Why did the Roman Empire stop being the Roman Empire?

Answer 1

Economic progress ceased in the Roman Empire because after conquering Carthage, there were no more superpowers to contend with. Rome went on to dominate every country around them, taking the spoils of war and funding the government and the military endeavors. Once Rome conquered all the neighboring nations and made them Roman citizens, there was no longer that flow of riches into the city of Rome that the people had grown accustomed to. They had grown so accustomed to that flow of riches, the economy of Rome was just about at a standstill.

Answer 2

The Roman Empire did not fall economically. The western part of the Roman Empire fell under the weight of the invasions by Germanic peoples. The eastern part of the Roman Empire was not affected by these invasions and continued to exist for another 1,000 years.

The decline of the Roman economy started in what had been called the Crisis of the 3rd Century (235-284 AD). This was a military, political and economic crisis during which:

a) There were constant invasions across the frontiers of the empire which massively overstretched the army and caused military rebellions in which the legions proclaimed as many as 35 usurper emperors.

b) There was runaway inflation.

Hyperinflation was caused by many years of debasement of the Roman coins. The silver and gold content of silver and gold coins had been continually decreased by many emperors to have more coins to finance their expenses and to increase the size and the pay of the army. This devalued the coins. The coins eventually came to have virtually no value. They had as little as only 5 % of precious metal. This led to hyperinflation. Its effects were:

1) A breakdown in trade. It became difficult to exchange goods with a worthless currency.

2) Agricultural production on the large landed estates became localised. These estates decreased their sales of crops to the cities and concentrated on production for local barter.

3) The urban economy collapsed. Manufacturing in cities shrunk because their goods, which were for long-distance trade, could not be traded.

4) Many people migrated from the cities to the countryside and the population of the cites shrunk.

5) The owners of the large estates employed the migrants from the cities as servile labour. These people lost their rights and became tied to their landlords.

6) Distressed peasants, who were leaseholders on the large estates, were leaving their land in search for better opportunities. They were often turned into servile labour in the large estates as well.

6) The tax revenue of the state decreased, while military expenditure increased as the size of the army increased. The mentioned invasions also led to greater reliance on a much expanded cavalry, which was even more expensive.

7) Taxation was increased and was raised in the form of demanding goods, which did not help the economy. Emperor Diocletian resorted to confiscating goods. Taxation remained a big burden on the people for the rest of the history of the empire.

The Roman Empire never fully recovered from this crisis and the socio-economic changes it created were irreversible.

Answer 3

The death of the Roman Empire took nearly a thousand years to accomplish. The Western Empire ended with the abdication of her last emperor Romulus Augustus in 476 AD to a barbarian officer in the Roman army. The Eastern (Byzantine) Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks who beseiged the city of Constantinople in 1453 and killed her last emperor Constantine XI in his last effort to protect the city.