Download The Fall Of The Roman Empire

The Fall Of The Roman Empire
“Italy is changed. But Rome is Rome.” – Robert De Niro
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the Western world who hasn’t heard of
Rome: its military prowess, extensive lands, advanced technology and tyrannical rulers; an
empire that stretched across the Ancient World, a power that surpassed all others. No-one
could have dreamed such an entity could collapse, but as with all things, Rome eventually
met its demise as the greatest ancient superpower, leaving behind a legacy that shaped
modern Europe. But how did Rome actually fall, how did such a pillar of strength finally
crumble? As usual, there is no single cause, and historians have debated for years on the
exact course of events. However, there are several contending theories as to the precise
causes of the fall of the Roman Empire.
When the beginning of the end for Rome became apparent, Rome was split into two
main parts: the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire. The Western Empire was the part
containing Europe (including the city of Rome itself), and parts of Africa, whereas the
Eastern Empire was in Asia: towards China and Russia, and had its capital at Constantinople
(then Byzantium). It was this half of the Empire which eventually resolved itself into the
Byzantine Empire, after it was conquered by Islamic
forces. The reason Rome [pictured] split was simply
that Rome had grown too large to sustain itself. The
Senate in Rome made decisions and sent word out to
all the provinces in the vast reaches of the Empire (for
example Britannica Prima in Britain, or Tripolitania in
Africa). However due to the distances between these
provinces often they didn’t do as they were told. And
what could the Romans do? They couldn’t send out
an army to deal with each seditious province – there
just weren’t enough resources. On top of this, the provinces were bleeding Rome’s
treasuries dry. Money was needed to hold Rome together, and those on the far end of
Rome’s soil weren’t giving enough out. Even in Rome, unemployment was at a record high
(slaves were taking all the work), and inflation was ravaging trade across Rome. In short, it
was a disaster, so the Romans named all this the “The Crisis of the Third Century”, a very
accurate summing-up of how much trouble Rome, as an empire, was in.
However, there was still hope. After emperor Numerian’s death, the Romans elected
a “man of action” to be their new emperor, General Diocletian, who famously resolved
peace between Rome and Persia circa 299AD. He was tasked, in short, of dealing with the
various problems that threatened to tear the empire apart. And whilst famed for being a
negotiator of peace, his next move was to stop inflation in a very military method. He simply
put a price limit on goods and had anyone who charged more than the limit executed. In
fact, the punishment for breaking almost all of his laws was death! Yet what Diocletian was
(and still is today) really famous for is the way he solved the issue of the Empire crumbling
under its own weight. Diocletian [pictured] literally split the Empire up between three close
friends, for example Maximian, a fellow officer in the army, was appointed
an augustus. The empire halved and this appeared to solve the problem –
the two halves managed side-by-side, but effectively were two separate
Empires. This act is known as the tetrarchy. Nevertheless, the Western
(Latin) Empire, being much poorer and badly led, fell quite quickly, whereas
the Eastern (Greek) Empire hung on for centuries more, resolving into the
Byzantine Empire, and had more money, far greater military prowess and
good administration. The tetrarchy was finally completed and resolved in
293AD.
However, whilst the halving of the Empire may seem to be the most predominant
and most obvious reason, there are still many more factors in Rome’s demise. Religion is
probably the second most obvious (not necessarily as significant) factor. Christianity was
looking to become the next major religion of Rome, and the Romans knew it. Christianity
was rising, and was slowly pulling the Empire apart, causing rebellions and thus provinces to
leave Rome. Christianity had been an issue for centuries, with early emperors doing their
level best to stamp it out. Emperor Nero, for example, covered Christians in wax and used
them as torches for parties, had them torn apart by dogs or made them sit on red-hot iron
seats to open gladiatorial competitions. These tactics were certainly effective, and Christians
remained subdued, but not defeated. By that time there had been only one emperor,
Gallienus, who initiated a tolerance policy towards Christians, and this brief moment of
peace lasted a mere forty years. However, Christianity was becoming increasingly popular
amongst slaves and, more importantly, soldiers. Diocletian knew this better than anybody,
having been a Roman general, and was also conscious that it would end Rome. He
immediately took on a no-tolerance policy towards Christians, surrounding himself with
public opponents of Christianity and offering them leading positions in Rome. Diocletian
proceeded to ruthlessly “purge” armies of Christians [pictured] and finally brought about
the Great Persecution – a savage hunt of
Christians who were forced (on pain of
death) to sacrifice to Roman gods and the
emperor (who was considered a demigod,
much like in Egyptian society). This reign of
terror was to end finally with Constantine,
known almost solely for his conversion of
the Empire. Constantine was certainly a
great and inspiring leader; sadly, it was because of his tolerance that Rome began to split
further, Islam and Christianity gaining so much support that large “chunks” of provinces
were ripped off Rome until it eventually lay in pieces. The last thing that really made
Christianity a threat was that at the time, Christianity was almost as eager to suppress other
religions as their Romans oppressors! Christians believed that Christianity was the one true
religion, and did their utmost to stamp out all other religions, in a fashion almost identical to
the one used by Diocletian. So, as they gained support they began assaulting the Roman
polytheistic religions, leaving it as the one dominant Western religion.
The third reason has already been mentioned: Rome’s finances and inflation. Rome’s
domination was so great and covered so much land that its treasuries seemed bottomless,
and with careful management Rome could have lasted far longer than it did, as the sheer
volume of money it possessed could pay for any disaster. However, as it had so many rulers,
there were bound to be some who believed Rome’s wealth was infinite. A classic example is
Emperor Nero (famous for being tyrannical, mad and pioneered the persecution of
Christianity) who regularly held feasts where there was so much food, guests deliberately
made themselves sick so they could eat more. Another infamous occasion was, when a
massive fire destroyed a large section of the city of Rome, Nero didn’t spend funds on
rebuilding it. He instead spent the greatly needed donations on a lavish private palace built
on the site of the fire. Emperors spent millions on gruesome games and pointless wars,
whilst bringing very little money in. As the aphorist Mason Cooley so aptly put it: “Money:
power at its most liquid.” And as Rome’s money drained away, so did its power, and thus its
chances of survival.
The financial difficulties didn’t end just with the emperors: the army was using vast
amounts of money. This may have seemed a good idea: the military is what Rome is most
famous for! However, with Rome’s military using up far more money than the empire could
afford, and the Senate squandering the remaining finance the fourth cause of Rome’s
decline became evident – the public, and more importantly their happiness. The famous
phrase “Senatus Populusque Romanus” by the time of Rome’s decline could be shortened
just to “Senatus Romanus”. The Senate and Emperors foolishly neglected the people of
Rome, as public health was low and death rates were high, sped up by the poisonous lead
piping which carried all the water. Inflation was forcing people further and further from the
cities: even Diocletian’s laws on inflation couldn’t stop that. People today imagine Romans
as living in massive marble villas, with mosaics decorating every surface. Whilst this may
have been so at Rome’s peak (estimated at about 120 AD), by the time that fall of Rome was
inevitable most citizens lived in squalid, claustrophobic little flats, each block of apartments
(called insuli, meaning islands [pictured])
stretching down an entire street. Rents were
high as well, and many chose to leave the city,
becoming farmers out in the countryside – as
this was far cheaper than the cost of urban life.
Merely proof that history will repeat itself, as
the same thing is happening today! So, Rome
slowly but surely shrank as the number of citizens shrank too.
The fifth cause, still partly connected to money, was the fact that the Romans were
falling behind the rest of the world. This may seem ridiculous; after all, it was the Romans
who engineered the great aqueducts to carry water for miles, invented the siphon, built
plumbing and drainage and heated floors! They even introduced history’s first health care
system for the poor! How could the Romans fall behind? Well, fall behind they did. The
other surrounding civilizations were catching up, the Greeks devising philosophy and writing
magnificent prose; the Persians inventing numerical systems (which later would be taken up
by the Crusaders to form our own numerical system). Unfortunately, this was Rome’s fault.
They hadn’t been conquering new peoples, and so weren’t able to “adopt” (effectively steal)
their technology, and couldn’t seem to grasp how to best grow crops, which was causing
famine, eventually meaning they actually lost large plots of land! Even their lead plumbing
was obsolete, as the Greeks had, by this time, already exposed lead’s dangerous, poisonous
properties! This also meant that, as the lead poisoning mostly affected the rich, they and
their wealth were vanishing at a much faster rate, meaning that the financial reserves of the
city were drained even faster!
However, the sixth and final factor (and what I believe to be most crucial) was this:
Rome was not powerful enough to stop the oncoming waves of “barbarian” hordes. Times
were changing, and too fast for the Romans. So, the borders began collapsing. As the
Romans left Britannia, the Saxons moved in, and subsequently hemmed in the Empire in
France – there was nowhere to run. The Huns in the east, despite never being a threat to
Rome directly forced the Goths to move west, who sacked the Visigoths, so they moved
west and sacked the Empire (their leader Aleric sacking Rome itself in 410 AD). The Vandals
[pictured] from the north began to move in because of overcrowding, pillaging Spain, North
Africa and then Rome again in 455 AD. Yet the final
straw was, as civil war broke out in Italy, when the
legions in Germany were pulled back to fight. The
borders remained completely defenceless, and the
many unruly Germanic tribes swept in, eventually
destroying Rome and deposing the Emperor. The
bridges and roads fell into disrepair; the only usable
ones were preyed mercilessly upon by brigands and
highwaymen. The Germanic chiefs took over, and
Rome, as an empire, was lost. However, that is just the story of the Western Roman Empire.
The Eastern Empire became the Byzantine Empire, and a whole new legacy was born.
So, the reason that Rome finally fell comes down to one point: Rome was simply too
large to sustain, and it collapsed under its own weight. The financial issues, the fact that
other religions were able to begin taking parts of the empire, the military spending was all
due to the fact that it was too large to support and Rome overtook itself, leaving gaping
holes in defences and in funds. The “gates were wide open”, and the barbarians came
through, finally eradicating one of the greatest ever powers.
However, despite the fact that Rome as an empire was lost to the barbarian hordes,
it would not be correct to say that Rome completely destroyed. The ideas and concepts, the
power and glory and driving force of such an empire still lives on in today’s Western society.
Leaders today still aspire to reach the heights that Rome reached – its military, resources
and wealth, the vast expanse of the empire and the legacy it left behind. Rome shaped
everything we know in our modern way of living. Rome never died – it lives on with us.
Sources used:
The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
About.com (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
Ancient Rome For Kids (www.rome.mrdonn.org)
“The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” by Edward Gibbon
Official Rome Information (www.rome.info)
Brainy Quote (www.brainyquote.com)
Word Count: 2,088 (Text), 2147 (Total) – Draft 3 (Pictures)