The Downfall of Ancient Rome

In the ensuing centuries after the Pax Romana, the power of the Roman Empire gradually decreased. In this period, the Roman Empire entered an era of disorder and chaos, which ultimately affected all of Europe. As prices inflated, the economy of Rome began to crumble. Rome also faced social problems, which stole jobs from commoners and furthered money issues. In the meantime, Rome faced revolts from religious groups over the uprising of Christianity in the empire. And in addition to these struggles, Germanic armies started defeating Roman armies and their mercenaries. However, it was the internal and external political problems that created Rome's downfall. The lack of organized leadership combined with a lack of citizen participation allowed foreign forces to penetrate the empire and create the fall of Rome. Many of Rome's struggles were also created due to constant shifts in power. Although obedience to the monarchs was not a problem, no single monarch could maintain power long enough to fix any issues. Often times, new rulers created new problems, or furthered old ones.

Changes in rulers frequently led to harm in the economy. Many emperors enforced higher taxes although many citizens lacked jobs to pay their debts. Much of the funds received by the government were being spent on items that weren't particularly important, such as the church. These projects were well constructed, however they raised taxes on common folk, particularly western Romans. Yet the constant shift in leadership could not re-boost the economy to previous levels. Weak emperors allowed roads to decay which hurt the trade market. Meanwhile, the taxes set of a series of civil wars, which harmed Rome's resources even further.

The government lacked military control as well. Unlike most other ancient and modern societies, the government did not have enough funds to pay the soldiers enough for their services, which in effect drained their loyalty. As a result of high taxes, soldiers often paid little attention to fighting and spent their time trying to extort money from civilians. With the little money the government did put into the military however, they spent it on foreign soldiers. These mercenaries were not citizens, yet did get paid to fight for the Romans. The government also put little attention into training the army, which created a lack of protection for the empire's lands. In addition, taxes were raised even more due to the costs of the civil war, which left the army unable to afford powerful weapons. The outnumbered Roman foot soldiers were crushed by chariots of Germanic tribes.

The government was also responsible for the social communication problems as well. Internally, there was a lack of communication between officials to begin with. Often, wise men at the center of government were unaware of the state's problems and therefore were unable to fix them. Externally, people did not participate in the Roman government, and therefore government could not address the problems. For example, social issues regarding slave labor and unemployment were not forwarded to government officials. As a result, more and more people lost their jobs to slaves, and the government could do nothing about it.

Despite lack of control over the military, tax issues, and lack of communication, the leading political cause of the fall of Rome was the sudden changes of unorganized leadership. In a 100 year period of chaos and disorder, over 25 leaders took control of Rome. These emperors served brief terms, and then were either assassinated or died from disease. Then another ruler and his group of noble followers would take control and would often lose power quickly. At one point during these shifts in power, the position of emperor was put up for auction-the winner was Marus Julianus. However, his term was brief, and was assassinated after two months. Furthermore, unlike Roman golden ages, the administrations had little power, and most of the power was held by the emperor.

The collapse and eventual fall of the Roman Empire was due to the overwhelming political issues. After the Pax Romana, no Roman ruler could maintain the throne long enough to keep Rome at its greatest heights. Government officials lost contact with not only the citizens, but themselves as well. High taxes arose from Civil Wars and misplacement of funds to the point that most citizens were unable to pay them. As a result, the government lost control of the army, as training funds and soldier salaries declined. The combination of these political issues left Rome weakened and unprotected. Hence, Germanic attacks and Barbarian intrusions from 407 BC left Rome in pieces, and the Roman Empire was no more.

Sources

Pearson Books World History: Connections to Today

Survey Edition

Pearson Books World History: Connections to Today

The Modern Era Edition

Pearson Books World Geography: Building a Global Perspective