, the empire was able to maintain control over its vast territories. The Roman military, renowned for its discipline and tactical prowess, ensured the empire’s dominance and security. The empire’s economy flourished, fueled by extensive trade networks and agricultural productivity. The cities of Rome and Constantinople stood as shining examples of urban development and grandeur. The Roman Empire’s peak was characterized by political stability , economic prosperity, and cultural achievements. However, beneath this facade of strength and grandeur, there were underlying issues that would eventually contribute to its downfall.

Political Causes

Corruption and Political Instability

Corruption and political instability were major factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Corruption permeated all levels of government, from the highest officials to the lowest bureaucrats. Political instability was rampant, with frequent changes in leadership and power struggles. This created a sense of uncertainty and lack of trust in the government, leading to a breakdown in the social fabric of Roman society. The constant thinking hard required to navigate the complex political landscape took a toll on the efficiency and effectiveness of the government, making it difficult to address the many challenges facing the empire.

Ineffective Leadership and Succession Crisis

One of the major political causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was the ineffective leadership and succession crisis that plagued the empire. As the empire expanded, the task of governing such a vast territory became increasingly challenging. The emperors who came to power often lacked the necessary skills and experience to effectively rule. This led to a deterioration of modern concrete and a decline in the empire’s ability to maintain control over its territories. Additionally, the issue of succession became a recurring problem, as emperors struggled to secure a smooth transition of power. This instability weakened the empire and made it vulnerable to external threats.

Military Overextension and Decline in Discipline

One of the key political causes that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was military overextension and a decline in discipline within the military. As the empire expanded, the Roman army was stretched thin, with troops stationed in far-flung regions to maintain control and defend against external threats. This led to a strain on resources, as the empire struggled to supply and support its vast military presence. Additionally, the prolonged military campaigns and constant warfare resulted in a decline in discipline among the soldiers. The soldiers became more focused on personal gain and looting rather than upholding the values and discipline that had once made the Roman army formidable. This lack of discipline weakened the military’s effectiveness and made it vulnerable to attacks from external enemies. Furthermore, the excessive military expansion also led to a drain on the economy, as resources were diverted towards maintaining the army rather than investing in infrastructure and development. Ultimately, the combination of military overextension and decline in discipline contributed to the weakening and eventual collapse of the Roman Empire.

Economic Causes

Inflation and Devaluation of Currency

Inflation and devaluation of currency were significant economic causes that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Inflation refers to the sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services, resulting in a decrease in the purchasing power of money. During the later years of the empire, the Roman government faced severe financial difficulties, leading to the debasement of the currency. This involved reducing the amount of precious metal in coins, which resulted in their decreased value. As a consequence, people lost trust in the currency, causing a decline in trade and economic activity. Moreover, the devaluation of currency led to economic inequality , as the wealthy could afford to hoard gold and silver, while the poor struggled to meet their basic needs. The decline in the value of money also affected the military, as soldiers were paid in debased currency, leading to a decline in discipline and morale. The combination of inflation and devaluation of currency had a detrimental impact on the Roman economy, contributing to its ultimate downfall.

Excessive Taxation and Economic Inequality

Excessive taxation and economic inequality were significant economic causes of the fall of the Roman Empire. The Roman government heavily relied on taxation to fund its expansive military and bureaucratic apparatus. However, the burden of taxation fell disproportionately on the lower classes, exacerbating economic inequality and widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Excessive taxation not only stifled economic growth but also led to widespread resentment among the population. The wealthy elite, on the other hand, often enjoyed tax exemptions and privileges, further exacerbating the economic divide. This unequal distribution of wealth and resources contributed to social unrest and instability within the empire. Additionally, the decline in trade and agricultural productivity further weakened the Roman economy , as the empire struggled to meet the demands of its growing population. The combination of excessive taxation, economic inequality, and declining economic productivity ultimately undermined the stability and prosperity of the Roman Empire.

Decline in Trade and Agricultural Productivity

The decline in trade and agricultural productivity played a significant role in the fall of the Roman Empire. Trade , which was once a thriving aspect of the empire, began to decline due to various factors. The inflation and devaluation of currency made trade less profitable, discouraging merchants from engaging in commercial activities. Additionally, the excessive taxation imposed by the empire put a strain on the economy, further hampering trade. Moreover, the empire’s decline in agricultural productivity had a severe impact on its overall stability. The once fertile lands of the empire faced overexploitation and environmental degradation , leading to a decrease in agricultural output. This, in turn, resulted in food shortages and rising prices , exacerbating the economic crisis. The decline in trade and agricultural productivity weakened the empire’s economic foundation, making it vulnerable to external pressures and internal conflicts.

Social and Cultural Causes

Barbarian Invasions and Loss of Roman Identity

The Barbarian invasions played a significant role in the fall of the Roman Empire. These invasions, led by various Germanic tribes such as the Visigoths, Vandals, and Ostrogoths, put immense pressure on the already weakened Roman military. The loss of Roman identity was also a consequence of these invasions, as the Roman Empire struggled to maintain its cultural and social cohesion in the face of external threats. The invading tribes brought with them their own languages, customs, and traditions, which gradually eroded the Roman way of life. Additionally, the weakening of the Roman military due to continuous conflicts with the barbarians further contributed to the loss of Roman identity. The Romans, once known for their military might and discipline, were now facing defeat at the hands of the barbarian invaders. This loss of military prowess not only weakened the empire’s defense but also shattered the confidence and pride of the Roman people. As a result, the sense of unity and loyalty towards the Roman Empire began to crumble, ultimately leading to its downfall.

Decline in Morality and Values

The decline in morality and values was a significant factor contributing to the fall of the Roman Empire . As the empire expanded and became more diverse, the traditional Roman virtues of discipline, loyalty, and honor began to erode. Corruption became rampant, with officials and politicians using their positions for personal gain rather than serving the best interests of the empire. Decadence and excessive indulgence became prevalent among the ruling elite, leading to a loss of focus on the well-being of the empire and its people. The erosion of moral values also manifested in the decline of the patriarchal family structure, with an increase in divorce rates and a decrease in the importance placed on marriage and family. Additionally, the spread of Christianity challenged traditional Roman religious beliefs and practices, further contributing to the moral and cultural decline. The loss of moral compass and the erosion of traditional values weakened the social fabric of the empire, making it more vulnerable to external threats and internal conflicts.

Christianity and the Transformation of Roman Society

The rise of Christianity had a profound impact on Roman society and played a significant role in the transformation and eventual fall of the Roman Empire. Christianity emerged as a major religious movement in the first century AD and quickly gained followers throughout the empire. The teachings of Jesus Christ and the spread of Christian beliefs challenged traditional Roman values and practices. The influence of Christianity can be seen in various aspects of Roman society, including politics, culture, and social norms. The adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD marked a significant turning point in the history of the empire. This decision not only solidified the influence of Christianity but also led to the rise of the Byzantine Empire , which would continue the legacy of the Roman Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean for centuries to come .

Legacy of the Fall of the Roman Empire

The fall of the Roman Empire left a profound and lasting impact on the world. Politically , it marked the end of one of the most powerful and influential empires in history, leading to a power vacuum that would shape the course of European history for centuries to come. Economically , the collapse of the Roman Empire resulted in widespread economic turmoil, with inflation and devaluation of currency causing severe economic instability. Socially and culturally , the fall of the empire led to a decline in Roman identity and a loss of unity, as barbarian invasions and the spread of Christianity transformed the social fabric of the region. The legacy of the fall of the Roman Empire serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the dangers of corruption, ineffective leadership, and overextension. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong institutions, fostering economic stability, and preserving cultural identity. The lessons learned from the decline and fall of the Roman Empire continue to be relevant in modern times, reminding us of the fragility of empires and the need for vigilance in maintaining a stable and prosperous society.

Lessons Learned from the Decline and Fall

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire offers valuable lessons for societies throughout history. One of the key lessons is the importance of effective leadership and stable governance . The Roman Empire suffered from corruption, political instability, and ineffective leadership, which weakened the empire and ultimately led to its downfall. Another lesson is the danger of overextension and military decline . The Roman Empire expanded its territories to an unsustainable extent, leading to a strain on resources and a decline in military discipline. Additionally, the economic causes of the empire’s fall, such as inflation , excessive taxation , and decline in trade , highlight the need for balanced economic policies and fair distribution of wealth . Lastly, the social and cultural causes, including the loss of Roman identity and the transformation of society by Christianity , emphasize the importance of cultural cohesion and preservation of core values . Overall, the fall of the Roman Empire serves as a cautionary tale, reminding us of the consequences of neglecting these crucial aspects of society.

Relevance of the Roman Empire’s Fall in Modern Times

The fall of the Roman Empire continues to hold significant relevance in modern times. It serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the potential consequences of political, economic, and social instability. One of the key lessons to be learned is the detrimental impact of corruption and ineffective leadership on the stability and longevity of a nation. The Roman Empire’s decline was exacerbated by widespread corruption within the government, leading to a loss of trust and support from the people. Additionally, the empire’s economic troubles, including inflation, excessive taxation, and economic inequality, mirror many of the challenges faced by modern societies. These issues can erode social cohesion and create divisions within a nation. Furthermore, the fall of the Roman Empire was also influenced by cultural and societal changes, such as the influx of barbarian invasions and the transformation brought about by Christianity. These factors remind us of the importance of maintaining a strong national identity and upholding core values. Homosexuality blamed for fall Roman Empire . This controversial theory suggests that the acceptance and prevalence of homosexuality in Roman society contributed to its downfall . While this theory has been widely discredited by historians, it serves as a reminder of the dangers of scapegoating and blaming specific groups for societal problems. Overall, the fall of the Roman Empire serves as a reminder of the fragility of civilizations and the need for constant vigilance to prevent the repetition of history’s mistakes.

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Reasons for the Fall of Rome

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Varro , a Republican Roman antiquarian, dated the founding of Rome to the 21st of April 753 B.C. While canonical, the date is most likely wrong. The fall of Rome also has a traditional date -- about a millennium later, on September 4, A.D. 476, a date established by the historian Edward Gibbon. This date is a matter of opinion, for it was on this date that the last Roman emperor to rule the western Roman Empire -- a usurper, but only the last of many -- was kicked out of office. The Sack of Rome by the Goths on August 24, A.D. 410 is also popular as a date for Rome's fall. Some say the Roman Empire never fell. But assuming it did fall, why did it fall?

There are adherents to single factors, but more people think Rome fell because of a combination of such factors as Christianity, decadence, and military problems. Even the rise of Islam is proposed as the reason for Rome's fall, by some who think the Fall of Rome happened at Constantinople in the 15th Century. Here I am writing about a roughly fifth century fall of Rome (or the western division of the Roman Empire).

Why do you think Rome fell?

Christianity

When the Roman Empire started, there was no such religion as Christianity, although by the time of the second emperor, Jesus had been executed for treasonous behavior. It took his followers a few centuries to gain enough clout that they were able to win over imperial support. This came in the early 4th century, with Constantine , who was actively involved in Christian policy-making. Over time, Church leaders became influential and took power away from the emperor; for example, the threat of withholding the sacraments compelled Emperor Theodosius to do the penance Bishop Ambrose required. Since Roman civic and religious life were the same -- priestesses controlled the fortune of Rome, prophetic books told leaders what they needed to win wars, emperors were deified, Christian religious beliefs and allegiances conflicted with the working of empire.

Barbarians and Vandals

Rome embraced the barbarians, a term covering a variety and changing group of outsiders, using them as suppliers of tax revenue and bodies for the military, even promoting them to positions of power, but Rome also lost territory and revenue to them, especially in northern Africa, which Rome lost to the Vandals at the time St. Augustine.

One can spot decay in many areas, going back to the crises of the Republic under the Gracchi , Sulla and Marius, but in the imperial period and in the military, it meant men were no longer trained right and the invincible Roman army was no longer, and there was corruption throughout.

Right now, the price of an ounce of gold is $1535.17/ounce (EUR 1035.25). If you bought what you thought was an ounce of gold and took it to an appraiser who told you it was worth only $30, you'd be upset and probably take action against the gold seller, but if your government issued money that was inflated to that degree you would no more have recourse than you'd have the money to buy necessities. That was what inflation was like in the century before Constantine. By the time of Claudius II Gothicus (268-270 A.D.) the amount of silver in a supposedly 100% silver denarius was only .02%.

The presence of lead in the drinking water leached in from the water pipes, glazes on containers that came in contact with food and beverages, and food preparation techniques could have contributed to heavy metal poisoning. It was also absorbed through the pores since it was used in cosmetics. Lead, associated with contraception, was recognized as a deadly poison.

Economic factors are cited as a major cause of the fall of Rome. Some of the major factors, like inflation, are discussed elsewhere. But there were also lesser problems with the economy of Rome that combined together to escalate financial stress. These include:

Poor management
The dole (bread and circuses)

Division of the Empire

The Roman Empire was split not just geographically, but culturally, with a Latin Empire and a Greek one, the latter of which may have survived because it had most of the population, a better military, more money, and more effective leadership.

Hoarding and Deficit

Causes of the fall of Rome include economic decay through hoarding of bullion, barbarian looting of the treasury, and trade deficit.

Want Even More?

The University of Texas has re-posted a German list ranging from the puzzling (like "useless eaters") to the obvious (like "stress") with a bunch of good ones in between (including "Nationalism of Rome's subjects" and "Lack of orderly imperial succession": "210 Reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire." Source: A. Demandt, Der Fall Roms (1984)

Do read the 21st century books The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians , by Peter Heather and The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization , by Bryan Ward-Perkins, which are summarized, reviewed and compared in the following review article:

"The Return of the Fall of Rome The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians by Peter Heather; The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization by Bryan Ward-Perkins," Review by: Jeanne Rutenburg and Arthur M. Eckstein The International History Review , Vol. 29, No. 1 (Mar., 2007), pp. 109-122.

The Fall of Rome: How, When, and Why Did It Happen?
Economic Reasons for the Fall of Rome
The End of the Roman Empire
Selected Books on Roman History
Alaric, King of the Visigoths and the Sack of Rome in A.D. 410
Timeline of the Period of the Dominate
Periods of History in Ancient Rome
The Hun-Driven Barbarian Invaders of the Roman Empire
Defining the Middle Ages
A Short Timeline of the Fall of the Roman Empire
Impact of the Huns on Europe
Timelines and Chronologies of Roman Emperors
Parthians and the Silk Trade
A Brief History of Rome
Valens and the Battle of Adrianople (Hadrianopolis)
The Great Roman Emperor Theodosius I

The Fall of the Roman Empire

Rome was not built in one day; so too, the mighty Roman Empire did not fall in a day – it covered hundreds of years. Why did Rome fall? Just like the human body is inevitably subject to growth, decay, and death it is the same with nations. History is replete with such examples without a single exception. The fall of an empire or nation is a natural phenomenon. The other causes are incidental like the disease that brings about the death of a human body.

One of the causes of the fall of Rome was the Barbarian invasions – they marched through the very roads Rome had built to reach and subjugate them. But Rome since the time of Augustus had been battling the German tribes. Why should they suddenly overpower Rome in the 6 th century? The barbarian invasions during the 3 rd and 4 th centuries were far fiercer but they were pushed back leaving behind scant traces of their marauding. The fact is that the Barbarians were no match to the Roman army. Thus it can be said that the Barbarians won in the 6 th century not because of their superior strength but because of the weakness of the Romans 1 .

The second cause is the decay in the structure of Roman society. Three distinct tribes divided into ten clans each made up Roman society in the early stages. This tribal character continued during the days of the Republic. The system allowed for stability and self-government. Self-government entails self-discipline by subordinating self-interest for the welfare of the family and then of the society as a whole. Without discipline self-government is impossible.

Originally the plebeians were not part of the government because they did not belong to the tribes that originated in Rome; neither could they take part in the religion of the state that comprised of family gods. The king was a sort of high priest. This led to the voluntary exile of the plebeians for a short time to the Sacred Mountain because “ no hereditary religion attaches us to this sit ” 2 . But later after many years of struggle, they became part of the Roman administration but at the cost of Rome no longer being tribal-based. It became more wealth-based.

Things took a turn for the worse with Rome following expansionist policies. Foreign influence gnawed into Roman society. When Sulla conquered Greece it was followed by a reverse invasion of Greek literature, philosophy, and manners. But Greece of those days had become degenerate. More destructive was the influence from the east – the Babylonian, Assyrian and Persian Empires with their proletariat demoralized culture that attracted the urban elite of Rome.

The third vital cause was the change in the Roman army too had changed. The conquests led to Rome setting up garrisons in distant places where the soldiers were posted for many years. Consequently, they forgot their loyalties towards Rome and directed it more towards the local garrison commander 3 .

At home, the army became degenerate with the introduction of public games. The worst damage was done to slavery that swelled into an institution. Roman administration could not manage the slaves it took in. Society became dependent on slaves. The administration became too much occupied with huge bands of slaves, extremely dissatisfied, living in squalid conditions. Corn came to be freely distributed leading to transforming the self-respecting working class into beggars. The land came to be neglected and the condition of the soil worsened. Farmers were overtaxed while others were overindulged. The granaries of Rome became the deserts of Africa today.

Bibliography

Bowersock, David. 1996. “The Vanishing Paradigm of the Fall of Rome.” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 49: 31-42.
Ferrill, Arther. 2009. The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation . New York: Thames and Hudson Ltd.
Tainter, Joseph. 1988. The Collapse of Complex Societies . NY: Princeton Uni Press.

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What Caused the Fall of the Western Roman Empire

This essay will delve into the historical events and factors leading to the decline of the Western Roman Empire. It will explore various theories, including economic hardship, military defeats, and internal political strife, offering a nuanced understanding of this pivotal moment in history. On PapersOwl, there’s also a selection of free essay templates associated with Agriculture.

How it works

Ancient Rome began as a small town in Italy and eventually grew into an empire that contained most of Europe, Britain, Western Asia, Northern Africa, and the Mediterranean islands. Rome became an empire soon after Julius Caesar came into power and conquered France. Augustus, who was Julius Caesar’s adopted son, took the throne after his father’s death. Augustus created a golden age of peace and prosperity, known as the Pax Romana. Although Rome seemed to be flourishing, it began to decline and the year 476 is known as “the fall of Rome.

” There are many theories surrounding the causes of the decline in Rome, including, agricultural exhaustion, invasions, and lack of military might.

Ellsworth Hunting, the author of Climate Change and Agricultural Exhaustion as Elements in the Fall of Rome, argues that agricultural exhaustion is the cause of the decline of Rome. Hunting states that, “seven jugera, or about four and one-half acres of land, sufficed for the tillage required to support an average family. Agriculture was so intensive that farms of this small size, supplemented presumably by pasture land, supported a contented, self-respecting, and progressive population” (Hunting, ). Cities within Rome were small, and the citizens of these cities were independent and created a government to fit the needs of the people. The second century before Christ marked a major change, “under Scipio in 196 B.C grain began to be distributed from state granaries to poor citizens. Seven jugera were no longer sufficient for the average farmer” (Hunting, ). Many farmers became poverty stricken and instead of sowing their fields with a scientific rotation of carefully tilled crops, they were turning them over to pasturage. At this point, farmers reaped only four times the seed that they sowed. Conditions only became worse, farms were abandoned, tenants fell into chronic debt and were little better than slaves.

Agricultural decline lead to economic decline and the creation of a system of taxation. Taxes should be proportioned to the income of the people who pay them, but the decline in agriculture left many people poor. A tax that was easily paid from a full grain bin becomes oppressive when the grain bin is half empty. Poverty lead to the concentration of power in the hands of the few. Ward-Perkins, author of The Fall of Rome: and the End of Civilization, states that, “the key internal element in Rome’s success or failure was the economic well-being of its taxpayers” (Ward-Perkins,). Families who were unable to pay the taxes required to keep their land, were forced to leave. Some families even sold their children into slavery because they could not provide for them. Since taxes were used to empower the army, Rome’s military might declined significantly.

The Roman military began to employ barbarian allies and mercenaries for protection. Employing barbarians caused revenue to leave the Roman Empire and enter foreign states, which caused inflation. The Persian Empire took advantage of the weak Roman military and managed to capture a Roman emperor, leading to a Roman civil war. Civil wars were frequent and caused military deaths, civilian deaths, and wasted resources. Trying to put an end to civil wars within Rome, gave foreigners an opportunity to invade with little pushback. One foreign invader that was extremely successful were known as the Huns.

Edward Gibbons, the author of History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, believed that the Huns was a major factor in the fall of Rome. He argues that, “the barbarian world was agitated by the distant revolutions of China. The Huns, who fled before a victorious enemy, directed their march towards the West; and the torrent was swelled by the gradual accession of captives and allies. The flying tribes who yielded to the Huns assumed In their turn the spirit of conquest; the endless column of barbarians pressed on the Roman empire with accumulated weight; and if the foremost were destroyed, the vacant space was instantly replenished by new assailants” (Gibbons, ). The Roman empire did not stand a chance against the Huns. Agricultural decline, heavy taxes, and the lack of military might, left Rome open to foreign invasion.

Roman Empire, a mysterious ancient country. We all know that it almost dominated the Europe for a long period. So, what are the factors that is strong enough to lead such a powerful country into death. I’d like to analyze the fall of the Western Roman Empire through political, social, economic, and military.

In political, you know when governments are no longer strong, a country cannot be strong. At that time, Western Roman Empire had poor leadership. The empire changed the emperors really frequently that they changed 22 emperors in 50 years. Moreover, there’s a strong corruption inside the government. Officials abused their power. In the government, money like a permit, money can do anything. Obviously, Western Roman Empire had a terrible government.

In social, people abandon the old ideas such as loyalty, duty, honor. Every valuable character of human disappeared, everyone just cared about themselves. Educational people disinteresting in public service, they refused to serve in government. If a government without people who were educational, it would be terrible, the implemented policy would be terrible and that was the current situation of Roman government. In addition, fewer people attended schools, the whole social culture stagnated. And a large amount of people was enslaved even more than half of people were slaves in Rome.

In economic, a serious inflation happened. Because of the tax evasion among people, the government didn’t have enough money in supporting any truly coins. Thus, they decided to let 100% gold/silver of the coins down into 5% gold/silver of the coins. Therefore, people didn’t believe the coin or the government anymore. They began a new way of trade that was barter. They began to trade without money. You know it’s difficult of a person to trade with like 100 chickens, so Romans haven’t trade far away like before any more. Trade was the basis of a society, result of the situation, the economy in Rome didn’t improve but recede. Besides, at that time, plague and famine spread widely, many people couldn’t eat any food and many of them became slaves. Gradually, small farmers became less and less, the gap between rich and poor became wider and wider.

In military, the strength of Roman armies was weakening. Because the government couldn’t pay the solders, they allowed the soldiers’ family companied with them to train in a far country. If a solder trained with their family, he absolutely had no hear about train or fight. Thus, the Roman armies often were defeat. Inside Rome, civil wars happened everywhere, people were on the run every day; outside Rome, threats on North border long last. The whole Roman empire was in a situation of internal and external troubles.

Although the Roman empire was such a big empire, the troubles in political, social, economic, and military happened at the same time, it’s strong enough to end it.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Ancient Rome — The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Fall of The Roman Empire

Categories: Ancient Rome

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Words: 732 |

Published: Dec 5, 2018

Words: 732 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Works Cited

Fall of the Roman Empire. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rome.info/history/empire/fall/
Gibbon, E. (n.d.). The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol. 2).
Wasson, D. (2014). Diocletian. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Diocletian/
Theodosius I. (n.d.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodosius-I-Roman-emperor
Cameron, A. (2013). The Last Pagans of Rome. Oxford University Press.
Ward-Perkins, B. (2006). The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization. Oxford University Press.
Heather, P. (2006). The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History. Pan Books.
Goldsworthy, A. (2009). How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower. Yale University Press.
Bury, J. B. (2011). History of the Later Roman Empire : From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian. Dover Publications.
Ward, J. (2018). Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar. St. Martin's Griffin.

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