What were the primary factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire?

Answer 1

There were numerous factors in the fall of the Roman Empire, here are some examples:

1. Economic causes. There became a decline in agriculture, industry and commerce;

2. The decline in Imperialism meant that there were no newly conquered lands to produce slaves, natural resource wealth and no new taxation revenue;

3. The dependence on slavery kept many Roman citizens out of work;

4. Oppressive taxation by Rome, to keep the government working. This depleted the wealth of its citizens;

5. Barbarian invasions

Answer 2

-Rome was invaded by "barbarians" like the Goths, Visigoths, and other Germanic tribes. The borders were left open to attack, and so raiders were able to take over Greece and Gaul (France). In 476 CE, Odovacar took over Italy, which began a time period where the Western Empire was ruled by Germanic chiefs. AS the barbarians invaded, fields were left unattended, roads and bridges slowly fell, and pirates and bandits roamed the once safe Roman countryside. Soon, cities too declined, because there was no trade or business.

-Christianity rose in popularity. The rise of Christianity led to the fall of Rome. Suddenly good Christians, Roman men became pacifists, and didn't want to fight off the barbarian invaders. Also, many Roman leaders who should have been dealing with Rome's problems were suddenly much more interested in the church, and much of Rome's money went to building new churches instead of maintaining the Empire and keeping the borders secure.

-Inferior technology. For the last 400 or so years of the Empire, Rome had focused on engineering, and the organization of public services. They failed to create an efficient way to harvest or supply goods to a growing nation, and instead relied on human and animal labor. Also, they had been using the same military strategies for thousands of years, which were now outdated and ineffective. When the barbarians attacked, they might have had the metal stirrup (which keeps the foot in place when riding a horse) which would have given them an advantage over the Roman foot soldiers, and cavalry without stirrups.

-Excessive military spending. Keeping the barbarians outside the Roman borders was expensive, and left little money for other activities, like maintaining roads and trade routes. Romans no longer wanted to fight or defend their country, and instead the Army had to rely on mercenaries and hired soldiers to fight the barbarians. These were unreliable and expensive, and often were of barbarian origin. The price of mercenary labor made the Romans raise taxes, which hurt the economy.

-Decline in morals and values. Crimes of violence made the streets of larger cities unsafe, and over 32,000 prostitutes lived in Rome during the reign of Trajan. The Roman passion for cruelty was growing, and the most popular form of Roman entertainment was watching the gladiator games.

-Many Romans were unemployed. In the later years of the Empire, all farms that supplied goods to the Empire were controlled by the wealthy, and harvested by slaves. The slave owners could sell their goods for so cheap, the small business farmers couldn't compete at all and were forced out of business. These farmers fled to Rome, making the city a horrible, crowded place, and making the economy plummet.

-Inflation. Roman inflation began shortly after Marcus Aurelius died. With no new territories, Rome was running out of gold to create coins. The amount of gold in the coins decreased, and, therefore, so did the value of Roman money. Since money was worth less, Roman merchants were forced to raise prices. Prices became so high that many people just bartered, and most salaries were paid in food and clothing instead of money, and taxes paid in goods.

-Political corruption. Romans had difficulty choosing who would be their next emperor, as they had never truly developed a system to choose their next ruler. THis meant that the choice was made by the old emperor, the Senate, the Practorian guard, and the army, but the choice was mainly down to the guard. Eventually, the throne was just sold off to whoever paid the most, and then sold again when a new buyer offered to pay more. Thus, 25 out of 37 emperors of the time were assassinated by those who were supposed to protect them.

-Environmental and health problems. Historians say that many wealthy Romans died of lead poisoning from their lead pipes and utensils. This might not have been a contributing factor, since the Empire survived long after the Western half did, and the wealthy still used lead pipes and stuff then, but it is a possibility, and might have been a factor in the amount of crazy politicians and emperors Rome had.

-Urban decay. Wealthy Romans lived well (apart from the lead poisoning), but most of Rome was poor. The poor of Rome lived in 6 story "islands," which were apartments buildings as wide as a city block. The top floor was the cheapest, but if you couldn't afford even that, you would be forced into the grimy, prostitute-ridden streets. Cities became frightening places, and began to decay.

Answer 3

According to Niccolo Machiavelli the primary reason for the fall of the Roman Empire was the use of Gothic mercenaries rather than Roman troops.