The fall of the Roman Empire cannot be traced back to just one thing. Many factors including political corruption, joblessness , and invasions by tribes located all around the outskirts of the Empire led to its end. The fall of the empire would have consequences seen throughout Europe and the Middle East for years.
One of the major factors was the frequent assassinations of Roman Emperors. A total of 22 emperors took the throne, many of them meeting violent ends at the hands of the same soldiers who had propelled them to power. Because no one Emperor was in charge for very long, they weren't able to fix the many problems that the Roman Empire was facing. With one one in charge, the other problems plaguing the empire never were fixed. The economy also was a major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire. Many citizens of the Empire were jobless. Rich Romans would buy slaves to do the jobs they used to pay Roman citizens to do. These jobless Romans would often times riot to show their displeasure with there not being enough jobs to everyone. Despite this fact, the nobles of Rome would continue to rely on slave labor, ignore the complaints of the plebians. Outside invasions by nomadic tribes would also contribute to the fall of Rome. The Roman Empire had become to large. In order to police the Empire, while also defending it from outside armies, the Roman military would rely on mercenary groups to help them do their jobs. These mercenaries only worked for money, and felt no loyalty to Rome, and if they felt they they would lose a battle would often abadon thier duties, and leave the Roman Empire to find a different job. This led to many nomadic tribes invading the Roman Empire to take food, and riches. These tribes would usually also destroy cities and towns during their invasion. The desctruction done by these nomadic armies would often not be fixed before the next nomdic army invaded, leading to many areas on the outskirts of the Empire to become rundown and abandoned. The end of the Roman Empire was not the end of Roman culture in the world. During the 4th century, Emperors Diocletian and Constantine split the Roman Empire into two parts, with each part being ruled by one of the emperors. The Western part was called the Roman Empire and ruled by Diocletian, and the eastern part was called the Byzantine Empire and was ruled by Constantine. While the Roman Empire was decline, the Byzantine Empire was growing. When the Roman Empire finally fell, the Byzantine Empire stayed in tact. The Byzantine Empire would carry on the legacy of the Roman Empire for years to come. |