The Fall of The Roman Empire

The demise of the Roman Empire cannot be attributed to one cause alone. Instead, it was the result of the decrease in population, loss of land, and deception. One of the things that played a significant role in speeding, however, was the expansion of its empire. At its peak under Emperor Augustus, the entire population of the Roman empire was in estimate about 50 to 90 million. As a result of the large population, it made it difficult for emperors to control their empire, which in turn created disunity among it. Disunity and unsteadiness weakened the Roman military and left them defenseless against invaders.

Second, overexpansion destabilized the government and its currency. Emperors who needed to fund the vast empire made coins with less valuable metal in an attempt to provide the required income. Still, the resulting inflation made it difficult for armies and officers to maintain the cost of the necessary supplies, leaving them vulnerable. Instability in the government also resulted from driven men that competed for the emperorship causing wars, turmoil, and disputes. Civil wars used the available military assets needed to defend from an outside assault.

Another minor reason was what might be viewed as moral defilement. The Romans put time and money in Gladiatorial battles and, “Emperors like Caligula and Nero became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties where guests drank and ate until they became sick.” Fall of the Roman Empire. Retrieved from https://www.rome.info/history/empire/fall/.

Another factor was the loss of several strategic positions. For example, when Rome lost several of its territories in northern Africa in 439 AD, and that left its coast along the Mediterranean Sea vulnerable. Additionally, The Western Empire lost some of its wealthy lands to the Eastern Empire when they split 286 CE.

The main reason for the fall of Rome was its size, which made it difficult for Emperors to control. The empire turned out to be too big to protect, finance and manage. Rome’s territory was too big to defend because its outskirts reached out more than four thousand five hundred miles. The suburbs had turned out to be too broad for the military to control incoming assaults. Rulers attempted to fund-raise by expanding charges, however, without the cash produced by conquest, they were unable to renew the empire’s treasury. Third, with an area extending from northern Europe to the Middle East, one man alone couldn’t oversee the whole Roman Empire. Pronouncements and laws were sent to the governors of an area, but the emperor couldn’t ensure that they were followed after. This extended the disunity in the domain amongst individuals and the legislature in Rome. The large size of the Roman Empire kept rulers from funding, defending and ruling over the empire, making the shortcomings that enabled roaming clans to attack.

Because of the vast size of Rome, the Eastern and Western Empires became disunified and so did individuals of diverse religions. Emperor Diocletian disunified the empire even more between the Eastern and Western realms when he split the both of them in 286 CE. Wasson, D. “”Diocletian.”” (2014). Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Diocletian/. This split left the Western half defenseless and powerless, making it impossible to guard itself. The split also caused instability in the western half since it never again had the financial and military help of the eastern portion of the Roman Empire. Trade between the halves also ceased. The split of the domain left the Western Empire powerless and vulnerable to trespassers. Correspondingly, there was a struggle between the two halves of the realm. Not just because the western realm had a Latin impact and the eastern half had a Greek impact, implying that they bit by bit created diverse behavior, interests, and religions, yet additionally due to the two distinct rulers in control.

The conflict between two rulers was most evident among the children of Theodosius I, Arcadius and Honorius, who controlled the Eastern and Western domains. The Eastern Empire did little to help the Western Empire which was experiencing assaults. Notwithstanding when the siblings were never again in control, the Eastern Empire was constantly easing back to help the Western Empire (Gibbon, 2). The vast size of the Roman Empire caused the split that left the western half excessively powerless, making it impossible to safeguard itself, enabling roaming clans to attack and conquer Rome.

Works Cited

1. Fall of the Roman Empire. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rome.info/history/empire/fall/
2. Gibbon, E. (n.d.). The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol. 2).
3. Wasson, D. (2014). Diocletian. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Diocletian/
4. Theodosius I. (n.d.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodosius-I-Roman-emperor
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