Essay On The Decline And Fall Of Western Roman Empire

Fall Of Western Roman Empire

The decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred because their conquered lands were too large to manage by their incompetent government and increasing competition with the Eastern Roman Empire. Internally, economic problems lead to lower tax revenue and the spreading of Christianity changed traditional Roman values. These factors along with the fact that the Roman legions were made mostly mercenaries made the republic susceptible to attacks from the Germanic tribes and Huns. As a result of their lust for power, the Romans conquered everyone in their paths, including Rome’s biggest threat in land and trade, the Phoenician colony, Carthage. Since the Roman Empire was growing constantly, by 180 C.E. it was one of the largest and most influential empires in the world. The enormous size of the Western Roman Empire made its
Christianity gave an entirely different belief system that was a major contradiction to Roman Paganism. The religion’s tranquil beliefs rivaled the Roman vicious demeanor, which decreased the support of the empire’s military. At the same time, economic and cultural competition with the Eastern Empire helped to erode the economy and social structure of the Western Empire which also added to its decline. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire was declared “the New Rome,” and continued on with prosperity for another 1000 years. The fall of the Han Dynasty is similar to the decline of Western Rome, in that they both collapsed due to economic turmoil, political instability, and disobedience towards the government. Both empires also struggled to deal with major problems that came with their success. The Han Dynasty struggled with overpopulation and Western Rome could not manage their overexpansion into conquered