How Did The Fall Of The Western Roman Empire

It has been said that events in history have an intricate web of relationships, causes, and effects. This is particularly true of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, as supported by the many books published speculating different reasons why the empire collapsed. They were a people of discipline, pride, and honor. At its peak of success, Rome was the military powerhouse of the world. However, many factors lead to its instability, and eventual demise. This essay will outline three such factors, that I feel significantly contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire: their politics, their economy, and their military. Towards the end of the Western Roman Empire, the government had oppressive laws and leaders. In the beginning of the
Roman Empire, the Senate had strong influence within the government. Although they did not ever pass laws directly, their opinions were well respected and carried great weight with the Emperor. Diocletian (Emperor during 284-305 A.D.) completely deprived the Senate of its power in order to give the position of Emperor more power, thus destroying their system of checks and balances within the government. Diocletian also persecuted Christians, and created some laws that were oppressive. An example of an oppressive law was the practice of hereditary jobs. So, if one had a father that was a carpenter, but that person wanted to be a blacksmith, they would have no choice other than to be a carpenter. Also there were many power struggles during this time since there were not any established heirs and the most powerful military leader would assume leadership. The economy also largely affected the blight of the Western Roman Empire, and the separation and inequity amongst the social classes didn’t help.
The Patricians were the upper class and they had far more rights and power than the lower class, Plebeians. One of the major influences on how badly the economy was doing was the patricians use of slaves to fill farming jobs on the latifundia. Since the slaves employed these jobs, this caused plebeians to have less job opportunities. This also caused an even bigger gap between the rich and the poor. Also, inflation was at its height, so only the rich could afford most things. Additionally, one of the governments main sources of income was taxes. However, the government did not receive much tax money because the patricians were often exempt and the plebeians had barely any money to pay
taxes.
The Roman military prior to this period was renowned for its discipline, loyalty and valor.
Roman soldiers took great pride in what they did, and the Roman army originally consisted largely of Romans. However, Rome began to use the barbarians because they thought that they were less civilized, more hardened, and that they were bigger and more brutal in terms of fighting. Also, during the third century, Rome had a series of invasions and civil wars, which led to a shortage of troops and created a greater dependence on troops from outside the country. Towards the end of the empire they hired mercenaries, from the Germanic tribes, as professional soldiers. These troops were not as loyal because they weren’t Roman and their motivation was not pride in the country, but money. This new military was missing some of the key qualities of the old one such as discipline and training. The use of foreigners in the Roman military created other problems because Roman citizens viewed them as barbarians that were enemies, and did not trust them. As it turns out, the Germans that were part of the Roman military were not loyal, as they turned on Rome when the Germans invaded Rome. As seen in the map the Germanic tribes such as the Vandals, the Visigoths, the swiftly moved through Gaul, Spain, Britain, and Italy, battling their way through. From 100 A.D.-500 A.D. they were gradually conquering places throughout the Roman Empire. They fought at cities like Troyes, Rome, and Adrianople, the
first two of the three being in the Western Roman Empire. For a long time during the empire, the tribes were a major threat, especially the Vandals who had slowly been conquering Rome’s territories. The Vandals sacked Rome around 450 A.D., leaving them quite vulnerable. Then, 20 years later, the Romans were defeated by the Scirians, a Germanic Tribe, and Odoacer deposed the final emperor, Romulus Augustulus. Western Rome was brought down by the Scirians, but there were multiple factors leaving them open to attack. The instabilities in their economy, politics, and military made it much easier for the Scirians. Also, it was weak after being sacked by the Vandals so it helped the Scirians. Those three instabilities were the major factors that made them vulnerable to invasions by the German tribes. As the map depicts, the tribes overtook the various territories over time, with the final blow being Western Rome.