Do you know that one of history’s most important and influential empires is the Roman Empire? Yes, you heard it right. The language, culture, art, law, and architecture of the Roman Empire influenced billions of people to this day.
As the power and influence of Rome grew, this legendary Empire finally came crashing down. It started a long period of decline before the 5th century AD.
Are you curious about what happened? What do you think are the events that led to the fall of the Roman Empire? That’s what you’re going to learn in this video.
Fall of Roman Empire: Chronological Order of Events
Barbarian Tribe Invasion
The invasion of the Barbarian tribe is perhaps the most upfront theory for Western Rome’s collapse. It highlights that fall on the string of the military losses against the outside forces.
For centuries, Rome had tangled with the Germanic tribes. Yet, by the 300s, “Barbarian” groups such as the Goths had invaded beyond the Empire’s borders. It was when the Romans battered the uprising Germanic in the later part of the 4th century.
The Empire spent the next decades under an endless threat, right before the “Eternal City” raid in 455, this time by the Vandals.
In 476, Odoacer, the Germanic leader, came up with a revolt and overthrew Emperor Romulus Augustulus. From then, no Roman emperor would rule a post in Italy. In fact, it led many to name 476 as the year when Western Empire suffered a huge blow.
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Rising of Eastern Empire
Western Rome’s fate was sealed in the late 3rd century when Emperor Diocletian divided the Empire into two – the Eastern Empire in Byzantium and the Western Empire in Milan.
The truth is the division made the Empire more controllable in the short term. However, the two empires later drifted apart. The empires failed to work together sufficiently and beat the outside threats.
As the issues widened, the Greek-speaking Eastern Empire became wealthy, while the Latin-speaking Western Empire ended up in an economic crisis.
The Eastern Empire’s strength helped divert the Barbarian invasions to the West. The emperor Constantine guaranteed that Constantinople’s city was well-guarded and fortified. However, Italy and Rome were left vulnerable.
Political Instability and Government Corruption
Like what some countries experience today, the fall of the Roman Empire was also because of politics and corruption in the government.
If Rome’s absolute size made it challenging to govern, the same goes for inconsistent and ineffective leadership that only worsened the problem. As a Roman Emperor, it had always been a dangerous job, yet during the unrestrained 2nd and 3rd centuries, it was too close to becoming a death sentence.
The civil war made the Empire chaotic, as over 20 men took the throne in just 75 years. The emperor’s bodyguards, the Praetorian Guard, assassinated and developed new sovereigns at will.
The political instability also prolonged the Roman Senate, as it failed to rage the extremes of emperors because of incompetence and corruption. As a result, the situation worsened, and civic pride diminished many Roman citizens who lost their trust in the leadership.
Slave Labor and Economic Troubles
Even if Rome was under the attack of outside forces, it also crumbled from within because of the financial crisis. Endless wars and extravagance had significantly faded the imperial coffers, taxation, and inflation – which widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
In the desire to avoid the taxman, many members of the wealthy classes moved to the countryside and became independent. The Empire was astounded by the labor deficit, and the economy of Rome relied on slaves.
Even fields and works of craftsmen and the military might traditionally provide a fresh invasion of people to put to work. However, when the expansion was halted during the 2nd century, Rome’s supply of slaves and war treasures dried up.
A further setback occurred during the 5th century when Vandals claimed North Africa started to disrupt trade by looting the Mediterranean as pirates.
As a result of the economic decline, agricultural and commercial production also declined. The Empire also started to lose its grip.
Military Overspending and Overexpansion
In its crowning days, the Roman Empire moved from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River of the Middle East. Yet again, its grandeur may also have its downfall.
With so much territory to rule, the Empire faced a nightmare in logistical and administrative. Even their exceptional road systems were at a loss. Romans could not communicate right away to manage their assets and properties.
In fact, Rome struggled a lot to assist troops and resources in defending its frontiers from outside attacks and local rebellions. And as more funds were directed into the military to upkeep the Empire, technological advancement reduced the civil infrastructure of Rome and fell into bad shape.
Loss of Traditional Values and Christianity
The fall of the Roman Empire merged with the spread of Christianity. Some even argued that the rising of a new faith helped to contribute to the fall of the Empire.
Christianity displaced the Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as a divine status, and changed its focus away from its glory and sole divinity.
At the same time, church leaders and popes took a more important role in political affairs, which later complicated governance.
During the 18th century, Edward Gibbon, the historian, was a famous advocate of the theory. However, his take was widely criticized.
And while the spread of Christianity only played a small role in limiting Roman civic virtue, scholars argue that its influence was reduced compared to the military, administrative, and economic factors.
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Fall of Roman Empire – Wrapped up!
Truly, Rome was known as an Eternal City. However, its position as the focus of the global Empire was anything but eternal. The fall of the Roman Empire was indeed an earth-shattering incident. Yet, there isn’t any single event that people can agree led to the ending of the glory of Rome.
It was slow and painful that lasted more than a period of 2 and a half centuries. Of course, we would not like this to happen again, no matter what Empire it could be. So, now that you know the events that led to the fall of the Roman Empire may this serve as a lesson to us so it will not happen again in our generation.
Hope you learned something! Thank you for watching this video.
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