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Download Why did the Roman Empire Fall? There are many reasons for the fall
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Name: Social Studies Department Dysart Unified School District Willow Canyon High School Mr. Ornstein Why did the Roman Empire Fall? There are many reasons for the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Remember the Eastern or Byzantine Empire lasted 1,000 years after the Fall of Western Rome. Some causes were more immediate or “short-term.” Other causes were underlying or “long-term.” There were political, social, military, and economic reasons for the collapse of the once mighty Roman Empire. The most accepted general picture of decline of Rome is this: An exhausted global empire was so plagued by financial corruption, a bankrupt elite, and rural depopulation that few citizens joined the army. Fewer still knew what fifth-century Rome stood for, much less whether it was any longer worth defending. The immediate cause of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire was invasion by “barbarian tribes” from outside of Rome’s borders. The Western empire fell to foreign aggression from barbarian tribes in the late fifth century Some point to the rise of Christianity as a reason for the Fall of the Roman Empire. That the incorporation of Christianity as the state religion of Rome by Constantine in 312 was the real beginning of the end. In historian Edward Gibbon’s view, the growing church substituted the pacifist Sermon on the Mount creed for classical civic militarism, while emptying the state treasury to support literally millions of useless clerical drones, monumental new churches, and ecclesiastical lands that brought no financial return to the empire. Also the religion of Christianity taught faith in god and not loyalty towards an Emperor. Other reasons include the division of the Empire into East and West. Another reason was a shortage of Romans willing to join the military and the hiring of foreign soldiers to do the fighting for them. High taxes and a large gap between the rich and the poor also contributed to the fall. Poor harvests and decline in food production was a factor. Terrible Emperors and poor leadership were another cause. There was disunity among the Roman people. Roman citizens became apathetic. There was mass migration out of Roman lands. Trade declined. The Roman road and aqueduct system began to decay. Many Roman citizens rebelled against their rulers. There was too much infighting between different factions within the Roman Empire. The empire's demise was brought about through a vicious circle of political instability, foreign invasion, and reduced tax revenue. Essentially, invasions caused long-term damage to the provincial tax base, which lessened the Empire's medium to long-term ability to pay and equip the legions, with predictable results. It's not entirely arbitrary that Medieval / Renaissance History at About.com begins and Ancient / Classical History ends in A.D. 476. Edward Gibbon's 476 date for the fall of Rome is conventionally acceptable because that's when the Germanic Odoacer deposed the last emperor ruling from Rome. There are, however, other reasonable dates for the Fall of the Roman Empire. Some say Rome fell when it was split in two, of which the eastern half became the Byzantine Empire. Many say the Fall was an ongoing process lasting more than a century. Since Rome still exists it could even be argued it never fell.