How Did Rome Fall?

“Alaric, with the supposed help of a Gothic slave who opened the gates from within, entered Rome in August of 410 CE” (Wasson). This was the first time Rome was sacked in 800 hundred years. In this paper, we will explore the Fall of Rome. Specifically, I will explain the events leading to Rome’s downfall, the cities fall, and the aftermath of the Fall of Rome. The first main reason that Rome fell was that of Christianity. Christianity was legalized in 313 and became the official Roman religion in 380. “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” (Andrews). The imperial court never had competition before
The second main reason that Rome fell was that it was crumbling on the inside because of lack of money. This stems from constant wars and “oppressive taxation and inflation had widened the gap between the rich and poor” (Andrews). This lack of coppers meant that the Empire had to downgrade to a cheaper type of soldier. “Over time, the military was transformed into a mercenary army with no real loyalty to Rome” (“The Fall of Rome”) This was a real problem because Rome would need a loyal army to face off what came next. In 364-378, the third and final reason was upon them. Germanic tribes, called barbarians, started to congregate along the Danube-Rhine border. This was because they were being threatened by the Huns in their homeland. The barbarians wanted to cross the border and settle in Roman territory for protection. Emperor Valens, the Roman emperor at the time, delayed his answer to whether they could cross or not. As winter was fast approaching, the barbarians crossed anyway. A Roman commanded ambushed them as they crossed, leading to a
They settled in Spain in 409 CE, the same time that Alaric and his troops were laying siege to Rome. With the Romans weakened, the Vandals took over the Iberian Peninsula and Roman territory in North Africa by 439. “They continued to dominate the western Mediterranean region, and in 455, led by their king, Gaiseric, the Vandals sacked Rome, plundering the city for two weeks” (“Barbarian Invasions”). The Roman Empire then started to rebuild; however, in 476, Rome was overthrown again by a barbarian called Odoacer. He was the first barbarian to rule Rome and the first King of Italy. The Eastern Empire still flourished at the time and came to an agreement with a barbarian tribe called the Ostrogoths to retake Italy. Their leader, Theodoric, was successful in 493 and was the first barbarian king to establish a stable rule. The Eastern Empire, now called the Byzantine Empire, decided in 535 that they were the legitimate rulers of Italy and sent an army to overthrow the Ostrogoths. (“Barbarian Invasions”) Because the Byzantine Empire was not tied as closely with its western half, it did not fall with Rome. It “continued well into the medieval period, becoming the most powerful state in Europe” (“History of the Byzantine