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Factors of the fall of western roman empire
Downfall of the Roman empire
Downfall of the Roman empire
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The Western Roman Empire slowly declined over approximately 320 years and which many historians believe it had finally ended on the 4th September 476, when Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire was overthrown by Odoacer, who was a Germanic chieftain. However, there are many historians who question the relevance of this date and the theory of whether the empire declined or transformed, as the successful Ostrogoths considered themselves as supporters of Roman traditions. According to Gibbon he believed that ‘the Eastern Roman Empire was going from strength to strength and continued until the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453.’ Which suggests that there was a gradual transformation. Many academics maintain that …show more content…
The idea of the divide was to make the empire easier to govern for a short period, but over time the two empires drifted further apart. The East and West failed to work together collectively to combat the outside threats that Italy faced, the two empires frequently disagreed over resources and the military aid. As time went on the Eastern Empire grew in wealth while the West inclined into an economic crisis. Most importantly, the strength of the Eastern Empire served to divert Barbarian invasions to the West and Emperors like Constantine ensured that the city of Constantinople was encouraged and well-guarded, but Italy and the city of Rome were left vulnerable. The Western political structure would finally collapse in the fifth century, but the Eastern Empire endured in some form for another thousand years before being overwhelmed by the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s. The Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River in the Middle East, but its magnificence may have also been its road to decline. Due to is large ground it became much more difficult to govern and the empire faced an administrative and logistical nightmare. Although the Romans built excellent road systems, the Romans were not able to communicate quickly or effectively enough to manage their territories. The western Roman empire struggled to gather and train enough troops and resources to defend the frontiers from local rebellions and outside attacks. As more and more funds were funnelled into the military upkeep of the empire, technological advancement slowed and Rome’s civil infrastructure fell into disrepair. The Western part of the empire was becoming militarily
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.
Within the last 200 years of the Western Roman Empire, the empire weakened and led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. By the end of Nero’s rule of emperor, revolts against the Praetorian Guard – the force of loyalists and guards of the emperor – was one of the first of many uprisings in Rome. These revolts led to civil wars between Eastern and Western Roman Empires. Although the Western Empire collapsed in 476 A.D., the Eastern Roman Empire survived until 1453 A.D.
There are many reasons for the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. A major reason was the political corruption and the instabilities of the government. The last ruling emperor of a united Roman Empire was Theodosius I. At his death in 395, he divided the empire leaving the east to his son Arcadius and the west to his other son Honorius. Constantinople and the Eastern Roman empire remained strong while...
Many factors contribute to the success of a society and determine the supremacy of the entire empire. The most evident of these factors is the common wealth of the population. This wealth is not merely calculated in monetary form but comprises the amount of resources and military power an empire possesses. The endless necessity in an increase of wealth in Rome could have led to the expansion. Since the land was not rich in resources and the soil was not the greatest for agriculture, expansion of the Roman border...
These strengths were a strong foundation, standardization of many elements across the empire, and strong leaders who were able to effectively rule. The loss of these strengths would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Roman Empire. As time passed, the empire grew further from its original foundation, losing sight of many of its original attributes inherited from the Republic. In addition, they grew over-extended as an empire, making standardization very difficult if not virtually impossible. As future emperors attempted to extend aspects of the empire to these outlying areas, their power to do so was challenged by external influences. All of this caused an erosion of the cohesion which the standardization had brought, especially when the empire was divided between East and West. Lastly, as emperors stopped effectively using the strengths which had been used by past emperors, specifically the manipulation of the upper class and the Senate, the empire grew gradually weaker. Unable to manage such a massive empire virtually alone, even strong emperors were often left in weak positions, unable to deal with the frequent Germanic intrusions and military revolts. In short, many of the things which enabled the Roman Empire to survive for over 400 years were also the things which ultimately led to or enabled its
As in any historical reference, when one divides their forces it weakens their strength. Gibbons makes this out to be a very important reason for the collapse of Rome. Even thought Constantinople was strong at this time, Gibbon points out that, "The Byzantine court beheld, perhaps with pleasure the disgrace of Rome, and the misfortunes of Italy."
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.
Some would say that the Roman Empire was at it’s height during the rule of Augustus because it was a time of Pax Romana. During this time, the empire saw many advances particularly in architecture and engineering. It’s cities were connected through roads that were built for, “first and foremost moving armies and secondarily, for moving goods and people” (Cole and Symes 133). These roads gave them a military advantage that helped evade enemies by allowing their troops to move around quickly. Trade was also easier
Rome was massive. It is known to be the first city that held one million citizens. It was also strong. The army was huge, and Rome seemed invincible, but unfortunately, Rome started to molder. Political aspects, economical issues, deadly diseases, and ruthless foreign invaders all eventually lead to the fall of the seemingly undefeatable Western Roman Empire.
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...
An Empire that is too big is not always for the better because there are more problems to be dealt with. In the case of the Roman E...
All empires must come to an end. The Mongols, Ottomans, and Holy Roman Empires all don’t exist anymore. Even, the United Stated of America will come to its end in one point in time. Everything that goes up must come down. Even, Rome, one of the world’s greatest civilizations. To summarize, The Roman Empire fell because of ineffective leaders, the crumbling economy, and invasions by the Germanic Tribes.
The Roman Empire is said to have completely collapsed when the German barbarians overthrew the last Emperor, Romulus Augustus in 476 and introduced a more democratic form of government which was very short-lived.
This day in 477 officially marks the end of the Western Roman Empire. Shown through the attacks by Attila, the towns that could no longer produce wealth, and the invasion by Odoacer, barbarian invasions helped lead to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. However, none of this is to say that the Roman Empire was not a great empire, it had many great qualities that kept it alive from 27 B.C. up to its fall in 477 A.D. That’s 504 years. If the Roman Empire were not strong, it wouldn’t have survived all those years.
As the Roman Empire shifted its center of power to the East, Rome lost much of the prestige and protection it had previously enjoyed. With Constantinople as the new seat of the empire, the West was left to stand alone, often defenseless.4 Barbarians attacked Rome in AD 410, and Rome found little help from Constantinople. With the Western Empire essentially abandoned, disease, poverty and instability were rampant. Many structures had fallen into disrepair, and famine ravaged the land. Most government officials had left Rome, leaving the churc...