Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Rise and fall of empires
Rise and fall of empires
Rise and fall of empires
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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. By about the second century AD, Rome was suffering from political corruption. In 218 AD, Elagabalus rose to power and he was crazy. The Roman public had their fair share of bad emperors, but a guy that marries 5 women and 1 dude, at that time, little scary. His grandmother tried to replace him with his cousin, but he removed his cousin’s place from parliament, and spread rumors about him. Elagabalus was killed by the Praetorian Guard and dumped in the Tiber River. Most emperors were overthrown by ambitious generals. After Commedus was assassinated, lots of rebellions broke out among the empire. So much so that when order balanced out, the government sent spies to report suspicious actions. But it wasn’t just political corruption. Because Rome had grown massively, the government had to inflate many prices and impose mass taxation to pay Nero and Caligua spent Rome’s money on lavish lifestyles, not the upkeep. One citizen even said “Do people feel for others? Are they numb to the well-being of others?” Rome originally saved a few days for games, but toward the end of the empire, game days totaled 170. Most poor spent money gambling and drinking. During the millennium festival more than 100 people and exotic animals were killed. The poor didn’t care about the empire to the extent that thy welcomed the Germanic and Barbaric tribes. With the lack of spirit from its citizens, Rome began to fall into the deepest
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.
...ion this all showed that style of governing and ruling an empire started a century long pattern of events that eventually lead to the fall and destruction of the old oligarchy led by the Senate. The combination of desire for personal gain and glory of a politician or general was what weakened the Roman customs and the Senate. This was a cycle among the Senate, to find themselves stuck in a problem and to find others to fix with of course military means but in turn make everything more corrupt with their disruptive practices such as Pompey and Julius Caesar. But they were not the only ones there were others who were to blame for causing such decay and corruption such as Marius, Sulla, Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus. They were the ones who kept this corruption cycle going and it was Augustus Caesar who finally broke the cycle and brought stability and order back to Rome.
A reason why the fall of Rome happened is because of the constant wars they were having and the heavy amount of military spending. All of the constant warfare that was happening required heavy military spending, the Romans army became very over well stretched because they kept on needing more and more soldiers. As they kept needing more and more soldiers, they began to let other foreigns join the army.
Rome was once one of the world's greatest empire until around 200 BCE when Rome started to crumble. The Fall of Rome did not happen suddenly, it took about 1100 years to take place. The first two centuries as an empire were named the "Pax Romana", which meant the time of Roman peace. The Romans were living the life, without a worry in the world. So how and why did Rome start to collapse, if the empire was was doing so grand and magnificent? To answer that question, the primary reasons that Rome started to decline were that the Romans had difficulty with their government which caused social problems/decay, their military was falling behind on their duties and became indolent, and natural disasters.
Finally, social causes were the last main reason for the downfall of the Roman Empire. Crime rate bounced off the charts and hit the chains. Rome’s morals and values were unable to balance towards the end and emperors were blamed for misusing money on useless festivities that made people eat and drink until they got sick to their stomach. At the Coliseum, the most popular entertainment area for Romans, gladiatorial combats performed over an over again. It was very amusing and exciting at the same time. The ground would drain in blood and then be covered with a layer of sand for the following contest. It was great for the Romans because anyone was able to attend and probably took the problems in their life off their mind. For social purposes, us Americans like to go to the movies and mall and have lots of fun with our friends. It gives us the time to relax and not worry about family problems or school or what’s going on in the world these days. I’d say the United States has a long way until it comes to a complete fall. But I know in my heart if leaders such as Bush rise to run this country, we are surely in major dilemma and evidently American power will decline.
...eat. Every decision that Rome made had a great affect on the city itself and the rest of the world. Many foolish emperors weakened the city and eventually cause the many aspects of life to crumble. The social issues were that no one took interest into Public affairs. The Political issues were that because no one took any public interest in government jobs, because there were not looked at as something that was good. The Economic issues were that they had poor harvest. Food was scarce people needed food so they went after it. The Germanic tribes started taking over the western half of the empire.
middle of paper ... ... In my opinion, this is the major factor pertaining to the collapse of the Roman Empire. The political corruption allowed the Praetorian Guard to be above the law and announce whoever they wanted as Emperor regardless of whether they were capable of the task. The dependence on slave labour caused high unemployment and the stagnation of technology for the last 400 years of the Roman Empire.
As Rome continued to overthrow country after country, their economic peak was at a high. Rome’s wealth was in their land. The more land they claimed, the more gold flowed in. Rome became very reliant on all the gold, silver and bronze they were receiving. Unlike many other civilizations, Rome used these extremely valuable elements for money. This is where the economic struggle hit them. While Rome slowly stopped claiming land, gold, silver, bronze and many other alternative sources of pay were not received. Without these, coins weren’t able to be made with as much gold. This made coins less valuable. Inflation then hit Rome hard. Merchants raised their prices in hopes of staying
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.
Whether it is war, the church, or influential contact Rome has made a huge impact on western civilization. From its strong followers trying to recreate the Republic, to lasting impressions imposed on its conquered lands, Rome has sent its culture and heritage throughout the entire globe. Even though Rome its self only lasted one thousand years its presence is still felt today. Rome in the eyes of the world never actually died, but was born over and over, and still remains standing to this day in one form or another. The mighty Roman Empire is and forever will be the rock of hope, advancement, and pure culture that holds this world together.
One of the most common causes of the decline of an empire results from having weak military power and martial spirit. In order for an empire to be successful, that empire must present a strong will to fight or sacrifice property and life in order to defend its state. If an empire does not possess this characteristic, it often will quickly diminish. For example, the Roman Empire became successful because of the willingness of the males to defend the state. Shortly after, the males lost their willingness to defend and the empire had to recruit unreliable mercenaries to fight in war. Unlike the successful army of the past, these mercenaries did not have true loyalty to Rome. Because of constant warfare, the Romans had heavy military spending. The Roman Empire had become too large to control effortlessly. Families and soldiers in parts of the Roman Empire adopted local customs. The Roman Empire was made up not only of natives from the Italian peninsula, but it was also made up of barbarians from the conquered lands. The barbarians were very knowledgeable when it came to Roman warfare and military tactics. Corruption became widespread throughout the Em...
After marching to Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched to Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civil War ensued.... ...
Crassus was killed in battle in 53 B.C. but the feud between Pompeius and Caesar remained. Apparently they fought because “Caesar promoted radical policies in the spirit of Tiberius Gracchus” and wanted to give land to the poor but“Pompey had the support of the traditionalists” (Beard). Cesers plans had gotten in the way of Pompeius plans to keep Rome wealth evenly distributed. War, impossible to end, broke out between the two 49 B.C but Pompeius was beheaded 48 B.C. Consequently this made Caesar the first emperor of Rome. Caesar was named a dictator but eventually, he was killed by senators during the civil war in 44 B.C. Later on in 31 B.C., Augustus, Caesar’s nephew, defeated Mark Antony and established political structure that would last in the Roman empire for 400 years. He restored the Roman Republic and fairly distributed wealth. According to The Deed of Augustus, he spared all citizens and gave land and money for their military service (Agustus). It was Augustus who ended the revolution by fairly distributing wealth throughout Rome’s citizens. The consequences of this revolution were that it set the political structure and influenced other countries for 400
The Roman Empire was one of the largest in history. At its height in 117 A.D.,it spanned from Iberia all the way to the Caspian Sea, covering over 5 million square kilometers. The Roman Empire left behind a vast legacy, consisting of art, architecture, and religion. However, like all empires, the Roman empire fell. Usually, when people think of the fall of the Roman Empire, they think of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, formed after Diocletian split the Roman Empire in 284 A.D. The three main reasons that the Western Roman Empire fell were economic problems, flaws in the military, and barbarian invasions.