USO Canteen FReeper Style ~ Fall of the Roman Empire ~ October 14, 2003

Killeenroos.com ^ | October 14, 2003 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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ANCIENT WARFARE

Fall of the Roman Empire

Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire
All left Rome open to outside invaders
adapted from History Alive material

There were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Each one intertwined with the next. Many even blame the introduction of Christianity for the decline. Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend against the barbarian attackers. Also money used to build churches could have been used to maintain the empire. Although some argue that Christianity may have provided some morals and values for a declining civilization and therefore may have actually prolonged the imperial era.

Decline in Morals and Values

Caligula (Gaius Caesar)
 

Those morals and values that kept together the Roman legions and thus the empire could not be maintained towards the end of the empire. Crimes of violence made the streets of the larger cities unsafe. Even during PaxRomana there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome. Emperors like Nero and Caligula became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties where guests ate and drank until they became ill. The most popular amusement was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum. These were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience. One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on.

Public Health

Roman Aqueducts
 

There were many public health and environmental problems. Many of the wealthy had water brought to their homes through lead pipes. Previously the aqueducts had even purified the water but at the end lead pipes were thought to be preferable. The wealthy death rate was very high. The continuous interaction of people at the Colosseum, the blood and death probably spread disease. Those who lived on the streets in continuous contact allowed for an uninterrupted strain of disease much like the homeless in the poorer run shelters of today. Alcohol use increased as well adding to the incompetency of the general public.

Political Corruption

 

One of the most difficult problems was choosing a new emperor. Unlike Greece where transition may not have been smooth but was at least consistent, the Romans never created an effective system to determine how new emperors would be selected. The choice was always open to debate between the old emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard (the emperor's's private army), and the army. Gradually, the Praetorian Guard gained complete authority to choose the new emperor, who rewarded the guard who then became more influential, perpetuating the cycle. Then in 186 A. D. the army strangled the new emperor, the practice began of selling the throne to the highest bidder. During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 different emperors - 25 of whom were removed from office by assassination. This contributed to the overall weaknesses of the empire.

Unemployment

 

During the latter years of the empire farming was done on large estates called latifundia that were owned by wealthy men who used slave labor. A farmer who had to pay workmen could not produce goods as cheaply. Many farmers could not compete with these low prices and lost or sold their farms. This not only undermined the citizen farmer who passed his values to his family, but also filled the cities with unemployed people. At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more than 100,000 people in Rome alone. These people were not only a burden but also had little to do but cause trouble and contribute to an ever increasing crime rate.

Inflation

 

The roman economy suffered from inflation (an increase in prices) beginning after the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Once the Romans stopped conquering new lands, the flow of gold into the Roman economy decreased. Yet much gold was being spent by the romans to pay for luxury items. This meant that there was less gold to use in coins. As the amount of gold used in coins decreased, the coins became less valuable. To make up for this loss in value, merchants raised the prices on the goods they sold. Many people stopped using coins and began to barter to get what they needed. Eventually, salaries had to be paid in food and clothing, and taxes were collected in fruits and vegetables.

Urban decay

(archeological site)
 

Wealthy Romans lived in a domus, or house, with marble walls, floors with intricate colored tiles, and windows made of small panes of glass. Most Romans, however, were not rich, They lived in small smelly rooms in apartment houses with six or more stories called islands. Each island covered an entire block. At one time there were 44,000 apartment houses within the city walls of Rome. First-floor apartments were not occupied by the poor since these living quarters rented for about $00 a year. The more shaky wooden stairs a family had to climb, the cheaper the rent became. The upper apartments that the poor rented for $40 a year were hot, dirty, crowed, and dangerous. Anyone who could not pay the rent was forced to move out and live on the crime-infested streets. Because of this cities began to decay.

Inferior Technology

 

During the last 400 years of the empire, the scientific achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and the organization of public services. They built marvelous roads, bridges, and aqueducts. They established the first system of medicine for the benefit of the poor. But since the Romans relied so much on human and animal labor, they failed to invent many new machines or find new technology to produce goods more efficiently. They could not provide enough goods for their growing population. They were no longer conquering other civilizations and adapting their technology, they were actually losing territory they could not longer maintain with their legions.

Military Spending

 

Maintaining an army to defend the border of the Empire from barbarian attacks was a constant drain on the government. Military spending left few resources for other vital activities, such as providing public housing and maintaining quality roads and aqueducts. Frustrated Romans lost their desire to defend the Empire. The empire had to begin hiring soldiers recruited from the unemployed city mobs or worse from foreign counties. Such an army was not only unreliable, but very expensive. The emperors were forced to raise taxes frequently which in turn led again to increased inflation.

THE FINAL BLOWS

St. Severinus and Odacer
 

For years, the well-disciplined Roman army held the barbarians of Germany back. Then in the third century A. D. the Roman soldiers were pulled back from the Rhine-Danube frontier to fight civil war in Italy. This left the Roman border open to attack. Gradually Germanic hunters and herders from the north began to overtake Roman lands in Greece and Gaul (later France). Then in 476 A. D. the Germanic general Odacer or Odovacar overthrew the last of the Roman Emperors, Augustulus Romulus. From then on the western part of the Empire was ruled by Germanic chieftain. Roads and bridges were left in disrepair and fields left untilled. Pirates and bandits made travel unsafe. Cities could not be maintained without goods from the farms, trade and business began to disappear. And Rome was no more in the West.
 

For additional information, please click the links below:

Best of Gibbon's DECLINE & FALL of the Roman Empire

The Collapse of the Roman Empire

Fall of Rome

 

[beachn4fun]

The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat", which means "the king is dead".

WOW! Thanks Valin. This is really an interesting fact. It is something I did not know.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning Kathy!!!

Sheeeeeesh, I am so happy to have my MAC back!
WHOO HOO!!!!

[Mr. Silverback]

Feeble attempts at humor for the lurking troops:

Two antennas meet on a roof, fall in love get married. The ceremony wasn't much but the reception was great.

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

"Doc, I can't stop singing 'She’s a Lady.'"
"That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"It's not unusual."

[Mr. Silverback]

Feeble attempts at humor for the lurking troops:

Two antennas meet on a roof, fall in love get married. The ceremony wasn't much but the reception was great.

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

"Doc, I can't stop singing 'She’s a Lady.'"
"That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"It's not unusual."

[HiJinx]

Folks, FR is a little bit slow this morning. Not sure what's going on but it's a little slow.

Well, that's simple enough...
There's a fundraiser going on, for good reason.
We need another $5300 to open up the bandwidth pipe!

[beachn4fun]

Good day Everybody! Just stopping by to say HI.

Boy, this site is really slow today. Did tomkow drop some of his peanut butter in the system somehow? Can't stay long cause by the time this message finally gets posted it will probably be time to go home. He...he...he

You know I am so excited by the prospect of tomkow's offer that I am going shopping to make sure that he has plenty of necessities to take that ba--, ah, you know. I figure he's going to need lots of soap and scrub-brushes, etc. And, since he is going to probably be in shock, I am sure he won't have time to bother with shopping for "goodies." I already have this ready to use..... but I'm sure there needs to be other stuff handy, just incase.

Now just before I go, I leave a little something I found in the Reader's Digest (I seem to remember a conversation of this sort here at the Canteen)..... A billboard sign for a Maine water service company: "Swimming pools filled, septic tanks pumped, not same truck."

See you all soon.

[Aeronaut]

FR is so slow, ... ARGHHHHH.....this is annoying.

Hi Kathy. Boy, is that the truth!

[beachn4fun]

I think you have a point! The fundraiser department must have put the FR in low-gear, hoping to convince those who haven't donated to do so in order to get back to full speed!

[beachn4fun]

Hello Mr. Silverback. I really like the cannibal one....he...he

[beachn4fun]

Hi Kathy. Here's a little something for you.

[Soaring Feather]

Hi beachn!!

I found these Free Republic Techies working on the slow posting problem!!
I think Jim Rob has a handle on the issue!
LOL
Caption this picture, please!
Jim Rob, I think there are some loose beans floating around the posting button!
LOL

[beachn4fun]

Hi Ms. Feather. I am happy to know that someone is working the problem. I still think that tomkow must have dropped some peanut butter when he was cooking all that spagetti and peanut butter.

BOY! I didn't know that JimRob had an office on the top floor! WAHOO! But, boy, I am glad I don't have to work at a job like that.....no....no....no

[darkwing104]

Good Morning Canteen FReepers. Thanks for the history lesson and coffee. A bit behind the power curve, I have a Monday to make up for.

[Mr. Silverback]

Hello Mr. Silverback. I really like the cannibal one....he...he

Hey beach! I consider myself a pretty fair joke teller, but I've only had two jokes that always got a laugh: The clown one and this one... Two cows are standing in a field. One says, "Have you heard about all that Mad Cow Disease going around? It's just terrible." And the other cow says, "Yeah, it makes me really glad I'm a penguin."

[Hondo1952]

Good Morning Everyone.

I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan:

1. The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Noriega, Milosovich and the rest of those 'good ole boys.' We will never "interfere" again.

2. We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one sneaking through holes in the fence.

3. All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are. France would welcome them.

4. All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit. No one from a terrorist nation would be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5. No "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

6. The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing non-polluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7. Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go some place else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells fillingup the storage sites would be enough.)

8. If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9. Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island some place. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10. All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer.

"The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'You want a piece of me?'"

[Soaring Feather]

Yup peanut butter has to be the problem. Tom's fault for sure. Tomkow, please try to be a little neater in the Canteen Kitchen!!!
RADIX, needs a neat, clean kitchen for tomorrow, Pancakes on Wednesday.

[beachn4fun]

Hello Hondo. I really like this plan. We must submit this to the President! If we put it on the ballot, I am sure we could manage to get it passed! he....he....Good to see ya today!

[tomkow6]

I MIGHT have to make a VERY hasty exit from the Canteen and not return for a long time, when the Cubs make it to the World Series, due to a, um, "commitment".....

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning/afternoon darkwing!

[Soaring Feather]

Fast exit Tom????? Bath or something like it???

Oh my, this should be good Burka man!!

I have been watching you, naught boy!!!