The Roman Empire will always be known as one of the largest, most influential, and most powerful civilizations in history. Ancient Rome gave the world many things essential to our daily lives even today from concrete to sewage systems. Because of the magnitude of Ancient Rome, it’s collapse was a watershed moment in the history of the world. The primary cause of Rome’s fall is widely debated but what is clear is that there were many factors, internal and external, that eventually caused Rome to collapse. The factors which were the most impactful to Rome’s downfall were the rise of Christianity, overexpansion and a failing economy. The diverse impact of these three causes were combined too much for the empire to overcome and Rome fell in 476 …show more content…
The institution of slavery was affected significantly as a result of the “Augustan Peace” movement. Because of the decline in war and piracy there was also a decline in the supply of slaves as these were the two largest sources of slavery. With the Delian Slave market no more and no new source of cheap labor Rome’s economy was slowed significantly. The beginning of the decline of Rome’s agricultural system was the Punic wars. The Punic wars were the first wars in which Roman soldiers were forced to campaign outside of Italy, as a result many of Rome’s citizens and field laborers were forced to abandon their fields for long periods of time. During this conflict Hannibal, in an effort to break up the network of alliances that made up the roman republic, decided to burn the land in a massive portion of northern and central Italy. After about twenty years of dealing with this conflict Italy’s agricultural economy was completely in shambles. Many farms fell on rough times because women and children could not manage farms with their men away at war. In an effort to keep the farms operational many of the wealthy Roman citizens bought up most of the farm land. This consolidation of land combined with rich landowners using more scientific techniques led to decreased opportunities for Roman citizens and when men returned from war many of them were unable to …show more content…
The religious tolerance and cultural acceptance Rome demonstrated during its conquest which kept its inhabitants reasonably happy allowed the seeds of Christianity to be sewn into the empire. Eventually Christianity grew and became the official religion of the empire and ultimately created a culture of disloyalty to the government and apathy to earthly troubles. The economy built on cheap labor and sustainable farming practices left the country out to dry when both of these resources dried up and could no longer support the empire. And Rome’s vast empire became in itself too large to maintain and what was once a small fortified empire grew into a massive and vulnerable one. Ancient Rome is one of history 's great civilizations but it’s inability to overcome it’s own, mostly internal, problems was eventually too much for it to
The year is 476 A.D. and the Roman Empire has collapsed after being overthrown by barbarians. Looking back, the causes of Rome’s decline can be separated into four categories, social, economic, military, and political. The social aspects of Rome’s fall are the rise of christianity and civil wars. The rise of christianity displaced Rome’s polytheistic roots which viewed the emperor as having a godly status. Pope and church leaders took an increased role in political affairs which further complicated governance. Civil wars also deteriorated the empire. More than 20 men took the throne in only 75 years and the empire was thrust into chaos. The economic aspects of Rome’s fall were high taxes from the government and labor deficit. The roman empire
The Roman empire was a very large and successful empire, although like many things it had to come to an end. The three primary reasons that had most contributed to Rome's fall is foreign invasions, military weakness , and weak leadership.
To understand the fall of the Roman Empire, we first have to analyze the influence that had
In the glory days of Rome, the empire was safe. People got along very well, large scale public works including bathhouses and aqueducts were built. A single emperor had control of one of the largest empires in history. Great games and festivities rang throughout the land. But, all glory eventually comes to an end. With the largest empire at the time, Rome had an equal fall from grace. Rome fell because of the political corruption, inflation and the decline in morals of its citizens.
Essay: Why was it possible for Rome to become an empire and last so long. What were the reasons for it's fall?
There are so many powerful countries and governments today, but have you ever wondered what were the most powerful ancient empires and what happened to them over the years. The Roman Empire was at once a very flourishing and thriving place to live, but then all of a sudden it began to fall and decline until it was a weak and vulnerable empire. Historians debate the issue of why it declined and eventually fell. They ask themselves the question, what are the main reasons for the fall of Rome? The main reasons for the fall of Rome were their military struggles, political problems, and the disasters they encountered during that time period.
The Roman Empire began as a small colony, in the city of Rome, and eventually, became one of the largest empires that the world has ever known before its ultimate demise. Because of the vast size of their territory, and the number of cultures they consumed throughout their existence, the Romans were heavily influenced by the Greeks and other Hellenistic civilizations. Two different groups of professors argue this point. Professors Matthews, Platt, and Noble argue this influence is reflected by Roman music, philosophy, literature, architecture, art, culture/government, and technology and science; and Professor Weber argues this is reflected in the areas of government/law, the influence and effects of conquests, culture, religion, architecture and art, and philosophy. Both parties make compelling arguments as to why the Romans were heirs to Greek and Hellenistic civilization however, it will be demonstrated that Matthews et al. provide a more thorough argument than Weber.
Rome was a major power because it always made certain its own military prowess was preeminent. There have been many ideas presented as to the fall of the Roman Empire. Many believe that Rome declined morally and the violence and decadence of the societal norms led to the demise. Gibbons has been credited with the theory of the influence and transference of Christianity over the Roman system of Gods and Goddesses that perpetrated the fall. Another theory lays the blame at the feet of the Emperor, that the happiness of the people and the functioning of the government was directly correlated with the personal merit and management skills of the reigning authority. This 10 page paper argues that the imperialistic tendencies of Rome over time and the pre-eminence of military expansionism in the latter stages, was the deciding feature of the "fall". Bibliography lists 7 sources.
The Roman Empire is known as one of the most powerful and influential empires the world has ever seen. At it’s height, this Empire had peace, economic prosperity and was expanding. Roman cities contributed to a fair amount of this success because they contributed to many advances during Pax Romana and united the empire. After the fall of the Empire, Christianity survived because although the empire separated into many kingdoms they were still being influenced by the religion.
The Romans were a well-established civilization of immense power in the Hellenistic era, conquering nearly the whole Italian Peninsula and most of Europe. Unfortunately, a time of continuous difficulty led Rome to its decline in 476 CE. The fall of Rome can be characterized as a series of troubling events that provoked an influx of citizens to Catholicism in the hope of receiving eternal salvation. Most importantly, it allowed the Catholic Church to rise in power from 590 to 1517 CE and become the most dominating and influential community in Europe. For one, Rome was unable to govern its excessively large empire, which set the beginning of a steady economic decline. Moreover, not only did the invasion of the barbarians on Western Rome cause
Rome was one of, if not, the most influential civilization in the western world. Rome once ruled the majority of the known western world, yet it was unable to hold that title. The Roman Empire eventually came to an end just like many other civilization, but the reasons for its downfall are still being debated to this day. Rome didn’t disappear overnight it was a steady downfall that consisted of several different symptoms. Symptoms that when combined together created the perfect storm to bring down the most powerful Empire in the world at that time, at least the western portion of it.
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.
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
The lack of war allowed the Roman Republic to stagnate and become self-indulgent. By the end of the Punic Wars, which combined these elements, Rome was sure to fail. Without a common thread uniting its society, the Roman Republic unraveled because it had nothing left holding it together. Works Cited (Plutarch, p. 269), (Holland, p. 14), (Plutarch, p. 319), (Holland, p. 33)
"Rome, History of Ancient Rome From Its Founding To Collapse." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. .