Code Hero Essay, Research Paper

Almost every possible viewpoint has been showed by scholars from all across the world. The Fall of the Roman Empire is one of the most widely contested issues in ancient history. The Roman Empire lasted from B.C. 27 through 406 A.D. The Roman Empire became very controlling and very well-built. However, in the third century A.D., the Roman Empire started to face many problems. The best know fact about the Roman Empire is that is declined and fell. The Fall of the Roman Empire was the most important time in history. In essence, the 2 main points was Rome s economical state, and it s military decay.

I. Economic Collapse

The main reason for Rome’s decline and eventual fall was the because of the Roman Empire s economic might. This may seem quite simple, but in actuality it affected nearly every aspect of Roman life. It effected the decline of the population to the lack of maintenance of infrastructure.

One of the primary reasons for the economy declining was that the economy was lacking circulation of currency in the Western Empire. Two reasons for the lack of funds are wholesale sign of gold by Roman citizens, and the widespread prowling Roman treasury by the “barbarians”. These two factors, along with the massive trade deficit with Eastern Regions of the Empire stopped wealth in the west. This would have far reaching ramifications that permeate the very fabric of Roman society, as we shall soon discuss. (Bunson) As the climate became more unstable, it began to alternate annually between hot droughts and cold rainy seasons. This, for obvious reasons, would decrease crop yields, and would force the Romans to undergo widespread irrigation projects on land which had formerly been self-sufficient.(Conqust) The huge quantities of water needed for this project had to be contained in large reservoirs, and the standing water became stagnat. Stagnant water is the ideal environment for breeding mosquitos, the carriers of malaria. (Conqust) Malaria began weakening and killing a large percentage of the population.

Ellsworth Huntington has proposed a unique hypothesis relating the changing rainfall patterns and climate in the Mediterranean with the economic problems encountered by the western empire. He basically wrote that, that, as the climate became more unstable, it began to alternate annually between hot droughts and cold rainy seasons. This, for obvious reasons, would decrease crop yields, and would force the Romans to undergo widespread irrigation projects on land which had formerly been self-sufficient. The huge amount of water needed for this project had to be contained in large reservoirs, and the standing water became stagnant. Stagnant water is the environment for breeding mosquitoes, the carriers of malaria. Malaria began spreading at epidemic levels, weakening and killing a large percentage of the population.

Edward Gibbon has maintained that the Roman Empire ended because of its decaying buildings. Rome’s buildings were severely destroyed throughout the years by time and nature. He points to Nero’s fire, which lasted “either six or nine days,” as particularly paralyzing. The innumerable buildings provided a “perpetual fuel for the flames,” and when all was done, “only four of the fourteen regions were left entire; three were totally destroyed, and seven were deformed by the relics of smoking and lacerated edifices” (Witonski). He also noted that the rivers surrounding Rome have, for the most part, highly irregular courses. This resulted in frequent flooding, which damaged and destroyed all buildings situated below the hills of Rome. Since Rome’s currency was being saved by citizens and stolen by the barbarians, the empire lacked sufficient funding to repair its crumbling structures. (Gibbon)

The Roman Empire crumbled due to insufficient economic power, which came about for a variety of reasons. It lacked the resources necessary to keep such a vast empire intact. The empire reached such a point that it could no longer support itself, becoming top heavy, and crashed down.

II. Military Decay

When one thinks of the Roman Empire, the first thing which may come to mind is the strength provided by its army. It is widely knowm that the fortunes of Rome were tied to the ability of Rome s military. Many scholars have maintained that in the later period of the Empire, Rome’s military might steadily declined for a variety of reasons. In the end it was because of the lack of security which allowed the barbarian people to ruin what was the strongest empire in the world.

This theory has been said by historian Arthur Ferrill. “The destruction of Roman military power in the fifth century A.D. was the obvious cause of the collapse of Roman government in the West”. He says that a massive the Roman army, made up of about 200,000 men, eventually fell to pieces into an unorganized mob. The most known factor in the falling apart of the army is the erosion held together in the numerous conflicts with the Barbarians. Factors such as the reliance on mercenaries, the fragmentation of the soldiers’ loyalty to numerous power centers, and lack of incentive for Roman Citizens to enlist, combined to destroy the Army as a viable unit. (Ferrill)

One of the most important factors in the decline of the military was the lack of recruits from “Romanized” backgrounds. One problem was the giving of citizenship to all free men within the empire. Originally, non-citizens who served in the Roman army would be granted citizenship at the end of their enlistment. “It was this desire of the provincials to acquire Roman citizenship that accounts for the fact that during the first two centuries voluntary enlistments sufficed to keep the armed services up to establishment. Certainly the army would not have remained at full strength if it had depended on volunteers from those who already possessed the Roman citizenship. For these showed the remarkable disinclination to serve” (Salmon). Rome was also experiencing a population decrease during this time. As the population decreased, the manpower obviously did also. In addition to the widespread disease, “war, starvation, and forcible deportation must be taken into account” (Boak). These occurrences would obviously have negative results on the military establishment.

Because of factors such as the “free citizenship” now offered by Rome and the lack of available manpower, Rome’s army, which had been the symbol of its power, was left unorganized and nearly useless. Because of this, the Barbarians began to break into the Western Empire. They first came as small groups of settlers and mercenaries, but eventually in whole tribes or “hoardes”. They detected the military weakness of the Romans, and used it to establish their own kingdoms. The political unit known as the Roman Empire came to an end, and the Germanic kingdoms of western Europe began to grow.