Roman Empire Corrupt Government Essay

The Roman Empire was a large, powerful, and successful empire that stood the test of time. But, Rome was plagued with numerous problems. In my opinion, the fall of the Roman Empire was inevitable. This is because Rome had a corrupt government, failed to satisfy their citizens, and Diocletian retired . The Roman Empire had a largely corrupt government, which mismanaged the itself into a collapse. As a Representative Democracy, Roman leaders were “elected” to represent their people. But, their system was far from perfect. Voting was restricted for most, limiting the actual representation of the people to only the social elite. According to an anonymous primary source from the era, “Now in addition to these injuries, were with the arts of

Herodian, a civil servant (circa 170-240 CE), wrote, “Informer were free, or rather positively encouraged, to do their dirty work, to scrape together at will unheard-of and therefore irrefutable scandals about one’s ancestors.” It's not everyday that you see a government official criticize their own government so harshly. He refers to the government officials’ behavior as “dirty work” and explains how it was actively encouraged by higher-ups. These officials possessed immense power that they used to shamelessly deface others. They were playing god with other people’s lives. “The mere summons to court by an informer was tantamount to conviction and confiscation of all property. Every day one could see yesterday’s millionaires faced with a life of beggary.” (Primary Source #4). They could arbitrarily destroy a person’s life. This kind of behavior from the government sparked a public outcry. As you see, the public morale in Rome was rapidly declining. A Christian author wrote, “[Nay, the state has fallen upon such evil days that a man cannot be safe unless he is wicked]. Even those in a position to protest against the [unfairness] which they see about them dare not speak lest they make matters worse than before.” People had to do whatever they can to maintain their lives. Foul play was a must, in this eat or get eaten society. This man suggests that

Diocletian brought ambitious reforms to the war struck Roman Empire, including the military, the economy, and the government. He was Rome’s last chance. For a while it seems as though the Roman Empire would survive for a another millennium, but the Roman government collapsed as a result of a lack of leadership and supervision. “Diocletian created a system called the tetrarchy: it consisted of two senior Augusti who ruled the Roman Empire jointly, each assisted by one of two Caesars, or junior partners. The system was designed so that the Caesars would gain experience ruling, and when the Augusti stepped down or died, the Caesars would replace them, creating a smooth system of succession.” (Primary Source #1, 7). This system allowed a better distribution of power and a more efficient and practical running of such an expansive empire. Without guidance, the new Augusti selected their Caesars unwisely. After Diocletian retired, his successors desperately needed his help. So, he made a last ditch attempt and rearranged the tetrarchy, making promotions, demotions, and firings.“This compromise satisfied no one. [...] The tetrarchy ended in more civil war, which Diocletian had sought to avoid. In the end, Constantine emerged victorious over all his rivals and became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. The tetrarchy was dead.” (Primary Source #1, 6). In