what is one reason that rome fell?

Question

i cant think of another reason besides the army lacked discipline and the empire was too big for one person to control

Answer 1

RELIGION.

Answer 2

1. Tyranny - When Julius Caesar killed to corrupt the Republic he had replaced a form of bad government with one, which at that time, seemed good. On the short run (~180 years) the empire was better then the old republic, but on the long run it was to be the core of the rotten empire. A long series of emperors had nothing to do with the well-being of the empire, they only saw their own interests and vices. Internal crisis weakened the imperial army which was no longer capable of defending the empire. 2. No more practice of virtues. In the time of the republic, the romans built the empire step by step, discipline was a common word, law and order reigned everywhere. The barbarians were not (yet) afraid of the MIGHTY legions. When the republic turned into the empire, it was near its peak. Pace came and there was no more need for a well disciplined army or brilliant generals; people mixed and the roman blood was no longer pure (it is strongly related to the difference I was talking about: ancient roman- modern italian). The barbarians where now afraid even when they heard the name of the Roman Empire. So on the base of peace and prosperity (the Pax Romania) the empire started to slide downwards. Soon the barbarians started to realize that the mighty roman army was not what it used to be. While they were attacking the borders of the empire the internal crisis decimated the flower of the roman army. And the fall was only at the beginning. Diocletian was the last good emperor to realize that the empire could no longer be governed by one person... At this point there was no turning back... 3. Christianity - some may not agree with me but I (and other people way smarter then me) think that Christianity is one of the most important reasons of the decline of the Roman Empire. Christianity told people that the life on earth is, for the most part useless. The material world is only temporary, so people no longer practiced the virtues and simply waited for the kingdom of heaven. The army was no longer considered a priority, because God will not reward the brave man of the legions. As I see it Christianity corroded the very pillars of the Roman society. As there was no more wish to fight, the end was no longer a problem of if, but of when. and that's all i got that seemed fairly Intelligent... i hope it helps

Answer 3

Hypocrisy. Despite the fact Constantine proclaimed christianity the offical religion of the Empire the Romans did not stop their persecution and extermination of those it wished to destroy. The Gauls were fed up with this two fold idiocy of Rome. One of the biggest factors many neglect of history is that the Roman Empire despite Constantines claims to have converted to the ways of christianity, it was NOT the loving, compassionate christianity of the faithful in the first century. THIS "christianity" was no better than the ways Jewish persons used GOD to go around killing anyone they proclaimed was a gentile and remained so for the next 10 centuries after the fall of Rome under the Pope's of it's church. The Roman Catholic heirarchy.

Answer 4

The Roman empire of antiquity was usurped by Constantine who was the first to attempt to "unify" the Empire by adopting Christianity as the official state religion. This followed a period of several hundred years of bloody persecutions aimed at Jews and Christians, because it was commonly believed that because of them, the Roman gods had abandoned the populace, and this was the cause of all of Rome's problems.

In fact, Constantine merely attempted to keep the realm, calling it The Holy Roman Empire, and ruled in relative peace.

Answer 5

why are you asking this in R & S? One answer, btw, is because Rome got so large that it was spread too thin to manage effectively, the armies could not control the outlying regions and those conquered peoples ended up reverting back to their own ways after the armies left. Plus the fact that Rome had become very hedonistic.

Answer 6

Internal disintegration, both morally and politically.

In a way you are correct about the "too big for its britches" comment. When an empire gets too large, its leaders must elevate their stature to "godhood". This is where the names like "pontif maximus" and "augustus" come from. However, that can only last so long and then things start to collapse under the weight of demand.

Answer 7

there has been a lot of debate on whether Rome was murdered or committed suicide. Here are some examples of the opposing points....

suicide:
political offices were seen as a burden, civil war and unrest, inflation, possible lead poisoning, disruption of trade, large gaps between the rich and poor, moving the capital to Byzantium, low funds for defense, no more war plunder, problems recruiting citizens/non-military to army

Murdered:
threat from northern European tribes, conquest by invaders, sack of Rome, invasion by Germanic tribes/Huns, pressure from Huns

Answer 8

Well, spiritually/morally, they became flawed and vacant. A house will not stand when it is built on sand. Whether you believe the Christian parable or not, the basic truth holds. Rome was not built on a solid foundation, and it collapsed. I believe it was a fall delivered by God, but regardless, one would have to surmise that moral depravity and decadence played a great part in the Roman demise.

Answer 9

To much power for one person. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Those in control cared more about lining their own pocket especially in the end than keeping the empire together. God will not allow any nation or empire to continue forever that exhibits that much immorality.

Answer 10

I heard before the empire of Rome fell, they were arguing over which vices to legalize.

Answer 11

the army did not lack discipline, Rome's treasury depleted because of all the monuments and other things that made Rome so great made them in debt and eventually crumbled at the hands of barbarians