Was Rome Responsible For The Fall Of The Roman Empire?
There were several reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Each one entwined with the other. In my opinion the biggest contributing factor to the fall of the Roman Empire was political. The Roman Republic government was replaced with emperors. It became a government run by a select few. Only the rich could become magistrates. Wealthy individuals could buy senate seats. Tax collectors were corrupt, extorting money from the poor and keeping it for themselves. The government needed these funds to pay for the costly wars. It was the effect of poor political decisions such as high taxes, government corruption that limited people quality of life, along with deterioration of nationalism to the point citizens no longer wanted to serve in
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Corrupt leaders turned the people against the government political agendas. The hostility that existed between the rich and the poor was created by the government's class system. The cost of conquest after conquest caused the government to run out of money to pay many Germanic mercenaries who had none or very little loyalty. It was after the Punic War the empire expanded so rapidly the government couldn’t govern the massive empire from one central location. It was a political decision to keep on expanding without taking governing into consideration that led to the downfall of Rome. Diocletian’s reforms temporarily stopped the rampant decline of the empire. He divided the vast empire into eastern and western halves to make it easier to govern. It was impossible to monitor all of the invasions by one central government. It would be easier with the division to control the empire. A tetrarchy made up of one senior emperor and three junior emperors for each half would rule. If there was a tie in disagreement of political policy the senate could select a dictator, who would override the tetrarchy. The senate chose new …show more content…
Some emperors provided for the unemployed else riots would break out. Roman Cities declined as people fled to rural regions. Slaves were used for hard
Corrupt leaders turned the people against the government political agendas. The hostility that existed between the rich and the poor was created by the government's class system. The cost of conquest after conquest caused the government to run out of money to pay many Germanic mercenaries who had none or very little loyalty. It was after the Punic War the empire expanded so rapidly the government couldn’t govern the massive empire from one central location. It was a political decision to keep on expanding without taking governing into consideration that led to the downfall of Rome. Diocletian’s reforms temporarily stopped the rampant decline of the empire. He divided the vast empire into eastern and western halves to make it easier to govern. It was impossible to monitor all of the invasions by one central government. It would be easier with the division to control the empire. A tetrarchy made up of one senior emperor and three junior emperors for each half would rule. If there was a tie in disagreement of political policy the senate could select a dictator, who would override the tetrarchy. The senate chose new …show more content…
Some emperors provided for the unemployed else riots would break out. Roman Cities declined as people fled to rural regions. Slaves were used for hard