What was a factor in the fall of the Roman Empire?

Answer 1

Historians have identified or argued about a whole host of factors that contributed to the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire (the eastern part of the Roman Empire continued to exist for another 1,000 years

The most important factor in the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire were the Germanic invasions. A wave of Germanic peoples form central Europe (the Vandals, Sueves, Alans and Burgundians) crossed the river Rhine (a frontier of the empire) and invaded Gaul in 406 AD. The Alemanni of southern Germany took advantage of this to seize Lorraine (in northwest France) and Switzerland. The Vandals established a kingdom in Africa; the Visigoths (who had migrated from the eastern part of the Roman Empire where they had been allowed to settle earlier) established one in Spain. The Burgundians set up a kingdom in Burgundy and Savoy (in eastern France). The strain caused by the invasions caused to western part of the empire to loose political cohesion. There was continuous infighting and a lot of usurpations and three was political disintegration. The invasions were related to two other factors at work at the time: the Migration Period and an overstretched military.

The Germanic invasions were part of Migration Period. In this period many peoples north and east of the Roman Empire were migrating. Several Germanic peoples migrated from northern Europe to central Europe. There were also migrations by the Scythians (Iranian-speaking peoples) and the Huns from Asia into eastern Europe. This created a squeeze in central Europe and some Germanic peoples from that area where the ones who migrated into Gaul in the invasion of 406 mentioned above. These invasions were more than military actions. They were migrations which often involved the movement 100-150,000 people for each of these peoples. Moreover, the Germanic peoples had good soldiers and powerful cavalries.

In its later days, the Roman Empire had become overstretched militarily. Because of the mentioned migrations, its vast frontiers were under constant attack. This created a sort of cat and mouse game. The Romans had to gather large armies and deploy them to the areas under attack. This exposed other areas because many of its soldiers had been moved to the areas under attack. These areas were, in turn, also attacked. This created a pattern of raids into the parts empire followed by retreat before the Roman army was redeployed to reach the raiders. Over time this increased the strain on the Roman Army.

The invasions into Gaul of 406 occurred at a time when Roman soldiers were withdrawn from Britain and the frontier of Gaul to fight an attempted invasion of Italy by an Ostrogoth king. The Romans defeated him, but at the price of the mentioned Germanic peoples taking advantage of this to cross the river Rhine and invade Gaul. Because this involved migrations, these invasions were no longer just raids. They were occupations of territories. The number of attackers and invaders was too large for the Roman army to deal with. When the Roman legions withdrew from Britain, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians migrated there in waves and eventually took over this island. and the Franks of southern Holland and central Germany (who had been allowed to settle in Belgium by the Romans) then took over the a Roman territory in central Gaul which had broken away from Rome. Eventually they took over most of Western Europe.

Answer 2

Roman armies began relying more and more on barbarian auxiliaries to do more and more of the fighting. Therefore, the barbarians learned Roman strategy and tactics and were able to use them against the Romans. One of the biggest factors was that the gap between rich and poor grew into a great gulf. The rich land owners displaced the poor individual farmers forcing them into the cities to find work, and bringing slaves captured from wars in the provinces to work the land. The displaced poor had to be sheltered and fed to prevent them from rebelling, leading to the infamous Bread and Circuses designed to keep the population placid.

Answer 3

Historians have identified or argued about a whole host of factors that contributed to the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire (the eastern part of the Roman Empire continued to exist for another 1,000 years

The most important factor in the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire were the Germanic invasions. A wave of Germanic peoples form central Europe (the Vandals, Sueves, Alans and Burgundians) crossed the river Rhine (a frontier of the empire) and invaded Gaul in 406 AD. The Alemanni of southern Germany took advantage of this to seize Lorraine (in northwest France) and Switzerland. The Vandals established a kingdom in Africa; the Visigoths (who had migrated from the eastern part of the Roman Empire where they had been allowed to settle earlier) established one in Spain. The Burgundians set up a kingdom in Burgundy and Savoy (in eastern France). The strain caused by the invasions caused to western part of the empire to loose political cohesion. There was continuous infighting and a lot of usurpations and three was political disintegration. The invasions were related to two other factors at work at the time: the Migration Period and an overstretched military.

The Germanic invasions were part of Migration Period. In this period many peoples north and east of the Roman Empire were migrating. Several Germanic peoples migrated from northern Europe to central Europe. There were also migrations by the Scythians (Iranian-speaking peoples) and the Huns from Asia into eastern Europe. This created a squeeze in central Europe and some Germanic peoples from that area where the ones who migrated into Gaul in the invasion of 406 mentioned above. These invasions were more than military actions. They were migrations which often involved the movement 100-150,000 people for each of these peoples. Moreover, the Germanic peoples had good soldiers and powerful cavalries.

In its later days, the Roman Empire had become overstretched militarily. Because of the mentioned migrations, its vast frontiers were under constant attack. This created a sort of cat and mouse game. The Romans had to gather large armies and deploy them to the areas under attack. This exposed other areas because many of its soldiers had been moved to the areas under attack. These areas were, in turn, also attacked. This created a pattern of raids into the parts empire followed by retreat before the Roman army was redeployed to reach the raiders. Over time this increased the strain on the Roman Army.

The invasions into Gaul of 406 occurred at a time when Roman soldiers were withdrawn from Britain and the frontier of Gaul to fight an attempted invasion of Italy by an Ostrogoth king. The Romans defeated him, but at the price of the mentioned Germanic peoples taking advantage of this to cross the river Rhine and invade Gaul. Because this involved migrations, these invasions were no longer just raids. They were occupations of territories. The number of attackers and invaders was too large for the Roman army to deal with. When the Roman legions withdrew from Britain, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians migrated there in waves and eventually took over this island. and the Franks of southern Holland and central Germany (who had been allowed to settle in Belgium by the Romans) then took over the a Roman territory in central Gaul which had broken away from Rome. Eventually they took over most of western Europe.

Answer 4

The greatest factor in the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire (the eastern part of this empire continued to exist for nearly another 1,000 years) was the invasions of its territories by several Germanic peoples.