1. Briefly discuss the causes of the decline of the mighty Roman empire.
Answers
Answer:
There are several causes of the decline of Roman empire.
1. Invasions by Barbarian tribes:
The most straightforward theory for Western Rome’s collapse pins the fall on a string of military losses sustained against outside forces. Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s Goths had encroached beyond the Empire’s borders. In 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed the Emperor Romulus Augustus.
2. Economic troubles and over-reliance on slave labor
Even as Rome was under attack from outside forces, it was also crumbling from within due to severe financial crisis. Constant wars and oppressive taxation and inflation had widened the gap between rich and poor. To avoid tax, many wealthy members had fled to the countryside and set up fiefdoms. At the same time, the empire was rocked by a labor deficit. With its economy faltering and its commercial and agricultural production in decline, the Empire began to lose its grip on Europe.
3. The rise of the Eastern Empire
The fate of Western Rome was partially sealed in the late third century, when the Emperor Diocletian divided the Empire into two halves—the Western Empire seated in the city of Milan, and the Eastern Empire in Byzantium, later known as Constantinople. The division made the empire more easily governable in the short term, but over time the two halves drifted apart. As the gulf widened, the largely Greek-speaking Eastern Empire grew in wealth while the Latin-speaking West descended into economic crisis. Most importantly, the strength of the Eastern Empire served to divert Barbarian invasions to the West.
4. Over-expansion and military overspending
At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Euphrates River in the Middle East, but its grandeur may have also been its downfall. Even with their excellent road systems, the Romans were unable to communicate quickly or effectively enough to manage their holdings. Rome struggled to marshal enough troops and resources to defend its frontiers from local rebellions and outside attacks, and by the second century the Emperor Hadrian was forced to build his famous wall in Britain just to keep the enemy at bay.
5. Government corruption and political instability
If Rome’s sheer size made it difficult to govern, ineffective and inconsistent leadership only served to magnify the problem. Being the Roman emperor had always been a particularly dangerous job, but during the tumultuous second and third centuries it nearly became a death sentence. Civil war thrust the empire into chaos, and more than 20 men took the throne in the span of only 75 years, usually after the murder of their predecessor. As the situation worsened, civic pride waned and many Roman citizens lost trust in their leadership .
6. The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes
The Barbarian attacks on Rome partially stemmed from a mass migration caused by the Huns’ invasion of Europe in the late fourth century. When these Eurasian warriors rampaged through northern Europe, they drove many Germanic tribes to the borders of the Roman Empire. The Romans grudgingly allowed members of the Visigoth tribe to cross south of the Danube and into the safety of Roman territory, but they treated them with extreme cruelty. They even forced the starving Goths to trade their children into slavery in exchange for dog meat. The shocked Romans negotiated a flimsy peace with the barbarians. With the Western Empire weakened, Germanic tribes were able to surge across its borders and occupy Britain, Spain and North Africa.
7. Christianity and the loss of traditional values
The decline of Rome dovetailed with the spread of Christianity, and some have argued that the rise of a new faith helped contribute to the empire’s fall. The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in 313, and it later became the state religion in 380. These decrees ended centuries of persecution, but they have also eroded the traditional Roman values system. Christianity displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and onto a sole deity.
8. Weakening of the Roman legions
For most of its history, Rome’s military was the envy of the ancient world. But during the decline, unable to recruit enough soldiers from the Roman citizenry, emperors like Diocletian and Constantine began hiring foreign mercenaries to prop up their armies. The ranks of the legions eventually swelled with Germanic Goths and other barbarians, so much that Romans began using the Latin word “barbarus”. While these Germanic fierce warriors had no loyalty to the empire, and their power-hungry officers often turned against their Roman employers. In fact, many of the barbarians who sacked the city of Rome and brought down the Western Empire.
Answer:
Invasions by Barbarian tribes. ...
Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor. ...
The rise of the Eastern Empire. ...
Overexpansion and military overspending. ...
Government corruption and political instability. ...
The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes. ...
Christianity and the loss of traditional values.
Explanation: