What are the social causes that led to the fall of Rome?

Answer 1

Roman wealth was controlled by a small part of the population. The rate of poverty increased as the empire grew, creating a rift between the rich and the poor hence the emergence of social decay. The Romans later lost their patriotism in their governance since they believed it lacked political honesty.

Answer 2

There are literally thousands of theories as to why the Roman Empire declined. I am happy you used the word "decline" and not "fall." There are arguments among historians whether the Roman Empire fell or went through gradual transitions. The reason for the numerous theories is the lack of evidence from the 4th and 5th centuries that would help provide more specific answers. One piece of evidence was the coinage found. The Romans coins were originally minted in silver but by the 5th century, the coinage was minted in basic metals as there is evidence that the silver mines had reached it's peak. This may have been a sign of technological decline as it may have affected trade with India via the Silk Route with China. Historians argue that the sudden expansion of the empire led to economic inflation, and in turn, high taxation led the to empire's downfall. According to the readings, it appears the Empire never had a budget for they were wasteful. The only way to up keep the empire afloat was to up keep the military through high taxation as they invade neighboring regions and plundering their resources. A Historian named Edward Gibbon wrote in the 18th century that the Roman citizens were in the process of "moral decay" due to the influx of Germanic "barbarians" in his book "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88). This theory was later debunked by the writings by future historians. The decay he speaks about was the western Roman Empire neglecting to note the the eastern empire has prospered and it was more Christian than the western empire. Peter Heather in "The Fall of the Roman Empire,"(2005) that main trouble was the threat from the Sassanid Persian empire (226-651) for half a century. The Roman Empire had to maintain a strong military. He does agree with Gibbon that in order to cope with the Sassanid threat, they totally stripping the the western empire of the towns' and cities of their regional income tax. However, Heather disagrees with Gibbon on that Christianity and moral decay led to the decline. Life for the middle and lower classes were not easy during these times. It was they who celebrated when the Romans were defeated by an outside army according to Joseph Tainter in a 1988 book "the Collapse of Complex Societies." He feels that the Roman Empire could not address the problems of an economy of declining returns. Tainter also theorizes that by conquering neighbors for their surpluses was only temporary and the long term problem of maintaining garrisons. civil governments, and communications costs grew substantially. In an archeological dig, Tainter reports that archeologists noted from the bones of a post empire person ate a lot better. Bryan Ward-Perkins wrote in "The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization" in 2005, has archeological records indicating the collapse was a disaster. Historian William H. McNeill in his book "Plagues and Peoples" (1976) fingers diseases lasting 20 years as the cause if the downfall. I have just scratched the surface in theories. I am leaving a link for further reading.

Answer 3

Political: Whenever a weak emperor ended up taking in control, powerful generals would often try and take advantage of the lapse in power to try and take power themselves. Continuous revolts and civil wars weakened the empire over time.

Military: Over time, the quality of the Roman legions decreased, and the legions were forced to rely on non-Roman auxileries, whose loyalty was questionable.

Economic: After the crisis of the Third Century, the vast network of Roman roads and highways was no longer considered as safe, nor was the Mediterranean considered as safe for trade. As a result, wealthy landowners started retooling their operations to be locally self sufficient - decreasing trade. As local operations became more self sufficient, they also felt more independent from Rome.

Social: From Constantine's conversion on his deathbed to Christianity, until Theodesius crushed the Pagans in the late 4th century, there was constant social tension between the Pagans and the Christians. Many influential Christians wanted to remove all Pagan temples, statues, and other works, whereas the Pagans wanted to preserve them and not let the Christians dominate the empire. This tension led to several revolts

Answer 4

There were many reasons for the fall of Rome, including weakening of many of the structures which bound the Empire together. Some of the factors are briefly discussed here:http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell

Answer 5

The migration of Germanic tribes into Western Europe led to the decline of the Roman Empire. The spread of Christianity meant that people's loyalty was first to the Church, before the Empire.

Answer 6

The incoming Eurasian peoples moved in progressively, some seeking sanctuary, and eventually Rome was sacked.