Fall Of Rome?

Question

If these factors had not been present, do you think the Barbarian tribes may not have been able to topple Rome?
a.) The tyranical leadership in the last third of the empire?
b.) The empire being divided into two capitols?
c.) The empire embracing Christianity?

or were the Barbarian invasions destined?

Answer 1

A. of the three, probably had the biggest impact. The Central authority of Rome had swollen to a crushingly huge size. Onerous taxation starved the middle class out of existence. Arbitrary economic laws prevented class mobility, and tied people to their landlords, effectively starting feudalism. Rampant inflation destroyed the currency, making barter the preferred method of trade, and making it extraordinary for the state to collect revenue. The new feudal society was much feebler economically than the market economy of the Pax Romana era, but the expenses of the imperial court and the army were exploding. The infrastructure of the empire became dilapitated, and the legions became little more than conscript hordes and federated Germans. With an increasingly poor empire, resources weren't there to protect the whole of the empire, sowing the seeds for rebellion after rebellion, which gradually sapped Rome of its wealth.

B. This was actually part of the reforms of Diocletian. Though Diocletian was the founder of the tyrannical Dominate, his reforms did establish some semblance of order. The naming of two emperors was probably a wise move, as now the German and the Sassanid threat could be dealt with separately.

C. This, of course, depends on who you ask. According to Edward Gibbon, Christianity sapped the people's martial vigor, by convincing them to focus on their rewards in heaven, rather than their duties on Earth. In the 4th century, the only Italians were the generals, most soldiers were Gallic or German. Italians went to extraordinary lengths to avoid service, many cutting off their thumbs to medically disqualify themself. By 400 A.D, there probably wasn't a single Italian in the entire army. It was all federated German tribes, which in practice were autonomous states both within the empire and on the battlefield. When the gothic warlord Alaric sacked Rome in 410, most of his soldiers were Roman disserters who had defected after Stilicho, the German generalissimo of the Roman army, was assassinated. After the sack, St. Augustine wrote "City of God", which told Romans not to be angry about their hurt prides, noting that the churches were unscathed. This effectively dissipated any angst the Romans had about being invaded, which is a stark contrast to their behavior after the sack of 384 B.C

Answer 2

c.) I think that the empire had already embraced christianity. And one of the reasons to build a new capital (b) is to leave back the sinful old-one.
a.) That seems inevitable. The vastness of the Roman empire could'nt be supported in any other way than in collecting all the authorities to a single person. The decisions were to be made fast and absolute in order to run such a territory. (here comes another reason for the second capital, the more efficient way dealing with matters of the East side)
Democracy was born in Athens, with the ideal of full participation of every citizen into the governing process. Inherited by Romans, transformed to Republica, made some compromises to that ideal, as of it wasn't applicable any more (empire growing).
As I see it, the rule of rise and fall applied here as well as in every political/social/civil structure in history. If these three factors had not been present, Rome wouldn't be the one we know of today. Also, you must not forget that the fall of Rome didn't mean the end of the empire - just the transformation to something new, the Byzantium.

Answer 3

The Roman Empire was an empire. It consisted of many people of many languages and cultures. The things binding them together,included the Roman Army, the Latin language, the Roman system of law, the assimilation of Greek ideas (and to a certain extent the Greek language), a political dependence on the leadership of Rome, a share in the economic benefits of trading with Rome, and the peace in being part of the Roman order.

Some of this was an illusion of course. There are many stories of how during a civil unrest, the human slaughter on Capitoline Hill caused blood to run down the steps like a flood.

By the 6th to the 8th century, the residents of the Italian peninsula were less willing to defend the Britons and Gauls from invasions. These provinces had to raise their own armies to fight the enemy without financial or military help from Rome. They paid taxes to Rome without any benefit. Also, the provinces in the West had become wealthy. All this resulted in less loyalty to Rome. They stoped paying the taxes without being punished. They had no say in how the Emperor conducted the business of government.

There are lessions to be learned here.

Answer 4

A. I feel that the corrupt, and tyrannical leadership of the latter years of the Roman Empire lead to both: its split into two capitals,and ultimately its vulnerability (armies loyal to certain generals, emperors spending money on luxuries, the killing off of successful generals because they were seen as rivals) to be toppled by barbarians.

Answer 5

humorous you should ask, however the similarities are impressive are not they. Roman had protection rigidity forces stratched to all corners of the international. the place are our troops at the instant? they had decedant entertainment and paid those entertainers extensive sums of money mutually as permitting the economic equipment to falter. we've the lottery, professional activities, and picture stars.....seems exceedingly close. The undesirable have been distracted via the entertainment (who buys the main lottery tickets?) and instructors and academics had little comprehend....afraid they gets sued via a parent. we'd rather pay a steriod employing baseball participant thousands and thousands of greenbacks, yet slightly supply a instructor a living salary. finally, they have been "murdering" the senate interior the click. sounds like our present day political situation does not it? They have been so busy struggling with one yet another (undesirable against the wealthy and public rules) that they won't stand against exterior impact.