Fall of the Roman Empire
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Fall of the Roman Empire
Introduction
The Roman Empire faced many problems in the third century. Many of these problems came within the empire and other forces that were outside the empire. The only thing that seemed to aid in the holding of this great empire was drastic economic, political, and military reforms, which looked as essential elements that would prevent the collapse of the empire. Large groups of historians come to terms with the idea that at the end of emperor Marcus Aurelius in the 161–180 A.D marked the end of the romans two centuries of prosperity and peace. This period is known as the Pax Roman. Other rulers that followed from this period had very little or no idea on how to deal with the crises that this giant nation was facing. As a result this rulers lead to the fall and decline of the Roman Empire.
Politically, the fall of the Roman Empire as from 410 C.E is regarded as one of the largest and pivotal events in the history of the world. As from the time Edward Gibbon finished his works in 1788 on the Decline and Fall of the Roman empire, there has been large debates on the cause of the of the fall of the roman empire. However, it should be noted that despite the roman empire might have fallen politically, their culture and heritage still persisted in the west through the mid ages and in altered methods the culture still exist in the modern periods. However, a large number of causes attributed to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. This paper will look into the major causes of the decline of the Roman Empire and the periods in which the Roman Empire came to decline and completely fall politically.
Causes of the fall of the Roman Empire
The reasons behind t...
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...mpletely disappeared. The eastern half of the empire became the Byzantine Empire and it survived and flourished greatly. The Byzantine Empire retained the roman culture for another 1000 years. This empire continued to exist until 1453 when it fell to the Turks. Even though the political dynasty of the Roman Empire fell, the ideas and customs of the romans still influence the development of the western civilization until now.
Reference:
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1. Tim Cornell, John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World, Facts On File Inc, 1982. (pg.216)
During 243 – 476 AD, some of the main reasons that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire were the dwindling population, economic problems, the reign of different Emperors, and wars with the Visigoths on two separate occasions, but eventually during the 4th century, barbarians penetrated deep into Roman territory. Barbarians were nations compiled of various...
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.
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Livy. The Rise of Rome: Books One to Five. Trans. T. J. Luce. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
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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.
Shuckburgh, Evelyn Shirley. A history of Rome to the battle of Actium. London: Macmillan and Co., 1917.
Shelton, J.A. (1998). As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. (2nd ed.) New York: Oxford University Press.
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
Ultimately, the Roman Republic’s downfall lay in its lack of major wars or other crises, which led to a void of honor and leadership. War united all of Rome’s people, and provided the challenge to its leaders to develop honor and leadership by their causes and actions. 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.
As can be easily imagined the western empire didn’t fall in a single day, battle or war. It was rather a steady decline over the course of a few hundred years which bridged early middle ages, during which time successive germanic invasions, declining population , declining literacy and of course faltering trade and economy took their toll.Throughout history, empires such as the roman have faced various problems that led to their decline. The decline of these empires has influenced changes in societies and regions.this explain what led to the decline and how the decline of the roman empire affected the regions and
Boatwright, M., Gargola, D., Lenski, N., and Talbert, R. (2012). The Romans: From Village to Empire. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. New York, NY.
This assignment is both a comparison and an analysis of two essays; The Decay of Ancient Civilization written by Michael Rostovtzeff and Mohammed and Charlemagne by Henri Pirenne. The two essays offer varying perspectives on the fall of the Roman Empire and more specifically the transition between late antiquity to the beginning of the middle ages. The collapse of the Roman Empire is generally known to have concluded through one particular event; the sack of the great city of Rome. Although both essays give different accounts as the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire entails more than the “Barbaric” invasion as they further delve into from different perspectives. When further examining the Historiography and perception of the Authors we