What had led to Rome's decline, who caused it, why, and how?

Question

HELP!!!!!!

Answer 1

TERM PAPER

The powerful city that stood high up on the most elevated of the Seven Hills, the Palatine Hill, where it gazed with awe upon the glorious lands that encompassed it. The minute civilization that Rome conceived matured into a mammoth size territory that encompassed nearly 3000 square miles of fecund land that plunges into the “Mare Nostrum,” meaning “Our Sea,” better known as the Mediterranean Sea. The military that guarded this continental mass was strong, efficient, brave, courageous, brutal, ruthless, and nearly undefeated. The culture and history of these Roman people is probably capable of filling the whole Library at Alexandria complete. This greatness never ceased to be in 476 AD. The successor(s) of this republic turned empire incorporated their culture into the Romans to add to its wealth history. Rome fell over time as a result of internal issues affecting the Empire politically, socially, and economically.
Unlike his father’s (Marcus Aurelius) reign, Commodus’s rule never helped the Roman Empire, it merely hurt it and in affect help initiate the slow collapse of the Roman Empire. He was nothing like his father. He was a selfish, greedy, spoiled, careless, ruthless, heartless, and indeed corrupt party pleaser. He permitted barbarians to live within the empire to maintain peace. He did the exact opposite of what many Romans knew what was best for society. He was no leader whatsoever, he had no leadership at all. He wasted massive sums of precious money on himself. That money could’ve funded ventures that would help educate, employ, and house the public. He killed thousands of people for the most outrageous reasons therefore destroyed thousands of lives, resources, and impairing the economy. Most of these people would have been common town folk such as merchants, artisans, and farmers. The amount of products used for trade decreased because the people making them are gone. He hurt the economy severely by depleting the amount of capital in circulation.
Despite being a good leader with a military background, Severus Septimus did less damage than Commodus, but nevertheless harmed the Empire, especially the economy. Septimus Severus was the only victorious one of several army generals who sought the throne after Commodus’s assassination in 192 AD. Septimus was a strong, strict, disciplined good leader who retruned both order to society and the Germans to their homes. Severus however, didn’t repair the economy which suffered terribly. He furthered its toll on people. Less food was grown which led to higher food prices and more famines, which diminished trade. The food shortage can be partly attributed to a declining population. Since the amount of gold and silver lessened, coins began to be have less and less gold and silver therefore increasing the devaluation of money by a lot. The amount of goods sold decreased because of less valuable money which translated into very hungry stomachs. Severus also increased the army size to 36 legions, making that 180,000 armed forces and increased their salaries. Money was wasted on soldiers, which could have been beneficial to other projects therefore improving the lives of others by giving them an opportunity to make the best of their life.
The rise of the Latifundia hurt the Roman economy and government. Latifundias are massive estates of fertile land acquired during the conquering of new territories such as the Carthaginian Empire. They were bought by the wealthy, sometimes generals, but mostly senators. The unsanitary conditions in the city discouraged the rich mass of the city who began to populate these Latifundias. They were productable and cheap therefore making capital gain quick and nearly laborless. Owners plowed their proceeds in purchasing new adjacent lands. Soon they owned a good majority of the arable land available in the Empire. Pliny the Elder, “reported that at one point just 5 owners possessed half of the province of Africa.” The wealthy generally controlled much of trade, commerce and the money of the Empire. They became richer while the working poor became poorer increasing the fiscal and social gap between the two groups. Small farmers who were unable to compete with these people therefore they had little or no income. The Latifundia functioned like monopolies that controlled what the government should’ve. The government, nor the economy was rewarded with any revenue from the sales. Therefore the government has no money to spend. The economy declines because money isn’t being circulated. The government gain a bad reputation because they are unable to maintain and facilitate the basic needs of society. These Latifundias were protected from Barbarians and hungry tax collectors. The Latifundia removed the meaning of city. A city was like an expanded massive university, a breeding place to assimilate all kinds of disciplines and use them advantageously. Now these rural areas began to “universitilize,” if you will.
“Panem et Circum,” better known as Bread and Circus encouraged decay among the common folk and hurt the economy. It was a technique used by the administration to appease the mass to prevent revolts and uprisings, to give them a fake sense of happiness, and unburden themselves of citizen complaints, and prevent crime since the poor were fed. With the belief of expecting service, people waited to receive it in lieu of earning it. People became spoiled and their code of discipline was lost. This party pleaser increased people’s dependency on others qualifying them as unable to survive. “Roman citizens became increasingly addicted to free distributions of food…Romans had lost the capacity to govern themselves so distracted by mindless self-gratification.” It was also a massive loss of money which prevented society from functioning properly because no one was satisfied.
The Urban decay of the population led to a variety of negative effects on the empire as a whole. The declining population was caused by several things. The plague destroyed one third of the total population , lead aqueducts and utensils led to lead poisoning which caused brain damage and killed; the increase in homosexuality produced no kids, the spread of venereal disease due to a lack of sanitation tortured the immune system to death and produced a lineage of damaged kids likely to have the same fate as their parents but more quicker; civil wars and stupid and insane battles fought by the civilians stole a myriad of lives. Several lives are tortured because of this decline, there’s not enough people in the military, there’s a person deficiency in all jobs which translates into a lack of trade which causes a failing economy. The person crisis causes a lack of intelligence, power, and leadership, ingenuity fails because great philosophical minds are not born. A Christian priest, Salvian wrote in his book, Of God’s Government, in 440 AD, “The Romans oppress each other with exaction nay, not each other; it would be quite tolerable, if each suffered what he inflicted. They doubtless seek Roman humanity among the barbarians, because they cannot bear barbarian inhumanity among the Romans. And although they differ from the people to Whom they flee in manner and in language; although they are unlike as regards the fetid odor of the barbarians’ bodies and garments, yet they would rather endure a foreign civilization among the barbarians than cruel injustice among the Romans.”
Declining moral cohesiveness that once helped create the Empire no helped make the existing population lazy and inefficient. There are many values that the Romans built their land upon, they include pietas (Roman ideal-loyalty to government, family, community and government) , mens sana in copore sano (sound mind in a sound body, physically fit, discipline, self improvement in body and mind), Noblesse Oblige (feelings of duty and obligation to state and society; values this great civilization) , and romanitas (sense of being Roman). These morals which laid the foundation, slowly eroded away granting the monumental structure to fall with a big aftermath. This moral decay led to a lack of discipline among leaders of all walks of life including landlords who were becoming corrupt. These landlords had poor housing for tenants which was dangerous because they were feeble, fire hazardous, and decayed over time. The apartments were built on greed. Since the house has an unstable foundation, the tenements were probably built with material of inferior quality by slaves. Therefore the owner gets a lot done for a little money.
The immense amount of political corruption in the armies weathered the political stamina of Rome. The armies were loyal to the generals, not Rome. Therefore the generals can use the army in any way they desired. Various generals and troops became increasingly greedy. This spurred the birth of a series of civil wars for the throne. This is corruption because the generals are not executing the Emperor’s orders, they are capturing their wants, they are doing it for pride. Thousands of lives are eliminated as well as the destruction of mass infrastructure. The politically instability and chaos hurt the economy. Everyone is making reforms and they aren’t helping, they only hurt everything else. During the Third Century Crisis, the amount of silver in a coin was reduced to a minute 5%. The lack of control over the land is advertising for Germanic invasions to eat away at its meat. Military strength is greatly decreased. The government controls everything. With the government functioning incorrectly and improperly, all other components of society will tumble down. A corrupt and instable government hurts a society by preventing everyone from functioning properly and doing their duty. The rule of law is very significant and is undermined. It’s imperative because it’s what makes use of society, it gives societal members a blueprint of their niche and life. Law is the glue that binds everyone together. With that glue disintegrating, so does society. Corruption creates a society ‘behind the scenes’ (other people turning to corruption to make the best of the situation- subversion) and further begets more evil destruction to a society.
Diocletian implemented various reforms which to an extent revolutionized the structure of the Empire. Diocletian was a military general who renovated the Imperial Court, reorganized territory, restructures the military strategy, establishes job based on heredity, designs the Tetrarchy, launches Edict on Prices, splits the Empire, sets up other economic reforms including a new tax system and made the senate immune from paying taxes. “The inner sanctum of the ‘sacred chamber’ was attended by a corps of eunuchs who, despite their servile birth and barbarian origins, were persons of some political consequence, since they controlled access to the emperor. The emperor’s person was guarded by a corps of officer cadets, selected from the ranks of the army and destined after service on the staff to be promoted tribunes of units closely attached to the emperor were the secretariats, under the control of the Master of the Sacred Memory, apparently a private secretary; the Master of Studies, how seems to have controlled the registries and archives; the Master of Latin and Greek Letters, who drafter outgoing correspondences in the two languages, and the Master of Petitions, who prepared to complaints and requests from subject. The personnel of the secretariats was controlled by …the Tribune and Master of the Offices, who also had charge of the offices which arranged audiences with the emperor and organized his itinerary and a body of interpreters to deal with foreign envoys.” That was an excerpt describing in rather complete detail the arrangement of the new imperial impressive court. The fifty extant provinces were split into one hundred which were combined into thirteen dioceses. “These were administered by a centrally appointed bureaucracy designed to monitor local decurions’ conduct. The bureaucracy created a link between outlying religious and central Rome curtailing powers of political rivals and increasing efficiency.” The military strategy was revolutionized. It was based on the belief that the Empire’s lines will be semi-permeable. However the invaders that flow through the border can be overpowered with some quick army personnel. Therefore, little armies were spread all throughout which had no cavalry known as vexillationes. Two legions called the comitatus defended the court with the help of Scholae, composed of cavalry troops. The Tetarchy was a system that had two Augusti and two Caesars. One Augustus and one Caesar would rule the land together after the split. Because coinage was devalued greatly, taxes were collected through material items, indiction. The value the indiction was unknown, therefore Diocletian initiated a consensus to asses the approximate value of these items. This helped regulate tax collection as well as organize it. It gave the administration an expected amount of money so that would be spent according to their planning. The Edict on Prices claimed “with mankind itself now appearing before praying for release, we have decreed that there be established a maximum, so that when the violence of high prices appears anywhere may the gods avert such a calamity!” The second, seventh and fifth reforms were initiated to help rule more efficiently and effectively. By allowing more people to oversee large amounts of land, everything goes faster and is more fruitful. The third reforms protected the land against he Barbarians. The fourth one was done to ensure a constant supply of food and men of a certain class. The sixth was a decree made by Diocletain establishing the high price of goods in the Roman Empire. It was done to decrease inflation and to stabilize the economy. If anyone didn’t follow it, they were slaughtered. The fifth one was done to have a standard method for choosing the emperors and to avoid the chaos of the Third Century, (The Barracks Emperors- ones who served the government for less than four years)
Diocetian’s initiatives were both successful and unsuccessful which hurt Rome because nothing was done to repair the deep wounds. The Edict on Prices made too much blood sink into the lands of Rome therefore it was abolished four yeas after it was launched.. the Tetarchy failed because of a competitive, greedy, ambitious, insane spirit. There was a power struggle among Constantine’s side of the family and so the Tetarchy failed. The Split put Rome into economic depression, Rome couldn’t rely on the East for help and resources anymore therefore depleting the strength it has and decreasing its successful years. The new court system was a great achievement displaying a vast amount of order, organization, and cooperation and complexity.
The lack of “real” Roman soldiers during the Third Century Crisis and after 340 AD encouraged the collapse of the Roman Empire. Since there was a lack of soldiers non-Romans were paid to defend the order in addition to lower class people being soldiers. The new mercenaries who may have never had prior training wouldn’t have the loyalty/patriotism to Rome that previous soldiers had. They’re only fighting for the money therefore they’re not going to do their job to the best of their ability. The non-Romans manipulate the Romans by not performing efficiently. It’s human nature to an extent but it’s also why people don’t do their jobs correctly, which is that humans are lazy. If humans do a really good job defending the state, they might die in battle and they’re not willing to do that. The new soldiers especially the Roman citizens didn’t really comprehend Rome’s focus to protect and maintain order and increase peace. This was mostly due to the fact that the in whole, entire lives were based on trying on trying to survive by growing food and farming. They didn’t have the time or luxury to think about Rome’s glory and safety. They’re trying to protect themselves. During the third century AD, the army was no longer loyal and disciplined. Soldiers were dedicated to their commanders, not Rome who warred against each other for the throne.25 of 37 Barrack Emperors from 230-285 ruled by an oppressive hand. This shows that there was massive political instability. If there wasn’t political chaos, the emperor who controls the land the people lived on wouldn’t be murdered by other military generals. This is also an example of corruption in the political arena. Commanders fighting against each other for the same prize. The generals weren’t taking care of the society, but of their needs, therefore they did not carry out the emperor’s decision, but indulged themselves in affairs that increased their power and status. Herodian, a possible Syrian discusses what maximum’s force looted in Aquileia in 238. “Friday the houses of the suburbs deserted they cut down all the vines and trees, set some on fire, and made a shambles of the once thriving countryside. After destroying all this to the root, the army pressed on to the walls and strove to demolish at least some part of the wall so that they might break in and sack everything, razing the city and leaving the land a deserted pasturage.”
Constantine’s reform to change to capital city of the Roman Empire to Byzantium hurt Rome politically and economically. With the capital moving, so would the wealthy and a good majority of the important people. This leaves Rome with less political power because less people of political importance are present. It leave Rome with a paining economy because a lot of capital is removed, and a lot of jobs are loss because of that and there is a decrease in the amount of money in circulation therefore leading to a economic downfall.
Despite various other reasons, the political structure of the Roman Empire collapsed over item as a result of national dilemmas. The Romans left a powerful legacy with their ideas composing the foundations of many western countries. The legal language as well as the scientific language is the language of the Romans, Latin. Ultimately, the Roman Empire was one of the most valorous civilizations that ever existed. It will fill pages and pages of culture and history and makes one truly understand the meaning of being Roman.

http://www.answers.com/topic/latifundia
www.thomasjamesmontin.com/breadcircus.htm

http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~klio/wc05/20-fall&barbarian.htm
http://isthmia.osu.edu/teg/hist50303/readings17.htm
http://cato.org%2Fpubs%2Fjournal%2Fcjv14n2-7.html
Nardo, Don., World History Series: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (San Diego, Lucent Books) 1998 p. 37

http://sparknotes.com/history/european/rome4/section2.rhtml

Nardo, Don., World History Series: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 45.
Nardo, Don., World History Series: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire., p.32-33.


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www.sparknotes.com/history/european/rome4/section1.rhtml
www.sparknotes.com/history/european/rome4/section2.rhtml
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www.thomasjamesmontin.com/breadcircus.htm
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~klio/wc05/20-fall&barbarian.htm
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Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor, World History: Connections to Today. (Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall) 2003.
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Welch, Kathryn, The Romans. (New York, Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.) 1998.

Answer 2

Causes for Rome's decline are still debated. The short answer is poor governance by a series of bad emperors, combined with a large, unchecked migration of Germanic tribes into the empire circa 376 AD. These Germanic incursions shattered an over-extended government weakened by corruption and catastrophic military reverses (the most significant of which was the defeat of the Roman Emperor Valens' legions at the Battle of Hadrianople, Oct 3, 378 AD) The traditional date for the fall of Rome is August, 410 AD (the Goths sacked the city of Rome). This date, however, is somewhat arbitary, as the central government in the west didn't reach it 's full demise until about 476 AD. In addition, the "Eastern Empire," centered in Constantinople, lasted until it's capture by the Turks in 1453. The last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire was Romulus Augustulus. He was deposed by the Hun Chief Odoacer.

Answer 3

Rome replaced into turning out to be exhausted and his voters had lost their "Roman distinctive function" and had long gone over to the forged and complication-free life. Their military replaced into run by ability of foreigners and so have been the infantrymen,mercenaries who enlisted for the money. The Empire replaced into too massive to hold directly to in a worldwide the place peoples and tribes surrounding their borders have been on the capture for quite the pie. interior the occupied territories people paid heavy taxes to Rome and the belief of having rid of those replaced into truly captivating to them,so as that they on occasion supported the could-be invaders and subsequently created further and extra issues for the already exhausted and not so keen infantrymen. great empires consistently decline as quickly as they have reached the top of glory,no longer something is to be finished to any extent further,the only way from there is downwards.

Answer 4

There entire army had to be spaced out to thin. Plus they were rich in gold that a lot of barbarian tribes had their eyes on. They saw their opportunity and consumed the Roman Empire. The Goths, Visigoths, Huns, and Vandals are the main tribes responsible. BTW if anyone says wikipedia, all that stuff might not be true b/c it lets ANYONE put something up there.

Answer 5

Basically, the Romans took over more land than they could defend. There were revolutions all across the Empire, and they couldn't get troops into position fast enough to put them down. The Empire's borders slowly shrank until present-day Italy Italy and Germany were all that remained.

Answer 6

They ate too much spaghetti. Oh, sorry, "pasta."