Causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire

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For a long period of time, Rome seemed like an unstoppable empire. It conquered the majority of the land surrounding it, including Greece, Turkey, Iraq, and many of its other neighboring countries. It seemed as though Rome would conquer the entire world, as it was the center of it, until it began to decline in 476 C.E. The very aspects that made it so successful were the ones that caused its collapse. Various political, religious, and economic reasons caused its downfall. The fact that the entire economy of Rome collapsed and money became worthless was a major reason for the empire’s collapse. In addition, the loss of a common religion and lack of efficient ruling in relation to its vast territory affected the empire. The Roman Empire did not become so successful in a short period of time, and so its decline did not just happen overnight. Over several years all of these different aspects together caused the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Roman government had many debts to pay. They also had to find a way to fund for the upkeep and development of its roads and army. The government decided to excessively tax the people, who viewed this as unjust. Much of Rome’s wealth came from the wealthy places it conquered, but they eventually reached a point where there were no longer any wealthy rivals to conquer. The Roman Empire never actually established an efficient currency system, and eventually, due to inflation, money became worthless. The empire that was once known for its excessively elaborate architecture and system of roads began to fade away because of its loss of wealth. Also, their trading stopped because of the dangers involved in traveling. This caused small farmers to eventually completely die out, or hide behi...

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...urn led to a rejection of politics and many Roman citizens becoming independent of the government.

(Sterns page 109 and 111)

As a result, it can be concluded that many factors attributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire. First and foremost, the collapse of the economy caused what was once a beautiful, elaborate empire to fade away. The system of government in place was not capable of controlling the vast territories in its possession. The spread of Christianity resulted in a loss of Roman culture. Though the Western-Roman Empire was completely diminished, some characteristics of the Eastern-Roman Empire were preserved. This is due to the fact that it was further advanced and a more civilized region. Over a period of time, all of these different factors together cause the collapse of what was once an outstanding and extremely powerful empire.

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