The Failure of Rome’s Economy and the Fall of the Roman Empire

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The failure of Rome’s economy contributed majorly to the fall of Rome. The Roman Economy during the late Republic and Early Empire was based heavily on Agriculture and Commerce. Agriculture in ancient Rome was not only a necessity, but was idealized among the social elite as a way of life. Cicero had considered agriculture to be the best of all Roman Occupations (Sarudy). There had been a lot of trading between the provinces of the empire, and all regions of the empire were largely economically interdependent. Egypt was also important in providing wheat to Rome. Shipments of Egyptian wheat may have amounted to 20 million modii (an Ancient Roman measurement) or more annually. Twenty million modii of wheat was nearly enough for up to half the Roman Empire. (Library) Commerce in Rome is what drove the economy in late Republic and early Empire. The complex accounting of Roman trade was conducted with counting boards and the Roman abacus. The abacus was used in the counting of Roman currency and tallying of Roman measures (Stephenson). The provinces of the Roman Empire were trading huge volumes of items to one another by sea routes. Some provinces specialized in producing certain types of goods. Examples of these goods are grains in Egypt and North Africa as well as wine and olive oil in Italy, Hispania, and Greece.

The economic policies set by the Emperors had a heavy impact of the lives of the citizens of Rome. The founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor, Augustus, had ruled from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. During his reign, Augustus improved the Roman Economy by bringing in a vast flood of money into the Treasury from his conquest of Egypt. The interest rates had also dropped dramatically and businesses were able to flourish....

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"Nero’s Birthday." Bluejayblog. N.p., 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. .

Peden, Joseph. Inflation and the Fall of the Roman Empire. "The Ludwig Von Mises Institute." Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 07 Sept. 2009. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. .

Sarudy, Barbara Wells. "Early American Gardens." : Classic Roman Garden & Farm Writings Read in 18th Century America. N.p., 19 July 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013

Stephenson, Steve. "The Roman Hand- Abacus." The Roman Hand-Abacus. N.p., 27 Nov. 2003. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. .

Torney, Sean. "Domitian." Domitian. SlideShare Inc, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. .

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