Why Did Eastern Roman Empire Decline And Collapse?

840 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: 1 theory on the collapse of roman empire

As the Eastern Roman Empire prospered, transitioning into the Byzantine Empire, its susceptible counterpart crumbled. Over the course of a century, the once unified imperial rule around the Western Mediterranean fragmented into a mix of Barbarian kingdoms. In 476 C.E., the west’s final emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was ousted by the Ostrogoth and Italy was now under the reign of its first Gothic king, Odoacer.

Why did the Eastern Roman Empire decline and collapse? Some historians argue It was due to the adoption of Christianity, but is proven incorrect because after all, the transitioned byzantine empire was able to survive until the rise of the ottomans a near millennium later. Firstly, the Barbarian invasions ushered the Roman Empire into …show more content…

Barbaric tribes like the Visigoths joined the army, this reduced control the roman generals had over the army as a whole. Other Germanic tribes were displaced closer to Rome; this allowed for larger amounts of roman and barbarian interactions, speeding up the events which were to come. Gallienus, a roman emperor, being defeated in battle, entrusted his son and Gaul to Potsamus, however due to the invasions, Postamus killed the son and proclaimed himself emperor. This showed people that Postamus, being a gaul himself, betrayed his master and took control of the things that were not meant to be his. Later, Emperor Valens (a Roman emperor at the time) dies at Adrianople, successor Thodsius permits Goth to inhabit lands along south of Danube.These barbarians later played a role in the slow destruction of the Roman Empire. “The emperors, anxious for their personal safety and the public peace, were reduced to the base expedient of corrupting the discipline which rendered them alike formidable to their sovereign and to the enemy …show more content…

only 1% of legions did. As well, in 212CE> Emperor Caracalla grated citizenship to all free people under his rule. As well, in 212 CE Emperor Caracalla granted citizenship to all free people under his rule, consequently, instant citizenship decreased motivation for military service and created a large need for outside troops. For the barbarians, this was the perfect opportunity to enter the empire. After Adrianople, Visigoths were recruited as FOederati, causing a decline in the roman army’s traditional discipline. In fact

Show More
Related

  • Reasons For The Fall Of The Roman Empire Dbq

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    First off, the foreign invasions were a primary reason of Rome’s fall because they invaded and pillaged many places in the roman empire and caused some emperors deaths. One of the tribes that had invaded much of rome was the Huns. In document C it states that they were absolutely wild and very destructive. They are completely ignorant of right and wrong and are fired with an overwhelming desire to seize the property of others so we can assume they had done quite a lot of damage to the areas that they had invaded. Their invasions took place in the north east part of the roman Empire during the 370 CE to the 451 CE.

    Read More

  • How Did Rome Fall

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    Emperors such as Caligula, Nero, and Commodus have shown that the empire crumbled because of the fact that the leaders weren’t able to successfully create a well structured “team”. Nero persecuted Christians for their beliefs, Caligula turned the palace into a brothel, and Commodus took over territories and claimed them as his own. All three of these emperors are part of the reason why the Roman Empire has fallen. The conspiracy was investigated as being part of the fall of the empire.

    Read More

  • Ancient Rome DBQ

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Document B it states, “[Before the year 400 CE] foot soldiers wore breastplates and helmets. But when, because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates… and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for chest and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore breastplates and helmets to the infantry. Thus it happens that troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not fighting.” Also, the failure to enforce conscription weakened Rome because armies need power to hold front since equipment is useless if there is no person to use it. It also didn’t enforce it mostly on the useless people like the rich who don’t contribute very much to society. The second paragraph in Document B it states, “There can be little doubt that the weakness of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure… to enforce regular conscription [draft of soldiers]... The exempted categories were. Numerous. Hosts of senators, bureaucrats, and clergymen were entitled to avoid the draft; and among other groups who escaped were cooks, bakers, and slaves.” This proves how the Roman Army caused the fall of the Roman Empire because of their laziness and failure to enforce

    Read More

  • Fall of Rome - the military's role

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    One reason that many avoided Army service was because Roman citizenship was now offered freely, where in prior times military service had been a path to citizenship. The result was less manpower available for Rome. The Roman army was left with no choice but to recruit barbarians, who could in this way both find employment where they had no skills, and hope to obtain Roman citizenship.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of From Empire To Its Disintegration: The Roman Empire

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    To understand the fall of the Roman Empire, we first have to analyze the influence that had

    Read More

  • The Fall of the Western Empire in the Fifth Century

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many reasons for the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. A major reason was the political corruption and the instabilities of the government. The last ruling emperor of a united Roman Empire was Theodosius I. At his death in 395, he divided the empire leaving the east to his son Arcadius and the west to his other son Honorius. Constantinople and the Eastern Roman empire remained strong while...

    Read More

  • The Similarities And Differences Of The Carolingian Empire And The Roman Empire

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Roman Empire, unlike that of Charlemagne’s, with its wealth and power lasted for centuries. Although the Carolingian Empire did not withstand its rule, it made many advances under the rule of Charlemagne. He and Augustus both had a similar outlook; they both wanted the same thing – everlasting reign of their empires. They had strong and forceful armies as well as men who were ever so loyal to their leaders. Throughout the years, they worked to expand their rule and territory. A vast empire that would last for eternity is what was to be accomplished. Sadly enough, neither of their empires lasted through eternity. Both of the governments had been overthrown and defeated leading to the end of the vast

    Read More

  • Medieval Christian Europe

    2215 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Roman Empire was able to extend its boarders and create a civilization based on the cultural belief that they were the civilized people and all others were barbarians. Though many of the people in Rome were not well educated the elites in the Empire “would pass from forum to forum, s...

    Read More

  • The Fall of the Roman Empire

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...attacked Western Rome, such as very weak military due to poverty of the Western Empire. The soldiers were no longer loyal to the army and their emperor. There weren't many that would risk their lives for the empire. Now there were many foreign soldiers who served for pay, that made it that much harder to be able to hold a large army. There wasn't the kind of discipline they had in the army before.

    Read More

  • Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Romans were on one of the greatest people of all. They had power, wealth, and even a half of the world. They built one of the strongest and vast empire that world has ever seen. They came from nothing to something awesome. It started of as a city and ended up being one of the greatest empire of all. This essay is going to focus on the Roman Empire from the rise to the fall and the government, architecture, mythology, Family Structure, and Food of the Romans.

    Read More

  • The Fall Of The Roman Empire Essay

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    There were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Each one interweaved with the other. Many even blame the initiation of Christianity in 337 AD by Constantine the Great as the definitive cause while others blame it on increases in unemployment, inflation, military expenditure and slave labour while others blame it on the ethical issues such as the decline in morals, the lack of discipline of the armies and the political corruption within the Empire. Three major contributions that led to the collapse of the once great empire were: the heavy military spending in order to expand the Empire, the over-reliance on slave labour which led to an increase in unemployment, and the political corruption and abuse of power by the Praetorian Guard leading to the unfair selection of many disreputable emperors and the assassination of those not favoured by the Guard. One of the main reasons for the collapse of the Roman Empire was the over expenditure on the military to constantly fund wars abroad.

    Read More

  • How Did The Fall Of The Roman Empire

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Roman Empire was incredibly large and successful. In the prime of the empire population reached up to 56.8 million people. The land they conquered amasses to an outrageous 1 million square miles. Their influence is so great that even now people can see their imprint in architecture, law, and even helping spread Christianity, the world’s most populous religion. These amazing facts also begs a question. How did one of the world’s greatest civilization fall? Well, the fall of Roman Empire in 476 ACE was aided by ineffective rulers, the crumbling economy, and the invasion of the Germanic Tribes.

    Read More

  • The Fall Of The Roman Empire Analysis

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    The decline and fall of the Roman Empire is a scholarly article written by Justin Ott about the Roman Empire and the events leading up to its fall. The article mostly focuses on the military and economy of Rome in the third century A.D. It lists in the beginning a few of the different theories people have of how Rome fell, including led poisoning and the spread of Christianity. The article seems to want to disprove these theories, showing how they are not the main causes for the collapse of Rome. “Gibbon’s arguments in these sections can be accurately summarized as “the insensible penetration of Christianity in the empire fatally undermined the genius of a great people.” The problem with this conclusion is two-fold. First of all, this explanation is too narrow as it is difficult to believe one single factor brought down the empire. More importantly, it is clear that the Eastern Roman Empire was by far more Christian than the West, therefore if Christianity was behind the fall, the East should have fallen first.” The article’s audience appears to be historians, or those who are interested in history, or just the Roman Empire. It

    Read More

  • The Fall of the Roman Empire

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    An Empire that is too big is not always for the better because there are more problems to be dealt with. In the case of the Roman E...

    Read More

  • THE RISE OF THE PAPACY

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the Roman Empire shifted its center of power to the East, Rome lost much of the prestige and protection it had previously enjoyed. With Constantinople as the new seat of the empire, the West was left to stand alone, often defenseless.4 Barbarians attacked Rome in AD 410, and Rome found little help from Constantinople. With the Western Empire essentially abandoned, disease, poverty and instability were rampant. Many structures had fallen into disrepair, and famine ravaged the land. Most government officials had left Rome, leaving the churc...

    Read More

More about Why Did Eastern Roman Empire Decline And Collapse?

Open Document