Lost Civilization - the Fall of Rome - Research Paper Example

Lost Civilization (The Fall of Rome) Introduction The Roman Empire is often considered to have been one of the greatest empires in European history, having been established in the city of Rome and ruled significant parts of Europe and the Middle East. The Roman state was so well established that it was able to survive for a greater part of seven centuries as one of the dominant powers in the world. Because of its having been founded on tradition of strong government and the participation of both the aristocracy and the commoners in its politics, the state was able to establish itself as a leading civilization. Its cultural influence spread across the whole of its empire to such an extent that most of the peoples came to adhere to it. The Roman state and empire was essentially built through military might and it relied heavily on the latter for its survival. Most of the high-ranking officers in the military often came from the aristocracy of Rome and these continued the tradition of joining and championing the military to such an extent that they became the dominant element within it. The military ability of the Roman state cannot be underestimated because it helped in the conquest of new lands for Rome and ensured that the state remained stable (Mitrovici 618). Furthermore, it was responsible for the construction of a road network spanning the entire empire that made communication and trade within it to flourish; essentially ensuring that the empire became a melting pot of all the peoples within it. The Roman Empire amassed great wealth through its control of the trade routes within it as well as those leading into Asia and the rest of Europe since it occupied a central position among these routes. In this way, it was able to finance its massive government, despite all the corruption that went on in its political arena. However, with its swift expansion, the empire also came to include many different peoples as its subjects as its cultural dominance spread to them and they submitted to Roman rule. These peoples brought great diversity into the Roman state and this was to such an extent that many of them came to attain high positions within its government as well as in its merchant class. The Roman Empire was the bringer of peace in all of the territories over which it ruled and this ensured that a lot of wealth flowed into the city without any form of interruptions to its trade ("The Fall of Rome"). The result was that the Roman ruling class in later centuries became relaxed and instead of concentrating their efforts to retaining the military might of their state as their ancestors had done, they instead indulged in the acquisition of wealth and other desires. The decadence of the Roman state can be considered to have been the major cause of its decline, which came quickly and brought the once great empire to its knees. The signs of decline seem not to have been noticed by the state and when it finally did occur, it was too late for it to stop its fall. Literature Review The decline and fall of the Roman state has been a subject of numerous literatures for many centuries and a large number of theories have been put forward to explain it. Among these is the belief, according to Heather (213) that the abuse of power by Roman emperors might have been a leading cause in the fall of the empire. This statement seems to be ignorant that despite the continuous abuse of power by numerous emperors over a period of more than four hundred years, the empire had essentially remained stable and that it continued to prosper. A number of emperors, such as Nero, were highly unstable individuals but this did not lead to the decline of the empire because when they died, individuals that are more competent often replaced them. Another argument for the fall of Rome that has been put forward, this time by Macgeorge (171), is that it fell because of an increase in the financial ineffectiveness of the government to ensure that it was run smoothly enough to cover costs. This statement might indeed have been true of the fall of Rome because there were instances where government officials had become ineffective in the management of the finances of the empire. Most government officials often took up their positions not in the service of the state, as had been the case with their predecessors centuries earlier, but with the intention of gaining wealth. There was a period in Roman history where government offices were often sold to the highest bidder and this made the administration of the empire difficult (MacMullen 185). Therefore, despite many funds coming to Rome from its empire in the form of taxes, most of it tended to go into the hands of government officials rather than being invested in the development of the military and strengthening its borders from barbarian incursions. The barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire, especially in its western side, were extremely devastating for it because they not only revealed the shell that had remained of its once great military, but it also brought to the fore the effects of long term corruption within its government. The abandonment of a military tradition by the people of Rome had led to a situation where there was a decline in the military activity of the empire. The result was that a significant number of its most vulnerable provinces were left undefended; creating a power vacuum which the barbarian nations were ready to fill. Many barbarian tribes not only invaded but also settled in land claimed by the Roman Empire; the latter accepting this situation because it did not have the military capability to oust the invaders from its territory (Ward-Perkins 49). Therefore, sensing a decline in the military power that they had once feared, these tribes launched an assault on the empire to such an extent that Rome itself was not strong enough to keep them out, resulting in the fall of the empire. Method The study used correlation as the main design for carrying out the research, this is the determination of whether or not and to what extend there is an association between government ineffectiveness and the fall of the Roman Empire as variables. Correlation collected data from two quantifiable variables from the same group of subjects and then made comparisons of how they will vary. The data was collected in such a manner that different secondary literature on the subject matter was analyzed and conclusions from them put into the research. This method was favorable because it was able to compare two or more characteristics from the same group, and was also able to explain how characteristics vary together, and predicted a specific variable from another. Discussion The Roman Empire met its end because its leadership became complacent as a result of its power over a large territory as well as the wealth that they gained from it. This complacency led to their debasing their financial system in a bid to please their citizens to such an extent that the military came to be neglected to a certain extent. Furthermore, the last two centuries of the Roman state were mired with internal conflict as rivals fought amongst themselves for the imperial throne. The rivalling ambitions of the various military leaders in the Roman Empire and the civil wars that resulted from them made the state weaker than it already was due to the weak financial policies of the government. The weakness of the military because of the constant conflicts that afflicted the Roman state as well as the increasing decadence of its ruling class proved to be its undoing because a Rome was no longer able to sustain the empire that it had fought so hard to acquire. The weakness of the empire meant that there was a shrinking of its middle class so that its tax base came to be significantly reduced and this put a strain on the state to ensure that the continued power of Rome was maintained. Moreover, the decadence of the ruling elite, especially among those individuals who came to sit on the imperial throne, led to a situation where they became isolated from their people. When the Roman state was founded, it was done so on the basis of equality among all the free citizens within it and where the latter had the right to appeal directly to the emperor in case they had any grievances (Bradley 482). The emperor was considered to be first among equals rather than as a demigod who was inaccessible, as was the case in later centuries. This inaccessibility was further integrated into the system of government so that emperors never got the chance to hear the truth from their subjects rather, they only heard lies or half-truths from their favorites at court who only wanted to retain their power and influence over the society. Therefore, because later emperors were often kept away from the realities of life in the state, they created bad policies, which were not helpful for the survival of the state, and this meant that Rome became vulnerable because of both internal and external pressure. Therefore, despite its being at the center of civilization during its decline, Rome was ill prepared for the sudden barbarian onslaught against it and this not only led to its further decline but it eventually led to its fall as the city was sacked twice; first by the Visigoths and later by the Vandals. Conclusion The study above has shown that despite its greatness, the Roman Empire met an untimely decline and fall because of a number of errors made by its rulers. The Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires not only in European history but also in that of the world, having been established in the city of Rome and ruled significant parts of Europe and the Middle East. Because of its massive military might, it was able to amass great wealth through its control of the trade routes within its empire as well as those leading into Asia and the rest of Europe since it occupied a central position among these routes. However, the abuse of power by Roman emperors might have been a leading cause in the fall of the empire. In addition, the barbarian invasions of the empire, especially in its western half, were extremely devastating because they broke it military, which had already been weakened by constant civil wars over many years. Therefore, the Roman Empire met its end because its leadership became complacent as a result of its power over a large territory as well as the wealth that they gained from it. Works Cited Bradley, Keith. "Roman Slavery: Retrospect And Prospect." Canadian Journal Of History 43.3 (2008): 477-500. Heather, Peter. The fall of the Roman Empire. A new history. New York: Pan Books, 2006. Macgeorge, Penny. Late Roman Warlords. London: Oxford University Press, 2002. MacMullen, Ramsay. Corruption and the decline of Rome. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1988. Mitrovici, Ana Milena. "Constructing the Ancient World. Architectural Techniques of the Greeks and Romans." The Classical Review 62.2 (2012): 618-20. "The Fall of Rome." EyeWitness to History. Web. 2007. 31 August 2014 Ward-Perkins, Bryan. The Fall of Rome and The End of Civilization. London: Oxford University Press, 2005. Read More