Roman Empire Downfall
Throughout history, great civilizations have risen in order, prospered in freedom, and eventually died in chaos. “The same conditions always produce the same results”, is an interesting quote that can be applied to several aspects in overall development. Repeating the same actions over and over will not change the end result. If you repeat prior incidents which ended in failure expect to fail again if you do not change the major variables. Great empires are also subjected time. During an empire’s lifespan, it will yield great innovations, innovative technological advancements, and affect the development of future civilizations but it will ultimately collapse. In order to survive during the beginning of their republic, Romans had to expulse
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the Etruscan kings and make an alliance with the states in Latium. In a span of over 100 years Romans slowly became stronger than the Latium alliances and in 340 B.C.E., the Latin states of Latium began a revolt. Easily crushing the revolt, the Romans had complete supremacy over Latium. In 290 B.C.E., the Romans were in a fierce conflict with the Samnite, who lived in central Apennines. The defeat on the Samnite gave Rome a large portion of Italy. The Romans focus now shifted to Greek cities who had no real army but rather hired mercenaries to fight their battles. King Pyrrhus and his army was some of whom that was hired to defeat the Romans. But in 267 B.C.E., King Pyrrhus and his decimated army were defeated giving the Romans most of Italy. By 264 B.C.E., the Romans began building fortifications and colonizing Italy. The Roman empire was built from the conquest of Italy, and later it would signal the beginning of the creation of one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. One of the best soldiers the world has ever seen along with democratic equality within its society made Rome a primary candidate for a powerful empire. The Roman empire was built from the conquest of Italy, the conflict with Carthage and the expansion in the Mediterranean. The Romans did not plan their expansion and most was done opportunistically. Whenever a threat was faced against Rome, the Romans wouldn’t hesitate to act which resulted in newer conflicts down the line. Rather than declaring war only for defensive reasons, the romans favored expansion for glory and economic reasons. Due to enormous war spoils, foreign command and a growth in slave labor, the Romans were becoming even more imperialistic.
When evaluating the greatest empires in the world, one must always include the greatness that was the Roman empire. At its peak, the Roman empire had geographic stake in 48 modern countries and is considered by many as the mightiest empire the world has ever seen. There was not a single person or factor responsible for the driving force behind the prosperity of the Roman Empire. The prosperity and achievements of the romans are far reaching with many affecting our modern day world. The Roman Senate, served as the blueprint for future governments including ours. In a way to improve travel across its empire, the Romans designed a brilliant road network spanning more the 80,000 kilometers. The Romans were the first to introduce the concepts of running water and central heating, which was a necessity to ensure the health and wellness of the Roman population. Praised today by many architects, the Romans were the first to build magnificent structures such as malls, stadiums and the famous colosseum. Architects today praise the design and stability of these structures, as many withstood the test of time and are still standing to this day. A first for its time, Romans were able to build major structures across major cities in its empire, resembling modern day small city skylines. The language that Romans used would serve as a foundation for many of our future languages. The Roman empire is a very important part of human history, which led to development of the western world.
Like its slow development to becoming an iconic empire, the fall of Rome did not happen all at once.
Regardless of how powerful they were able to become, each mighty empire including Rome, would eventually have its downfall. There were many contributing factors to the ultimate demise of the Roman empire. One of the biggest reasons for the fall of Rome, was its rapid expansion. The Roman empire was expanding at a very high rate which led to troubles administrating law in the conquered areas, defending borders and the expansion caused the military to weaken as they were stretched too thin. The failing economy and high inflation crippled the Roman empire. Due to the cost of defending its empire, the Romans were constantly threatened by bankruptcy. The large amounts of gold spent by the wealthy in foreign countries led to a shortage in gold which effected the production of Roman currency. The gap between prosperity led to a division between the Roman people. The Roman army was made up of mercenaries and slaves who risked their lives for very little in return which led to a rift between the majority of the population and government. As the mistreated mercenaries and slaves began deserting the army the Romans provided the German group known as the Visigoths, land in return for fighting in the army. Sooner than later, that Romans would begin to realize how bad of a mistake this was. One of the biggest reasons for the fall of the Roman empire was the barbarian knowledge of Roman military tactics which would be used against them. The Barbarians acquired the Roman style of warfare and military tactics by serving in the Roman army were eventually used against the Roman Empire and led to the sack of Rome by the
Visigoths.
the Etruscan kings and make an alliance with the states in Latium. In a span of over 100 years Romans slowly became stronger than the Latium alliances and in 340 B.C.E., the Latin states of Latium began a revolt. Easily crushing the revolt, the Romans had complete supremacy over Latium. In 290 B.C.E., the Romans were in a fierce conflict with the Samnite, who lived in central Apennines. The defeat on the Samnite gave Rome a large portion of Italy. The Romans focus now shifted to Greek cities who had no real army but rather hired mercenaries to fight their battles. King Pyrrhus and his army was some of whom that was hired to defeat the Romans. But in 267 B.C.E., King Pyrrhus and his decimated army were defeated giving the Romans most of Italy. By 264 B.C.E., the Romans began building fortifications and colonizing Italy. The Roman empire was built from the conquest of Italy, and later it would signal the beginning of the creation of one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. One of the best soldiers the world has ever seen along with democratic equality within its society made Rome a primary candidate for a powerful empire. The Roman empire was built from the conquest of Italy, the conflict with Carthage and the expansion in the Mediterranean. The Romans did not plan their expansion and most was done opportunistically. Whenever a threat was faced against Rome, the Romans wouldn’t hesitate to act which resulted in newer conflicts down the line. Rather than declaring war only for defensive reasons, the romans favored expansion for glory and economic reasons. Due to enormous war spoils, foreign command and a growth in slave labor, the Romans were becoming even more imperialistic.
When evaluating the greatest empires in the world, one must always include the greatness that was the Roman empire. At its peak, the Roman empire had geographic stake in 48 modern countries and is considered by many as the mightiest empire the world has ever seen. There was not a single person or factor responsible for the driving force behind the prosperity of the Roman Empire. The prosperity and achievements of the romans are far reaching with many affecting our modern day world. The Roman Senate, served as the blueprint for future governments including ours. In a way to improve travel across its empire, the Romans designed a brilliant road network spanning more the 80,000 kilometers. The Romans were the first to introduce the concepts of running water and central heating, which was a necessity to ensure the health and wellness of the Roman population. Praised today by many architects, the Romans were the first to build magnificent structures such as malls, stadiums and the famous colosseum. Architects today praise the design and stability of these structures, as many withstood the test of time and are still standing to this day. A first for its time, Romans were able to build major structures across major cities in its empire, resembling modern day small city skylines. The language that Romans used would serve as a foundation for many of our future languages. The Roman empire is a very important part of human history, which led to development of the western world.
Like its slow development to becoming an iconic empire, the fall of Rome did not happen all at once.
Regardless of how powerful they were able to become, each mighty empire including Rome, would eventually have its downfall. There were many contributing factors to the ultimate demise of the Roman empire. One of the biggest reasons for the fall of Rome, was its rapid expansion. The Roman empire was expanding at a very high rate which led to troubles administrating law in the conquered areas, defending borders and the expansion caused the military to weaken as they were stretched too thin. The failing economy and high inflation crippled the Roman empire. Due to the cost of defending its empire, the Romans were constantly threatened by bankruptcy. The large amounts of gold spent by the wealthy in foreign countries led to a shortage in gold which effected the production of Roman currency. The gap between prosperity led to a division between the Roman people. The Roman army was made up of mercenaries and slaves who risked their lives for very little in return which led to a rift between the majority of the population and government. As the mistreated mercenaries and slaves began deserting the army the Romans provided the German group known as the Visigoths, land in return for fighting in the army. Sooner than later, that Romans would begin to realize how bad of a mistake this was. One of the biggest reasons for the fall of the Roman empire was the barbarian knowledge of Roman military tactics which would be used against them. The Barbarians acquired the Roman style of warfare and military tactics by serving in the Roman army were eventually used against the Roman Empire and led to the sack of Rome by the
Visigoths.