The Political And Economic Factors For The Fall Of Western Rome

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The decline of Rome dovetailed with the spread of christianity. The Edict of Milan legalised christianity in 313, and it later became the state religion in 380. These decrees ended the century if of persecution, but they also eroded the traditional Roman values. Christianity displaced the polytheistic religion which viewed the Roman emperor as having divine status, and it also shifted focus away from the glory of the state onto a single deity. This also meant the popes and church elders took and increased role in political affairs, further complicating the government. These loss of traditional Roman values lead to social outcries and civil unrest the eventually lead to bloodshed. The Sheer size of Rome made it difficult to govern, ineffective …show more content…

Their military power was diminished and became weak due to lack of people enlisting. Their political structure never worked and there was always corruption present. And the economic downfall was a crushing blow to the empire. And although christianity and the loss of the Roman values were a defining factor in the fall of Rome it can’t be blamed as much as the military, political and economic …show more content…

The first signs came when Rome split into east and west and had virtually become two different states in 395 CE. In 378 the Romans tried to stop a Visigoth revolt and were crushed in battle, this lead to a series of sackings of Rome by the Visigoths in 401 and the Vandals in 455. There are numerous theories as to why Western Rome fell some include, Christianity’s emphasis on a spiritual kingdom undermined Roman military virtues and patriotism. Rome was unable to achieve a working political system. Due to lack of man power the Roman army wasn’t able to fend off hordes of people invading Italy and

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