What led to the collapse of the Roman Empire?

Question

Was it Christianity? What about some other issues? can you give me some more details please?

Answer 1

many issues. I love history and the roman era. so here it goes. The Roman emperor's spent too much money on bath houses and other large constructions. Maintenance of public bath houses and other water sources became dirty and contaminated. Ifection and urban decay spread. the roman empire earned money by conquering, the large empire was surrounded on all sides by barbarian attack and they stopped winning battles. they spent money for their army and still lost and made more money to build their army and it resulted in incredible inflation Christianity and pagan gods conflicted in peoples views and it split the people. People began to lose pride in rome and their was far too much of a gap between the upper and middle class. there was also political corruption and unemployment along with a decline in morals and values. there were up to 200 determining factors. the three stages were The High Point The Decline and The Collapse

Answer 2

Corruption and the general decadence of those in power. This slowly reduced the discipline and training of the Roman Legions, it just became a lower priority for those in power. Eventually they didn't have the military power to combat all their enemies and the Empire crumbled between outside attack and inner decay. Christianity did not really contribute, in fact when the Roman Empire embraced christianity they had a brief comeback.

Answer 3

It wasn't really Christianity. There were many factors.

The main factor was, and always will be for most any empire or great civilization: Is that it could no longer militarily and economically fend off its enemies.

Answer 4

The Roman Empire began to fall when Romans no longer were required to serve in the military and foreign troops were used. The foreign troops were mercenaries who had no loyalty to Rome. Roman society became opulant, decadent, and complacent at the same time. The Roman Empire began to crumble long before Christianity became the official religion of Rome. We have to remember that it was the military that was the backbone of the empire.

Answer 5

Rome's military grew weaker, and weaker, so they had to depend on the barbarians to protect the borders,who in tern was upset by the fact that rome refuses to pay them, the Western half of Rome was spilt from the eastern half, restricting grains and produce to Rome, the eternal city, and the west, the emperor continue to live lavishly. And Christians were too busy killing the Arians and the Pagans. Atilla the Hun weaken the empire and left it in shambles, etc.

Answer 6

The great historian Edward Gibbon who wrote the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" suggested that Christianity and the various barbarian incursions were the main proximate causes. And I think Gibbon is basically right. Like all empires, Rome was a complex puzzle of interlocking events, ruling personalities, competing factions, and so forth. But for the BIG reasons, Christianity must be considered near the top of the list for largely cultural reasons.

I would also add to Gibbon's analysis that the empire simply outgrew its ability to feed and administer itself. I mean that literally. In 476 CE when the western empire was officially "decomissioned" it was simply because the eastern part refused to prop up the West, and the western portion could not afford to make enough food, roads, protection available on the huge scale that it had done earlier. And the result was the European "dark ages" as the Empire in the West slowly deteriorated.

All people everywhere share the same nobility and the same vices. So greed, avarice, and general lack of shared hope were features, but I don't think these are causes. Instead, look at how the empire changed from within and how it was attacked from outside, and you'll arrive at the conclusion Gibbon did.

Answer 7

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/rome4/

that will tell you everything you need to know. :)

Answer 8

I think mostly greed. They would conquer an area then let there captives govern them selves, that almost seems like a win, win situation.
I don't think they collapsed over night either, it took 1or 2 hundred years.
They must have thought nobody in their right mind would mess with them.
Complacency

Answer 9

Shouldn't you do your own homework?

Answer 10

The leadership of the Empire had gotten more interested in their own pleasure than in their duty to Rome. That and a healthy dose of lead poisoning started the decay.

With the leaders occupied elsewhere, morale slipped in the armies. Where it used to be that Roman matrons would tell their sons "come back with your shield or on it," it now became fashionable for the able sons of Roman families to skip military service all together. Rome had to grant citizenship to legionaires in order to fill the ranks. Officers were often from nameless families instead of the scions of Rome.

Corruption in Rome also grew. Since no one was paying attention to the tax collectors, they lined their pockets--and paid off anyone who was paying attention.

As Christianity grew, the Temples of Rome fell into decay. Priests who were once supported by offerings had to cut their ranks. Temples had to close or merge. The priests and oracles berated the nobility for letting it come to that, but the nobility wasn't listening.

The collapse of the Empire was actually very slow. It just became more dramatic when Rome was pressed by enemies.