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FALL OF ROME ASSIGNMENT
Read the reasons of the fall and fill out how each of the factors contributed to the fall of
rome and add a little picture which
Importance: Big republic that fails
because of multiple little reasons. By
Studying the reasons we can prevent
our own demise.
Economic
Religion
Social
Political
War
Social Issues.
As the Roman Empire grew and expanded, this caused more and more tension between Rome’s social
classes. As more wealth poured into Rome, it was going exclusively into the pockets of the wealthiest
classes, who then used the money to buy more slaves and created fewer and fewer opportunities for the
middle class. The gap between rich and poor, always wide, began to widen further. The middle class
all but died out. Over time, slavery actually began to decline, but not for a good reason. Wealthy
Roman landowners no longer purchased, housed, and fed slaves, when poor free citizens were so
desperate for work that they were actually cheaper.
What developed was two extremes: honestiores, who were the very rich and powerful, most of whom
had lavish homes both in the city and countryside, and humiliores, who lived in crowded slum dwellings
that often collapsed or caught fire. Each had their own set of problems.
Rome’s wealthiest citizens began to remove themselves
from the cities and built large estates in the country. Here,
they could ignore the problems going on in the rest of the
empire. In these lavish estates, the wealthy became infamous
for wasting money on lavish parties where guests ate and
drank until they became ill. Special rooms called,
vomitoriums, were installed just off the dining room where
guests could “relieve” themselves and then return for more
gluttony. Many of the wealthy had water brought to their
homes through lead pipes. This caused lead poisoning and
led to high levels of insanity. The wealthy death rate was
surprisingly very high.
Meanwhile, Rome’s poor and unemployed crowded
into the cities. They lived in small smelly rooms in apartment
houses with six or more stories called islands. Each island covered an entire block. At one time there were
44,000 apartment houses within the city walls of Rome. First-floor apartments were not occupied by the
poor since these living quarters rented for about $100 a year. The more shaky wooden stairs a family had
to climb, the cheaper the rent became. The upper apartments that the poor rented for $40 a year were hot,
dirty, crowed, and dangerous. Anyone who could not pay the rent was forced to move out and live on the
crime-infested streets. Because of this, cities began to decay. To keep the people from revolting, the
government provided them with free food. At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more
than 100,000 people in Rome alone. These people were not only a burden but also had little to do but
cause trouble and contribute to an ever increasing crime rate.
There were many public health and environmental problems. The continuous interaction of
people at the Colosseum, surrounded by blood and death, caused disease to spread. Those who lived
on the streets in continuous contact allowed for an uninterrupted strain of disease. Alcohol use
increased, adding to the incompetency of the general public. As political freedom declined, sexual
freedom increased, which actually lead to a decline in the population. Even during Pax Romana there
were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome. Not only did family life begin to fall apart, but the practice of killing of
unwanted children, spread.
One area that rich and poor had in common
was their desire for ever increasing levels of
violent entertainment to deal with their
boredom. The rich because they had so much
money they didn’t know what to do with it, and
poor because they had no money and nothing to
do. To keep them both happy the government
provided them with a never ending supply of
deadly entertainments, both at race tracks like the
Circus Maximus and gladiator games at places
like the Colloseum. 45,000 spectators would
crowd into the Colloseum almost on a daily basis
to watch increasingly cruel "sporting" events, as
Christians, slaves, or prisoners were put in the
ring unarmed against wild animals. Rome
actually caused the extinction of some African animals to satisfy the crowds demand for watching
animals fight to the death. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience.
One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground become too soaked
with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on.
Economic Issues
The Emperor’s Hadrian and Aurelius realized that the Roman Empire had reached the maximum
that could be defended and governed. The policies they set in place ended Rome’s conquest and
expansion and instead focused on protecting and defending its current borders. But since Rome’s
economy had always been based on taking wealth from its conquered neighbors this new policy had a
devastating impact on the economy. With no new conquests, there was no new wealth.
Rome had also always imported more goods than it exported. It was not a producer – it was a taker.
Many ships sailed into the harbors of Rome fully loaded, but most of them left empty. Once the Romans
stopped conquering new lands, the flow of gold into the Roman economy decreased. Yet much gold
was being spent by the Romans to pay for luxury items. What little gold left in Rome was being traded
out of the Empire to pay for products made outside of the Empire. This meant that there was less gold
to use in coins. As the amount of gold used in coins decreased, the coins became less valuable. This
results in a situation called inflation. To make up for this loss in value, merchants raised the prices on
the goods they sold. If you have a lot of coins, this isn’t as much a problem, but if you are poor and have
only a limited amount of coins, you find that more and more of them disappear just to buy a loaf of bread.
Many people stopped using coins and began to barter to get what they needed. Eventually, salaries had to
be paid in food and clothing, and taxes were collected in fruits and vegetables.
As Rome’s economy collapsed, so did its technology. During the last 400 years of the empire,
the scientific achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and the
organization of public services. They built marvelous roads, bridges, and aqueducts. They established
the first system of medicine for the benefit of the poor. But since the Romans relied so much on human
and animal labor, they failed to invent many new machines or find new technology to produce goods
more efficiently. They could not provide enough goods for their growing population. They were no
longer conquering other civilizations and adapting their technology.
Maintaining an army to defend the border of the Empire from barbarian attacks was a constant drain
on the government. Military spending left few resources for other vital activities, such as providing public
housing and maintaining quality roads and aqueducts. Frustrated Romans lost their desire to defend the
Empire. The empire had to begin hiring soldiers recruited from the unemployed city mobs or worse from
foreign counties. Such an army was not only unreliable, but very expensive. The emperors were forced to
raise taxes frequently which in turn led again to increased inflation.
Political Issues
In the face of all these social and economic problems, what Rome needed was a strong ruler.
Unfortunately, corruption made that the exception rather than the norm for the next 250 years. One of the
most difficult problems was choosing a new emperor. The Romans never created an effective system
to determine how new emperors would be selected. The choice was always open to debate between
the old emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard, and the army. Gradually, the Praetorian Guard
gained complete authority to choose the new emperor, who rewarded the guard who then became
more influential, perpetuating the cycle.
Aurelius first broke the trend of appointing his most competent general as
his replacement, and instead appointed his son Commodus (KAHM-uh-duhs;
r. A.D. 180–192) as Emperor. Although the beginning of his reign started
out promising, over time he became more and more unstable. He was one of
the first emperors to demand to be treated as a living god. He also demanded
that people recognize him as the reincarnated Hercules. Over time he
developed an obsession with gladiators and would dress as a gladiator during
state functions. This would be similar to our president attending official
functions dressed in full football uniform. When he insisted on being
allowed to participate in a gladiatorial match, his guards put an end to the
embarrassment and had him strangled to death in his own bathtub by a
professional wrestler.
Commodus’ replacement, Pertinax, only ruled for 67 days before he
was
assassinated
by his own soldiers for refusing to pay them bribe money. His
Commodus, dressed as Hercules
successor Didius Julianus did not make the same mistake. He promised the Praetorian
Guard 25,000 sesteres to make him Emperor. Septimus Severus (SEP-ti-muhs seh-VEER-uhs; r. A.D.
192–211), Rome’s first African Emperor, did manage to restore order for the next 20 years and was one
of the last Roman emperors to die of natural causes. His son Caracalla became the next Emperor after
he ordered his guard to stab his brother and co-emperor to death – in front of their mother! He
later claimed it was self-defense. When he was mocked for this on a trip to Alexandria, he invited all of
the cities wealthiest families invited to the local arena for a “celebration”. When they had entered, he
ordered the gates barred and ordered his army to slaughter them. Then they went out into the rest of the
city. In all, over 20,000 people were put to death. He was assassinated soon after.
During the next forty-nine years, no fewer than twenty emperors reigned, many of them
promoted to their positions by the army. Emperors who inspired the disfavor of the military or the
senate had a way of winding up dead, and they would simply be replaced. For a time, a rival dynasty of
emperors ruled Gaul, and plenty of other would-be rulers contended for power. Zenobia of Palmyra led a
revolt in Syria, as did other leaders in other parts of the empire. The emperor, Valerian (vuh-LEEReeun; r. A.D. 253–260), was captured in battle by the Persians. The Persian Emperor used him as a
step stool to mount his horse. When he tired of this, he had him skinned alive and hung his skin in
his palace.
Gallienus, Valerian's son and co-ruler, began a period of slow recovery in the empire as a whole. He
built up the military on the borders and prevented senators from holding command positions in the army.
Aurelian (oh-REEL-ee-uhn; r. A.D. 270–275) crushed the revolts in Syria and Gaul, but like other Roman
emperors, he proved ineffective against the most serious threat to Rome's power: the barbarian tribes. His
building of a wall around Rome, which had never had one in all its years, was a sign of the empire's
increasingly defensive posture.
Diocletian
Diocletian and Constantine
After a half century of disorder, the emperor Diocletian (die-oh-KLEEshun) was able, at least temporarily, to restore peace and stability. Diocletian
and his successors would make drastic changes in the administration of the
empire in an effort to prevent its dissolution. However, his reforms would
later prove to be as responsible for the ultimate fall of Rome as it did to help it
survive.
Diocletian, who ruled from 284 A.D. to 305 A.D., came to power with the
backing of the eastern army. Although, he ruled the entire empire, Diocletian
appointed one of his friends, Maximian, to supervise the western part. Both
Diocletian and Maximian formally took the title of Augustus, and each
appointed a second-in-command with the title of Caesar. The rule of the four
together constituted what is termed the tetrarchy. This was also the
beginning of the split between the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire.
Diocletian remained in the east and began the task of restoring order. To combat the threat of
German tribes in the west and Persians in the east, Diocletian had special border troops stationed
permanently on the frontiers. For the first time in years Rome’s frontiers were stabilized.
Diocletian divided the empire into 120 provinces, each run by an administrator of his choosing.
These provinces were gathered into groups often controlled by another official, the vicarius (vi KARE-eeus). The vicarii reported to the headquarters of the Augustus or Caesar ruling his area of the empire.
Diocletian also sent spies to watch over the administrators. To pay for all this, new taxes were passed,
the burden of which fell most heavily on small farmers and business people.
Diocletian’s reforms
included splitting the
empire into two sections.
Each section was ruled
by its own co-emperor,
and his chosen successor
– called his Caesar.
Although the idea of corulers would come and
go over the next century,
the split between the
empires would become
permanent. Constantine
made a new capital in
the East at the former
city of Byzantium, giving
the eastern empire the
name of “The Byzantine
Empire”
Constantine
Diocletian’s programs did bring order to the empire. However, on his
retirement in 305 A.D., the rule of the tetrarchy broke down and the struggle to
succeed Diocletian led to civil war. Constantine, the son of one of the Caesars,
emerged the winner in 324 A.D. Constantine kept many of Diocletian’s reforms. In
330 A.D., when Constantine made Constantinople, meaning the city of Constantine,
his eastern capital, the declining fortunes of Rome and the western half of the empire
were underscored. By creating a new capital in the east, Constantine all but sent
the message that the Empire in the west was dead. No one cared about the old,
decaying city of Rome anymore. Rome in the west was being abandoned, while
Rome in the east was being reborn as something new.
Constantinople was to eclipse Rome in splendor and importance, and
would become the center of the thriving eastern empire. But it was difficult to say how Roman it
was. Because Constantinople was in Greece, it became fashionable to speak in Greek, and Latin was
replaced. Clothing and art styles also took on a more eastern influence. But, perhaps most
importantly of all, Constantinople adopted a new religion and coliseums were replaced with
churches.
Religion Issues
When faced with social problems, most societies turn to
religions to help unify people around a common set of morals.
Rome’s official religion did little to provide direction and hope
to its people. In fact, it’s hard to say that they had an
“official” religion at all. Since the Romans had originally just
adopted the Greek polytheistic gods, they tended to just
incorporate most other gods of people that they conquered.
With a few exceptions, like the Celtic Druids who were all but
wiped out, cultures that were added to the Empire were allowed
to bring their particular religious beliefs in as well. This led to
a wide variety of different cults and religions being practiced
The cult of Isis is mostly a mystery. But
throughout the empire. Not only did this make it difficult to
followers believed that like Isis, certain
unite
people
in
a
common direction, some of them participated in highly
“power words” would give
questionable
moral
practices. The Greek, Cult of Dionysus, for example,
practitioners power over life and death.
encouraged its followers to escape from the miseries of life by consuming large
volumes of wine and dancing around a bonfire until they saw visions of their god.
The only thing that all Romans were required to practice was the Cult of the Emperor. The
official religion of Rome stated that the Emperor was a god. Although many emperors practiced
this in death only, meaning they didn’t really expect people to consider them a god until after they
died, other emperors fully expected people to treat them as a god on earth. Unfortunately, some of
these same emperors were also horrible role models when it came to moral behavior. Emperors
who openly participated in murder, sexual deviance, and extreme gluttony did little to provide
guidance and direction.
Jews and the Roman Empire
Among the peoples in the empire were the Jews. By 63 B.C., the Romans had conquered Palestine,
where most Jews of the time lived, and made it into the province of Judea. As with other citizens of the
empire, the Romans tolerated the Jews’ religion. They even excused the Jews from worshiping Roman
gods. They knew that to do so would violate the Jewish faith, which was based on belief in one God.
Among the Jews themselves, however, religious ferment was creating deep divisions. During the
Hellenistic age, many Jews absorbed Greek customs and ideas. Now, having been conquered by the
Romans, Jewish leaders feared for more weakening of their culture. Jewish reformers began to call for a
return to strict obedience to Jewish laws and traditions. An especially radical group, called the Zealots,
even called on Jews to revolt against Rome and reestablish an independent Israel. Some Jews believed
that a messiah, or savior sent by God, would soon appear to lead the Jewish people to freedom.
In A.D. 66, discontent did finally flare into rebellion. Roman forces crushed the rebels, captured
Jerusalem, and destroyed the Jewish temple. When revolts broke out again in the next century,
Roman armies leveled Jerusalem. Thousands of Jews were killed in the fighting. Faced with the
destruction that resulted from the rebellions, growing numbers of Jews decided to leave Judea,
where they survived in scattered communities around the Mediterranean.
The Birth of Christianity
Before that rebellion, however, the Jewish religion
saw the creation of a new sect, or group, of Judaism
which would over time become its own major religion.
This newest of cults spread slowly throughout the
empire. Many blamed it for the final destruction of
Rome because it so radically changed the morals and
values of what was considered to be traditional Roman
culture. But, more people saw it as the final savior of
Rome. Today, it is the major world religion of
Christianity, and is one of the most significant
contributions remaining from the Roman Empire.
Its founder was a Jew named Jesus. What little we
know about the life of Jesus comes from the Gospels.
These accounts were attributed by early Christians to
four followers of Jesus. Jesus was born about 4 B.C. in
Bethlehem, near Jerusalem. According to the Gospels, an
Jesus’ performance of miracles, like healing the
angel had told Jesus’ mother, Mary that she would give birth to the
sick, attracted a following in the province of
messiah. “He will be great,” said the angel, “and will be called the Son
Judea
of the Most High God.”
Growing up, Jesus worshiped God and followed Jewish law. As a young man, he worked as a
carpenter. At the age of 30, the Gospels relate, he began preaching to villagers near the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus’ teachings were firmly rooted in Jewish tradition. Jesus believed in one God and accepted the Ten
Commandments. He preached strict obedience to the laws of Moses and defended the teachings of the
Jewish prophets. Large crowds gathered to hear him especia1ly when word spread that he performed
miracles of healing.
At the same time, Jesus preached new beliefs. After three years, Jesus and his disciples, or loyal
followers, went to Jerusalem to spread his message there. According to his followers, he called himself
the Son of God and declared that he was the messiah whose appearance Jews had long predicted. His
mission, he proclaimed, was to bring spiritual salvation and eternal life to anyone who would believe in
him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summed up his ethical message, which echoed Jewish ideas
of mercy and sympathy for the poor and helpless: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the
Earth. . . . Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy... . Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called the children of God.”. Jesus rejected the principle of “an eye for an eye.”
Instead, he preached forgiveness. “Love your enemies,” he told his followers. “If anyone hits you on
one cheek, let him hit the other one, too.”
Some Jews welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem. Others, however, regarded him as a dangerous
troublemaker. Jewish priests, in particular, felt that he was challenging their leadership. To the Roman
authorities, Jesus was a revolutionary who might lead the Jews in a rebellion against Roman rule.
Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples, the Gospels state. Arrested by the Romans, he was tried and
condemned to be crucified. In crucifixion, a Roman method of execution, a person was nailed to a cross
and left to die. Jesus’ disciples were thrown into confusion. But then rumors spread through Jerusalem
that Jesus was not dead at all. His disciples, the Gospels say, saw and talked with Jesus, who had risen
from the dead. He commanded them to spread his teachings. Then he ascended into heaven.
At first, Christianity remained a sect, or small group, within Judaism. The disciples who spread
Jesus’ message are known as the Apostles, from the Greek word meaning “a person sent forth.” Some
preached among the Jews of Judea. Others traveled to the communities of the Jewish diaspora, including
Rome. Slowly, a few Jews accepted the teaching that Jesus was the messiah, or the Christ, from the Greek
for “the anointed one.” These people became the first Christians.
The Growth of Christianity
It was the apostle Paul, a Jew from Asia Minor, who began the
wider spread of the new faith. Paul had never seen Jesus. In fact, he
had been among those who persecuted Jesus’ followers. Then one
day, Paul had a vision in which Jesus spoke to him. Immediately
converting to the new faith, Paul made an important decision. He
would spread Jesus’ teachings beyond Jewish communities to
gentiles, or non-Jews. With this decision, Christianity was now
open to people who were not the “Chosen People”. Thus, they
could no longer consider themselves to be part of the Jewish faith.
Thus, they went from being a branch of Judaism, to its own
religion. However, at this point, its followers were so small and
unknown that Rome considered them to be no more than just
another of many mysterious eastern cults.
Paul’s missionary work set Christianity on the road to becoming
a world religion. A tireless traveler, Paul set up churches from
Mesopotamia to Rome. In long letters to the Christian communities, he explained and expanded Christian
teachings. For example, he emphasized the idea that Jesus had sacrificed his life out of love for
humankind. Paul promised that those who believed Jesus was the son of God and followed his teachings
would achieve salvation, or eternal life.
These beliefs put them into direct conflict with the Empire. Rome’s tolerant attitude toward
religion did not extend to Christianity. Roman officials suspected Christians of disloyalty to Rome
because they refused to make sacrifices to the emperor or to honor the Roman gods. When
Christians met in secret to avoid persecution, rumors spread that they were engaged in evil practices. The
practice of Baptism was reported as Christians drowning babies. The Eucharist, where Christians
consume the body and blood of Jesus, was believed to be a practice of cannibalism. But mostly, Romans
just did not trust the pacifist message of the Christians. The belief of “turn the other cheek” was just too
strange of a concept for Romans who preferred a preemptive kick in the groin if you even thought your
enemy might slap you in the cheek.
Not all Emperors sought to destroy Christianity.
When times were good, Christians were treated with
tolerance. However, in times of trouble, persecution
increased. Roman rulers like Nero used Christians as
scape goats, blaming them for a fire that destroyed large
portions of the city (Even though in fact he probably had
the fire started to make way for a new imperial palace).
Over the centuries, thousands of Christians became
martyrs, people who suffer or die for their beliefs.
Among them was Paul, who was killed during the reign
of Nero. Most gladiator game days began with
Christians being fed to wild beasts or burned alive for
the crowd’s entertainment. It also sent the message that
this was one religion you did not want to be a part of.
Rome’s plan to eliminate Christianity backfired. Despite the attacks, Christianity continued
to spread. The reasons were many. Jesus had welcomed all people, especially the humble, poor, and
oppressed. They found comfort in his message of love and of a better life beyond the grave. The
risk of burning at the stake was a small price to pay to end an otherwise miserable existence in
return for the promise of an eternal paradise.
Christianity also attracted the educated members of Roman society. As they did their work,
Christian missionaries like Paul added ideas from Plato, the Stoics, and other Greek thinkers to Jesus’
message. Educated Romans, in particular, were attracted to a religion that incorporated the discipline and
moderation of Greek philosophy. Women also had reasons to find this new religion. Many welcomed its
promise that in the Church “there is neither Jew nor Greek . . . neither slave nor free. . . neither male nor
female.” In early Christian communities, women served as teachers and administrators. Even when they
were later barred from any official role in the Church, they still worked to win converts and supported
Christian communities across the Roman world.
The persecution of the Christians in the arena’s had the
Constantine claimed that his
exact opposite impact than what the Emperors planned.
victory at Milvan Bridge was due
Instead of resisting or crying out in pain, many Christian
to Divine intervention. Judea
martyrs met their end in silent prayer. Observing the willingness
of Christians to die for their religion, Romans were impressed by
the strength of their belief. Instead of turning Romans away from
the religion, they wanted to know more about what gave its
followers such strength.
As the empire grew older, and its problems more severe, more
and more people turned away from the old beliefs and converted to
Christianity. The emperor Diocletian, made an attempt to unite the
people of Rome in 303 A.D. by declaring that all Romans must
practice one religion. And that one religion would be the old, state
religion where he was the god. Thus began the last and greatest of
the persecutions where it is estimated over 20,000 Christians were
crucified. But it did not work.
In 312 A.D., Diocletian’s successor, Constantine also
attempted to unite the people of Rome behind him. But instead of
fighting the Christians, he joined them. After a great victory in
which he claimed to have seen a great cross in the sky with the words “In this sign you shall be
victorious”, he converted to Christianity. It probably didn’t hurt that his wife and mother were already
Christians. Thus Constantine became the first Christian Emperor. One year later he issued the Edict of
Milan, which granted religious freedom to all. Although Constantine did not make Christianity the
official religion of Rome,( that would not happen until the emperor Theodosius in 379 AD), he would go
on to have a significant impact on the shaping of Christianity as an official religion.
It is difficult to say what role the conversion of Rome to Christianity played in its downfall. Some
believe that Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend
against the barbarian attackers. Also money used to build churches could have been used to maintain the
empire. Although some argue that Christianity may have provided some morals and values for a declining
civilization and therefore may have actually prolonged the imperial era. Furthermore, since it is still with
us today, one could argue it is one aspect of the Roman Empire that never did die out, but still lives on.
The Final Fall (A.D. 337–476)
The ultimate cause of the fall of Rome, at least western Rome, was due to the violent and hostile
migrations of the Germanic people. But, keep in mind that the Germanic people would have never
been able to invade Rome, if Rome was not already weak from its own social, economic and political
problems. In short, the Germans succeeded because the Romans no longer had the funds or desire
to resist.
The Germans were not new to the Romans.
The Romans had been dealing with the
Germans since the days of Augustus and
Caesar’s newly acquired lands in Gaul first
bordered up against the Germans. In 9 A.D.,
Augustus sent his general, Varus, to subjugate a
tribe of Germans only to have 3 legions
ambushed and slaughtered in the Teutoburg
Forest. After that incident the Romans
determined that the German tribes were not to
be conquered and admitted into the empire, but
instead shunned and kept out at all costs.
Frankly, the Germans scared the Romans. Thus
the Romans shunned them, called them
barbarians and considered them animals that
needed to be kept out of house. In reality
Nearly 20,000 Roman soldiers were slaughtered in an
ambush in the thick forests of Teutoburg.
though, the Germanic culture contained many
elements that we would recognize today.
Germanic Culture
The Germanic peoples had no written language, therefore most of what we know about them
comes to us from Roman accounts. Because the Germans were so different then the Romans, much of
what the Romans said about them was very biased. First, the Germans were physically different. They
were much larger than the Mediterranean Romans. Whereas Romans kept their hair neat and trim,
Germans saw long hair and beards as a sign of masculinity. Romans lived in stone, orderly cities.
Because Germania was heavily forested, the Germans tended to live in small isolated villages of wooden
structures. Romans heated their homes with fires kept burning day
and night with slave labor. Germans used their animals to keep their
homes warm. Romans drank wine. Germans drank beer – lots of it!
All day drinking bouts were a common entertainment in the long dark
winters of the north.
Some aspects of German culture we would recognize as more
civilized than the Romans. For instance, the Germans highly valued
family. German men and women monogamous, meaning they were
faithful to each other in marriage. In Rome it was common for
patricians to not only have a wife, but many other loves as well.
German ties between parents and child were very strong, unlike in
Rome where a Roman father might go years without seeing his
children or would have them sent off to be raised by other families.
German society had few social classes. Guests were treated with great
hospitality and it was against the law to turn away a person in need. Although they did have slaves, these
slaves were defeated enemies who were for the most part respected and valued. They were given the jobs
of farming as punishment for having been defeated in battle.
In many ways, German society was more democratic than Roman society. The basic unit in
German society was the family. A group of families formed a clan. Larger groups organized themselves
into tribes, governed by a chieftain and a tribal council called a Witan. The chieftain was elected by the
Witan. All the adult males, except slaves, belonged to the council, which discussed tribal policies. To
show their agreement with the chieftain, the German warriors clashed their shields. German law was
considered to come from the people. A chieftain could not change a law without the permission of the
people. If a person broke a law they were tried by a judge and a jury of their peers – much like we do
today.
But most of all, the Germans were a warrior society. German males were warriors and they prized
the values of courage and loyalty. Each German military leader was followed into battle by his own band
of warriors who were linked to him by a personal pledge of loyalty. The Romans called this warrior band
a comitatus (kah rnuh-TAH---tuss) The leader of the comitatus saw that his warriors were provided with
food, weapons, and shelter and that they received a share of the land and wealth gained in battle. In
return, each member of the comitatus pledged to fight to the death alongside his leader. It was considered
a disgrace to survive a battle in which the leader of the comitatus died.
The Germanic Invasions
The Romans considered the Germans to be uncivilized. The Germans, in contrast, were very much
attracted to Roman culture, land and wealth. Their hopes to live peacefully within the borders of the
Roman Empire throughout the 1st and 2nd century A.D. were shunned as the Roman army went to great
lengths to keep the Germans behind the Danube and Rhone river. Roman generals did, however, develop
a respect and admiration for the fighting abilities of the German warriors.
In the third century, as the Roman army began to suffer from a lack of soldiers and money to
pay them, the Romans developed a new strategy with regards to the German warriors. Limited
numbers of friendlier tribes were allowed to settle in the empire in exchange for military service.
The Romans figured that the best way to fight a German, was with other Germans. And, they were
cheaper since they didn’t have to pay them. As the empire further declined, the Romans were
forced to recruit more and more German warriors. By the end of the fourth century the bulk of the
Roman troops in western Europe
were Germanic, and it was their duty to protect the frontiers against other Germanic invaders.
Conflict between the Romans and Germans finally came to a head at the end of 4th century,
surprisingly due to a change in weather conditions in China. A period of cooling temperatures caused
large droughts and a change in the way of life of a group of nomadic herders in Northern China. To
survive, they tried to escape into the Han Dynasty but were turned back by the Great Wall. These people,
who would come to be known as the Huns, had no choice but to turn west. Crossing the mighty
Himalayas and the vast steppes of Russia, they emerged into the fertile wooded world of Eastern Europe
in 372 A.D. These skilled fighters, mounted on horseback, quickly conquered the East Germans, or
Ostrogoths (OS-truh-goths). Then they settled temporarily in what is now Hungary, raiding southward
and westward.
The Hun advance spread terror among
other Germanic tribes. People in the west had
never seen people with Asiatic features, let
alone Asians who were rarely seen off
horseback. Many Germans thought they
were in fact a breed of centaur, half man –
half horse. If the Germans were considered
uncivilized, then the Huns were considered
absolute savages. Huns marked the scene
of raids and battles by impaling the heads
of their victims on spears, or just by
stacking hundreds of skulls into large
mounds. What was truly terrifying about
the Huns is that they seemed to have no
desire to ever stop fighting. They had no
desire to settle down and become farmers. In
fact, Hun cuisine consisted of placing a large
slab of raw meat between their horses back
and their saddle. As they rode around all day,
the meat would “cook” in the horse sweat.
The great Hun horde had no real leadership or
government but was merely a vast mob that
wanted to raid villages, steal and kill, and then
move on to do it again.
The Hun invasion of Germania did not
directly harm the Romans. What it did was
send the Germans fleeing into Rome. The
German
respect
for the Roman army was nothing compared
Alaric enters Rome
to their fear of the Huns. Especially considering that
most of the Roman army now consisted of fellow
Germans.
Rome however had little sympathy for the
Germans. One nation of Germans who were allowed
to enter Rome as refugees, were the Visigoths, or the
West Goths. Because of their previous good relations
with the Romans, they were allowed to settle in camps
in northern Greece. The Roman officials who were
supposed to help care for the refugees instead used the
opportunity to take advantage of them. Beef that was
supposed to feed the Visigoths was sold instead and
replaced with dog meat. Then the officials would
force the Visigoths to trade their children for the dog
meat. The children were then sold in to slavery. The
Visigoths revolted. The emperor, Valens, tried to subdue the Germans, but was soundly defeated at the
battle of Adrianople in 378 AD. The Visigoths fought as people who had nothing to lose, whereas the
Romans were mostly made up of Germanic soldiers who had little loyalty to an empire who were abusing
their own people.
For many, Adrianople marked a turning point for the Roman Empire. The army could no longer be
counted on to keep them safe. Things were only going to get worse. In the winter of 406, the Rhone
River froze for the first time in Roman history. With no natural barrier between them and the empire,
German tribes began to pour into the west taking lands by force that the Romans would not let them have
out of mercy. In 410 A.D., Rome itself was attacked and plundered by the leader of the Visigoths.
Alaric had at one time been an officer in the Roman army. But when he was overlooked for a promotion,
he returned to his own people, vowing to get even with the Romans. Although his sacking of Rome only
lasted one week, the message was clear. The Roman army and government could no longer save the
west. The people were on their own.
The Visigoths continued westward, they settled in southern France and Spain. Another German
tribe, the Vandals, swept through France and Spain, then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to conquer Roman
North Africa. The destruction they left behind was so great that the word vandal has come to mean
someone who thoughtlessly destroys property. Another Germanic tribe, the Burgundians took over
eastern Gaul, while northern Gaul fell to the Franks. From the bordering lands of modern Germany
and Denmark, Jutes, Angles, and Saxons sailed to Britain. Meanwhile, Italy was overrun by Ostrogoths.
In 451 A.D. the Huns returned. And this time they headed for Rome
itself, under the leadership of Attila. Although his name really meant “Little
Daddy”, he was more commonly referred to in Rome as “the scourge of
God”. Faced by a common danger, the Romans and Germans formed an
alliance and defeated the invaders at the battle of Châlons (sha-LON). With
westward movement prevented,
Attila retreated to Italy where he sacked a number of Italian cities. Then he
marched on Rome. Mysteriously, he never attacked the city itself. The
Romans claimed they were saved by the head of the Christian Church, Pope
Leo I, who asked Attilla to leave in God’s name. And he miraculously did.
It is also believed that Attilla’s army was suffering from an outbreak of
plague and he had no choice but to retreat. Attila died shortly
afterward,(from a nose bleed on his wedding night) and the Huns were
driven back toward Asia.
We won’t ever really know what
Attila looked like, but the
Romans envisioned that he had
horns.
With
the
Hun
menace ended, the
Germanic tribes were free
to move against the
Western Roman Empire.
The Vandals sailed from
North Africa, raided Italy,
and sacked Rome in 455
A.D. Italy was plunged
into chaos. For the next
twenty years a series of
weak emperors followed
in rapid succession, none
reigning more than a few
years. These emperors
were only figureheads for
the real power lay with the
barbarian generals and
their armies. In 475 A.D.
one of these generals
placed his young son, Romulus, on the throne. The following year the young emperor was deposed by an
Ostrogoth general, Odoacer (oe-doe-AY-sur), and the line of Roman emperors in the West came to an
end. This event, which occurred in 476 A.D., is commonly said to mark the fall of the Western Roman
Empire.