Roman Empire Dbq

From C.A. 300 CE to 476 CE Rome began a steady decline to its collapse. Some historians disagree with this and have other theories. One of the other theories is that the Roman Empire did not collapse as the Eastern Empire did not collapse until “Fall of Rome at Constantinople in 1453.” The base of this theory is that the Eastern Empire became the Byzantium Empire, however it was no longer the Roman Empire as there were no longer any Roman Emperors. Another theory by Peter Wells is “The Roman Empire “fell” only in the minds of people who had a particular and limited view of what the Roman Empire was and who understood events such as Alaric’s capture of Rome in A.D. 410 as marking its end.” Wells argues that the change was extremely gradual and continued well past 476 CE. While Wells theory is more valid, the empire still did not exist after 476 CE.
There were many factors that weakened Rome and catalyzed the collapse. Over time these factors weakened Rome’s power and caused the fall of Rome. For centuries Rome had been fighting the Germanic tribe but C.A. 300 CE, the Germanic tribes began to take over European land. “In 410 the Visigoth King Alaric successfully sacked the city of Rome” significantly
the Roman Empire had split up into the Western and Eastern half’s weakening the Empire. The two Empires fought over resources and military aid constantly. The Western side spoke Greek while the Eastern side spoke Latin. The Eastern half began to be wealthy and well protected while the Western half was poor and unprotected. The two Empires began to disconnect and in 476 C.E., the Western Roman Empire collapsed. The Eastern Empire continued for a thousand more years, but is there truly a Roman Empire with no Rome? This key factor is one of the leading causes for the gradual downfall of the Roman Empire. Ubi concordia, ibi Victoria, where there is unity, there is the victory and without it even the most powerful of empires or countries will