Why Rome Fell Dbq

Rome was one of the greatest empires of its time. They conquered so much land that they had to split it in half to be able to manage all of it. They had ruthless leaders who gained so much power and land for Rome. They also had a military that was practically invincible and they could take down anyone who tried to stand in their way. A civilization as strong as Rome should not have fallen. And the reason as to why it did is still a mystery to many people. The Roman Empire fell because of invasion by the Huns, the loss of people, and because the people of Rome got tired. One reason as to why Rome fell is invasion by the Huns. In Document D it states, ““Fired with an overwhelming desire for seizing the property of others, these swift-moving
and ungovernable people make their destructed way amid the pillage and slaughter of those who live around them.” This means that the Huns were savages and whatever they wanted, they took. Since Rome was near where they lived, they could have run in and brought chaos to all the people, eventually leading to the fall of Rome. Another example for Rome was invaded by Huns is, “Huns are never sheltered by buildings, but...roam freely in the mountains in woods, learning from the earliest childhood to endure freezing cold, hunger and thirst.” (Doc D) This means that the Huns were ruthless in almost every aspect of war meaning they could have caught the Romans by shock with their savage ways and gained Rome. Another reason as to why Rome was invaded by Barbarians is in Document C it shows how the Huns were one of the last Invasions on the Roman Empire. This means that, if anyone were to finally take Rome out it would be the Huns. Even though there could have been many other civilizations that took over Rome leading to its fall, the Huns were ruthless, took what they wanted, and some of the last invaders of Rome. Another reason as to why Rome fell is because of the loss of people.
One example of why Rome fell because of loss of people is in the Background Essay, “When a goal appears to have been reached, it is easy to get lazy. The evidence for this was a love of luxury, a decline in the quality of literature, even a decision in the upper class to have fewer children because child raising was a bother.” This means that the population of Rome most likely got smaller and smaller because people agreed to not have as many kids. Also, Rome would not have any soldiers to fight for them when these kids grow up and even if they did, it would be very few. Having a small military is not good at all and could lead to people taking you over. This could eventually lead to the fall of Rome. Another reason as to why Rome weakened because of a decreasing population is, “There can be little doubt that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure... to enforce regular conscription... the exempted categories were... Numerous.” (Doc B) This means that Rome had so little people that they needed people very badly to help in their military. For a civilization as big as Rome, they cannot afford to be staggering in numbers with their military and it will lead to the fall of Rome. Finally, a reason as to why Rome fell because of loss of people is n Document F, “The resulting diseases decimated the population. The population of Rome decreased from a million people, to
250,000.” This means that Rome lost over half of their populations due to disease. As strong as Rome was, it is very hard to overcome a situation like that. Losing so many people could have had a great effect on Rome and led to its fall. If a civilization as large as Rome, it needs a lot of people to help protect them and provide for them which means that loss of population was definitely a reason as to why Rome fell. Lastly, a reason as to why Rome fell is that the people got tired and lazy.
The first example of this is in Document B it states, “Therefore, the first at the Emperor to set aside the breastplates.... And then the helmets.” This means that the Roman military got lazy. When a military gets lazy, especially for a powerful civilization like Rome, people will take advantage of that and try to take them over. This definitely could have been a factor in Rome’s fall. Another example of how the people of Rome got lazy is, “Life at the top was getting soft. Upper-class Romans were losing their edge.” (Background Essay) This means that the people of Rome were tired and bored. If the people living in a powerful civilization do not even care anymore, then it would most definitely lead to the fall of that civilization. Finally, in Document B it states, “So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for chest and head and were often beaten by archers.” If you are in a military, you should never not have head protection. If you don’t, it is lazy and it leads to Rome’s loss in a lot of battles. Although Rome was a very powerful empire, towards the end of its days the people got tired and acted lazy which led to the fall of Rome. Even though Rome was very powerful in a lot of aspects, the result of invasion by the Huns, the decrease in Roman population and the people being lazy eventually led to the fall of Rome. Rome was an amazing empire with many accomplishments
and even though Rome did not live to see the world today, Rome most definitely had a huge impact on it. People today can learn a lot from Rome and use that knowledge to achieve better things in their lives.