Ancient Rome DBQ

From about 50 BCE to the year 200 CE, the Roman Empire was a powerful nation. Rome was the city that became the center of the Roman Empire and by 200 BCE Rome became a powerhouse. The Romans conquered Scotland to Spain, controlled the Mediterranean Sea, and established colonies in North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. By the year 44 BCE Julius Caesar became a Roman Emperor and Rome had a great military. Then around the 5th century CE the Roman Empire began to weaken. The primary reasons for the fall of Rome was because of the Roman Emperors, the Roman Army, and foreign invasion. The first reason for the fall of Rome were the Roman Emperors. For example, in Document A there was a chart of Roman Emperors from 235-285 CE. The chart was

In Document B it states, “[Before the year 400 CE] foot soldiers wore breastplates and helmets. But when, because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates… and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for chest and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore breastplates and helmets to the infantry. Thus it happens that troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not fighting.” Also, the failure to enforce conscription weakened Rome because armies need power to hold front since equipment is useless if there is no person to use it. It also didn’t enforce it mostly on the useless people like the rich who don’t contribute very much to society. The second paragraph in Document B it states, “There can be little doubt that the weakness of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure… to enforce regular conscription [draft of soldiers]... The exempted categories were. Numerous. Hosts of senators, bureaucrats, and clergymen were entitled to avoid the draft; and among other groups who escaped were cooks, bakers, and slaves.” This proves how the Roman Army caused the fall of the Roman Empire because of their laziness and failure to enforce