The Causes of The Fall of the Roman Empire - Essay Example

What are some of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire? Why are there so many different opinions about this? Why do you think was the reason forthe fall of Rome? Introduction In the history of the Western civilizations, the place of Rome stands supreme. Two famous civilizations spread across the Western world-the Greek and the Roman. Much is known about the history of the early Greek, but nothing much is known about the early history of Rome prior to B.C.753. The culture that was built by the Romans is called classical and they could make a vast empire in Rome. The mythological history of Rome states that it was built by Romulus and Remus, the twin wolfs. As the idiom, ‘Rome was not built in one day’, depicts the duration of building the Roman Empire. The hard work and organized enthusiasm of the Romans could make a great empire that reached far and across the world. As the building of the empire took many years it took years for the fall of the empire too. The Romans were not great thinkers as the Greek but were men of sound commonsense and mighty action. The Romans were fine soldiers and were organized well and this enabled them to build a mighty Roman empire. They were the people who had exceptional skill in administrative levels and statesmanship which enabled them to rule many countries far and across Rome. The generals and statesmen like Julius Caesar and Augustus could extend the boundaries of the empire to other side of the world. Their capacity to rule the different nations of language and creed was one of the successes of their culture and civilization. Due to the expansion of the Empire it was divided into two- the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman empire. The Roman Empire lasted for five centuries. The fall of Roman Empire happened in 476 A.D. Even after the fall of Roman Empire that happened in the Western side the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) continued for 1000 more years. The final fall of the empire took place when Constantinople, which was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the year A.D. 1453. The fall of the Roman Empire was a gradual process. Many reasons are associated with the fall of this great Empire. The reasons for the fall of Roman Empire: The long history of the Roman Empire tells the ups and downs of the empire. As it took many years to build the nation it took rather same years to the destruction of the nation. There are so many major and minor reasons that caused the decline of the vast empire. The major reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire are given below. Weak rulers: Among the five centuries of Roman rule 200 years witnessed the golden rule of the emperors whereas the remaining 300 years the empire was on the death bed. As the empire was wide great rulers had to be there, but the number of the great rulers were less in Rome. This resulted in loose maintaining of peace in the country. Of course Rome was ruled by the mighty leaders like Augustus, Julius Caesar, Diocletian, Theodosius the Great, and Marcus Aurelius. But these generals were few in number and for every great ruler there were dozens of weak rulers. In the history of five centuries in about 84 emperors ruled Rome and among them only a few are counted to be good and efficient. In A.D. 476 Odoacer, the leader of the German barbarians put an end to the flickering fame of the Roman Empire by expelling the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus. As the leaders were weak the barbarians from all sides of the empire attacked Rome. The Geographical barriers of the Rome had to surrender before the constant attacks of the barbarians. Rome had to defend from the rivers Rhine ( 820) miles and Danude (1,771 miles). As Thorpe observes, “from 180 A.D., the West depended upon mercenaries to defend its boundaries and relied more on arms than fortifications (no one thought that Rome would not endure forever)” (Thorpe 45). The Roman Empire never came out from it and this lead to the final downfall of the empire. Internal war and problems: It may be considered as one of the major reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. At the top level of rule many emperors led a life that was pomp, licentious, ostentation, luxuries and purposeless living. The nobles of the society followed the emperor. Many of them had lived a life that was full of luxurious, and licentious. They oppressed the people who were under them and corrupted the public life. The treatment towards the slaves and gladiators by the upper society was cruel some and in Colosseum, a major building in Rome, many lives were shed before the hungry lions. The way of life of the Romans for mere enjoyment earned a name for them, ‘epicureans’. The lower section of the society had been severely oppressed by the upper class. The poverty and degradation spoiled the life of the poor whereas power and wealth spoiled the life of the rich. As the disparity was strong in the society class war was common and this long class war destroyed the social harmony. The internal problems were there among the rulers too. The murder of Julius Caesar and the chaos followed by his death had a civil war effects in the Roman Empire. Even though they withstood this the number of persons dissatisfied increased plenty. The intervention of the army: In Rome the power of army was so supreme. In the golden period of the Empire the army stood with the emperors and when the mighty rules ended it acted as a deciding force. When the conditions were unstable in the empire it was easier for the army to decide the empire too. The frequent civil wars and foreign invasions gave much position to the army. Finally it became a deciding force of the country. Army commanders put weak and feeble emperors and many of them were murdered in tragic circumstances. At times even good leaders were murdered as the army disliked them. When the army started to act arbitrarily the empire too slowly turns towards destruction. Towards the end of the Roman Empire the army served no good to the country. They were not ready to act on the order of the emperor; rather they fought for what the chief demanded. Very soon the barbarians understood the disharmony between the emperor and the army and they could take control of the land without much strain. The Spread of Christianity: It may be surprising to say that the Christianity too had it s part in the destruction of the Roman Empire. In the initial stages of the Roman Empire “Christianity taught the belief in an afterlife which gave hope and courage to the desperate. Christianity preached that life was sacred and one of the greatest sins was to kill. Attitudes in the Roman Empire changed from being antagonistic, hostile and aggressive to becoming pacifistic believing in peace and the sanctity of life” (End of the Roman Empire). In the beginning the Roman emperors had tolerated all the religions in the land. But later the emperors like Nero and Marcus Aurelius were strongly against the Christians. They persecuted the Christians by throwing them down to the cruel animals. Christians had amble reason to turn against the Romans. True, Constantine made Christianity as the official religion of the state. But the pains that were inflicted in the minds of the Christians were severe. When the weak leaders ruled the country Christianity spread and slowly it affected the Roman rule. The spread of Christianity had an adverse effect on the Roman art, literature, philosophy and science. When the Roman culture began to erode the same fate happened to the empire too. Weakening of Economic foundations: The economic instability of the nation was another cause for the collapse of the Roman Empire. As the frequent wars and disharmony in the society led a decline in the economic stability of the country, Rome faced an incurable set back. Many farmers who joined army never turned back to their earlier profession after the disbandment of the army. The nobles continued to lead a life of luxury and the poor ceased to produce goods. For over a period of two centuries Rome had been importing from other countries and thus large quantity of gold was drained to those countries. As a result, the economic condition of the land went down. This unfavourable balance of trade in Rome led for its fall. As economic situation worsened and spending increased considerably “the central government of the Roman Empire was forced to increase taxes, as well as the price of keeping up the large empire increased” (Noonan 11). As the government imposed high taxes it was impossible to cop up with and as a result many turned to be poor. Even though many problems were there in the economic matters the expenditure of the government was high and luxuriant. This made dissatisfaction among the common people and at times of emergency they never turned their help to the government. Barbarian invasions: Finally to aggravate the complete fall of the Roman Empire, barbarians from all sides of the Empire attacked the empire. The army of the Roman Empire was weak and could not suppress the oppressors. Soon many colonies of Rome like Britain, Egypt, Africa, Spain etc got freed from the clutches of Rome. The government had to look after the barbarians and when the economic stability of the country came down it could not afford the barbarians. Thus, it can be observed that the Roman Empire’s dependence on the barbarian soldiers and the huge amount spent for their services were partly instrumental for the downfall of the empire. In the year 476A.D. a great change took place in the roman Empire . The last of the emperor Romulus Augustulus declared that ‘the attempt of the Empire directly to guide the destinies of the West had failed.’ Thus the Great Roman Empire came to an end. Different opinions on the fall of Roman Empire:It took many years to build the Roman Empire and it took the same years for the fall of it. As the decline of the Roman Empire took so many years and as there are not any immediate cause for its fall many state different opinions for the destruction of the empire. In the cases many other wars and destruction often some immediate cause was linked with. The Roman Empire lost its power just like the rust affecting an iron plate. Many factors corroded the fall of Rome. It is very difficult to say which factor contributed much to the destruction. In this respect, Theodor E. Mommsen attributes the fall of the Roman Empire mainly to the progress of Christians (Mommsen 346). There are a number of them who believe that Christianity played a part for the decline of Rome. But it is sure that the political insecurity that was prevalent in the soil of Rome played the main part for the decline. As the republic of the Roman Empire destroyed by the internal affairs, it paved the first stones for the decline of the Empire. The reasons like weak rulers, economic instability, and barbarian attacks are all the results of the internal decay of the Roman society. All reasons played its parts well for the final decline in A.D. 476. Conclusions: The Roman Empire was the largest empire of the world. It lasted for five centuries in the West and in the East it had longer life up to 1453.The Romans had their contribution to all its colonies in the west and in the east. The empire that covered major parts of the countries had left the Roman influence over there. Even today the countries that were under the rule of Rome carry the skilful images of Roman architecture. In languages too, the effects of Rome is very visible. But even though it had many positive sides the other side of the rule was strong and which led the empire to decline completely. Among many reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire some of them stands over others. The reasons like internal wars or decay, weak leaders, economic instability and Christianity were the major ones in its destruction. Along with the reasons mentioned above, the barbarian attacks aggregated the fall completely. No single stone can make a house and in the same way no single stone can destroy the house. Here in the case of the Roman Empire, the various mentioned are the different stones that caused the final destruction of the empire. Works Cited End of the Roman Empire. Roman Colosseum.info, 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 11. < http://www.roman-colosseum.info/roman-empire/end-of-the-roman-empire.htm>. Mommsen, Theodor E. St. Augustine and the Christian Idea of Progress. Journal of the History of Ideas. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1951. Web. 14 Mar. 11. . Noonan, Theresa C. Document-Based Assessment Activities for Global History Classes. Illustrated ed: Walch Publishing, 1999. Print. Thorpe, Earl. The Other Truth About The Middle East Conflict. Lulu.com, 2006. Print. Read More