Why Rome Fell Essay

665 Words2 Pages

The Roman Empire lasted for about five hundred years. The transition from republic to empire began when the Roman Senate’s administration went downhill. The victorious generals started civil wars and political crises to compete for power. Julius Caesar, one of the generals defeated Pompey, becoming a monarch. Julius Caesar’s assassins failed to restore the republic. Mark Antony who controlled both the governments and the Roman legions, had a war against the Senate to get revenge from Caesar's assassination. This caused Octavian, Caesar's great nephew, to gain the Senators support against his rival.
Later on, Octavian then defeated Mark Antony in the name of the republic. Octavian did not think that the Senate gave him what he deserved after …show more content…

The first major cause was from the antagonism between the Senate and the Emperor. The Emperor had decision over life and death, and also could rule Rome’s civil, religious, and military affairs with the Senate. The Emperor and Senator did not get along at all. Another reason to why Rome fell is because there was a decline in Morals. There were festivals that were called Saturnalia and Bacchanalia where sacrifices, vulgar acts. There was also to much gambling on chariot races and great consumption of alcohol. The last major cause was constant wars and spending too much on Military warfare. The Roman army then turned against the Empire which led to a downfall in Rome. The last reason Rome began to fall is because of a decline in ethics and values. Dramatically, in the first two centuries the number of slaves increased. Slave wars, led by Spartacus, were the effect of terrible treatment of slaves. Later on the Emperor’s attitude towards slaves changed. They started freeing slaves which caused the number of slaves to decline. This was bad for Rome because they depended on …show more content…

The Huns who moved westward on the plains of Hungary terrified both the Romans and Germans. Their main interest was plunder and bloodshed. The Romans then finally defeated the Hun leader. Another tribe was The Visigoths. The Visigoths lived in southern Scandinavia. They were receptive to the Roman’s way of life. Some Visigoths were then taken into the Roman army. They defeated and killed the Emperor, in the battle of Adrianople. Another tribe is The Vandals, they crossed France and settled in Spain for a while where they were expelled by the Visigoths. The tribe who escaped from the Hun control called The Ostrogoths, had a leader named Theodoric. Theodoric was known as a very great leader. He spent his life ten years as a hostage. He governed Italy and was the king of Goths. The Goths took one- third of the land and houses and all military duties. The next tribe the Franks, lived in the North Sea and the upper Rhine. They began their conquests in the fifth century. With the help of their powerful king Clovis, they defeated the Visigoths and the Burgundians, and gained most control over France. The Franks were then creating a new culture with Roman and Germanic elements. The last Germanic tribe is the Anglo-Saxons. They did not like the Romans at all. They ignored most of the Romans achievements they found, and did not pay attention to their

More about Why Rome Fell Essay

Open Document