The Fall Of The Roman Empire

1091 words - 4 pages

SegrestThe Fall of the Roman EmpireThough it started as a Republic, Rome quickly grew into one of the largest empires the world has ever seen. It flourished for over a thousand years, with a population of over seventy million people at its peak. The Roman Empire conquered over forty modern-day countries; this included the majority of Europe, small portions of North Africa, and the Middle East. However, even Rome had its issues. In 476 CE, the most powerful empire of its time collapsed. It took a variety of influential sources to assist with the decline of Rome. While scholars argue about the most important of these sources, they can agree on several main causes for the fall of the Roman Empire: barbarian invasions, overexpansion and overspending on the military, political corruption, economic problems, and the rise of Christianity.Barbarian invasions had an enormous impact on Rome's power. The Goths were the first group to test Rome. An invasion of the Huns' into Europe in fourth century CE forced Germanic tribes such as the Goths to travel through the Roman Empire into safety. Roman officials allowed the Goths to cross, but not without a price. The Visigoths were treated with extreme cruelty, even being forced by Roman officials to "trade their children into slavery in exchange for dog meat" ("8 Reasons Why Rome Fell"). Eventually, the Goths grew tired of such cruelty and sacked the Roman Capital in 410. Rome was able to regain power again until 455, when the Vandals were the next to invade. However, the biggest blow to Rome didn't come until 476, when a Germanic leader revolted and killed Emperor Romulus Augustulus ("8 Reasons Why Rome Fell"). These invasions and conquerings of barbarian tribes greatly attributed to the decline of Rome.While being a large empire most likely had its benefits, it also had its downfalls. The extreme size of Rome stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River; such a large area was very difficult to govern. Due to this, Rome decided to split into two empires, the East and the West. While this division was helpful, it wasn't enough for Western Rome. The border of the Roman Empire was still too large. In order to protect its barriers, Rome needed to invest in a larger army. Because so much money was being spent on the army, there was very little money left for improvements on basic necessities, such as the aqueducts. Roads also became very poor in quality and were hard to travel on. The overexpansion of Rome had a very negative effects on the empire.The Roman Empire's government was corrupted and depraved. The title Emperor essentially became a death sentence. In 100 years, the title was held by 37 men, 25 of which were assassinated ("Fall of the Roman Empire"). The Praetorian Guard was an elite group of soldiers whose sole duty was to protect the Emperor. With such great ranking, the Praetorian Guard was able to abuse its power without intervention. Eventually, the Guard was able to overpower the Emperor,...

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