Fall of Roman Empire

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant facts and figures relating to the reasons behind the fall of Roman Empire. In this paper, the author will examine the merits and demerits of the migration of peoples in the 4th and 5th centuries to the development in world history. The author will also analyze other aspects that helped to transform a civilization.

Gibbon offers an explanation for why the Roman Empire fell, a task made difficult by a lack of comprehensive written sources, though he was not the only historian to tackle the subject. Most of his ideas are directly taken from what few relevant records were available: those of the Roman moralists of the 4th and 5th centuries.

According to Gibbon, the Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian invasions in large part due to the gradual loss of civic virtue among its citizens. They had become weak, outsourcing their duties to defend their Empire to barbarian mercenaries, who then became so numerous and ingrained that they were able to take over the Empire. Romans, he believed, had become effeminate, unwilling to live a tougher, "manly" military lifestyle. He further blames the degeneracy of the Roman army and the Praetorian guards. The main reason for the collapse of the Roman Empire, the same as the fall of great empires: Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Spain and Holland, and in a nutshell is the lack of active patriotism. Each of these nations, reaching the zenith of its power, producing the impression that they were exhausted. They seemed to be looking for inspiration, indulging in idleness, as if unaware that the other powers sought to destroy their case. Of course, it is easy to exaggerate the importance of historical parallels, but exaggerated or not, these parallels, of course, provide much food for thought.

The end of the Severan dynasty in 235 introduced what some historians of Rome have called a period of anarchy (disorder and chaos), with no strong central government in control. For 50 years, a series of generals and politicians claimed the title of emperor, and a separate mini-state with its own emperors rose in Gaul. Parts of the eastern empire also had local rulers for a time. Historians Tim Cornell and John Matthews, in Atlas of the Roman World, say the exact number of men who tried to rule all or parts of the empire from 235 to 284 may never be known, but, "Nearly all met violent deaths in civil or foreign wars, or by conspiracy” (Kagan, pp. 34-38).

Several problems created the anarchy of the age. Rome could no longer afford to field an army large enough to defend all its distant borders. On many sides, barbarian tribes and established kingdoms confronted Roman troops. The Goths, originally from northern Europe, attacked Asia Minor, Germanic tribes moved against Gaul and Spain, and the Sassanid Empire rose in the East. A shortage of precious metals also hurt the Roman economy (Hingley, pp. ...