The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Fall of the Roman Empire

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.

Filename: Romefall.wps

The Roman people were a overly proud and highly

religious people, whose sense of identity as

romans came primarily from their accomplishments

in war and their respect of their ancestors. By

examining Livy's The Early History of Rome, we can

identify these traits through roman patterns of

behavior and the foundation myths that their

nation is built upon.

The romans repeatedly display not only an

overdeveloped personal sense of pride, but an

exceptional pride in their nation - taking

precedence over even family loyalty. The first

example of this Roman pride is seen in the very

first foundation myth of Rome, the tale of Romulus

and Remus. The second of the two versions of this

story tells how after the auspices have indicated

Romulus as the rightful leader of...

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...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.

There were many causes that also relate to Political, Social, Military, or Economical that I did not mention because they may not have been as important. There were very many causes both immediate and both long-term that led to the fall of Western Rome. In conclusion I would like to mention that many things led to the fall of Rome and it would be very hard to avoid this due to the many mistakes made along the path that led to the fall of Western Rome.