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Reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire (Does history repeat itself?)
killeenroos.com ^ | Unknown | Unknown

Posted on 10/25/2003 8:44:44 PM PDT by SpaceBar

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

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

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 probable 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

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

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.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: archaeology; fallofrome; godsgravesglyphs; history; immigration; romanempire; rome
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To: haroldeveryman
The western part of the empire broke up when one of these German generals (Odacer) informed the emperor that his services were no longer required

So when is La Raza going to inform The President that his services are no longer required in Atzlan?

21 posted on 10/25/2003 10:41:32 PM PDT by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: AlbionGirl
It really is frightening, because the caliber of elected official is continuing on a downward spiral, IMO...IMO you're quite right - I almost said "I feel your pain", but that would have been too pointed a reminder on how low the supposedly best and brightest in public life have really fallen today.....
22 posted on 10/25/2003 10:47:46 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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To: Williams
I agree. There may be a pony or two buried in it, but there is also a lot of HS here

Emperors like Nero and Caligula became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties where guests ate and drank until they became ill.

Except Caligula and Nero were early, and it was immediately *after* them that Vepasianus and Titus straightened the Empire out to one that worhed for the next coupla centuries.

First-floor apartments were not occupied by the poor since these living quarters rented for about $00 a year.

Where can I gets me one of them rich folks apartments?

23 posted on 10/25/2003 10:54:49 PM PDT by Oztrich Boy (You realize, of course, this means war?" B Bunny)
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To: SpaceBar
bump 4 later
24 posted on 10/25/2003 10:57:15 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (Virtue untested is innocence)
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To: Williams
... you cannot come up with a snap reason why it all happened...actually Gibbon came up with four after his twenty years of study - "injuries of time and nature", "hostile attacks of the barbarians and Christians", "use and abuse of the materials", and -

"IV. I have reserved for the last the most potent and forcible cause of destruction, the domestic hostilities of the Romans themselves. In a dark period of five hundred years Rome was perpetually afflicted by the sanguinary quarrels of the nobles and the people, the Guelphs and the Ghibelines, the Colonna and Ursini. With some slight alterations, a theater...was transformed into a strong and spacious citidel. Even the churches were encompassed with arms and bulwarks...." (chap seventy-one, abridged verson)....

25 posted on 10/25/2003 11:01:10 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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To: SpaceBar
“….. there was less gold to use in coins. “

Governments also resort to debasing their currency as a form of (hidden) taxation. If the government replaces another 10 percent of the gold in a coin with copper it can pocket that gold and use it as it pleases. Thus, there is more wealth available to the government and less of it out in the private economy.
26 posted on 10/25/2003 11:06:18 PM PDT by haroldeveryman
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To: haroldeveryman; FreedomCalls
The western part of the empire broke up when one of these German generals (Odacer) informed the emperor that his services were no longer required and declared himself King of Italy. Thus, the Western empire went out with a wimper

Not necessarily a bad thing. An Ostrogothic successor state may have been the last best hope of Europe

Theodoric, who was educated in Constantinople and wanted to preserve the best features of Roman society. said "An able Goth wants to be like a Roman. Only a poor Roman would want to be a Goth."

With the society going on much as before, the average tenant-farmer would only have noticed that the new Gothic Lord was cheaper to keep tham the former Roman Aristocrat landlord, and kept the bandits under control better.

The real disaster was when the civilised Justinian tried to assert control over the West, failed, but destroyed the society while failing.

27 posted on 10/25/2003 11:15:08 PM PDT by Oztrich Boy (You realize, of course, this means war?" B Bunny)
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To: SpaceBar
An eerie read is Taylor Caldwell's "Pillar of Iron." It is the story of Marcus Tulius Cicero, and Caldwell aparently did considerable research to write it. In a foreword, she notes that similarities between the modern U.S. and the Rome of Cicero's time were not intended. It's an excellent book, recommended reading for anyone interested in learning tidbits about the fall of Rome.
28 posted on 10/25/2003 11:22:43 PM PDT by Finny (God continue to Bless G.W. Bush with wisdom, popularity, victory and success.)
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To: Oztrich Boy
“Not necessarily a bad thing. An Ostrogothic successor state may have been the last best hope of Europe”


Maybe the analogy between the barbarians and illegal U.S. immigration falls apart here. Some historical accounts indicate that the average Roman was relieved when the western empire fell and that the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy was popular with the locals.
29 posted on 10/25/2003 11:49:03 PM PDT by haroldeveryman
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To: donmeaker
I bought a small freighter in Ravenna once. The old town is till pretty quaint.
30 posted on 10/25/2003 11:51:26 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: TheCrusader
They are in our gates and we are obligated to treat them special...
31 posted on 10/25/2003 11:52:11 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: Oztrich Boy; Travis McGee
Did not Theodoric also defeat Attila?

where Theodoric died and was not Theodoric a Visigoth?

Attila was poisoned or had a stroke with his young Hungarian(?) bride....

...need to dust off my Great Battles book....as I recall, many of the Huns chose to be burned alive in thier circle of wagons and ramparts rather than submit.

Refresh me please?

TM....more on parallels for your new book
32 posted on 10/25/2003 11:57:48 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: wardaddy
Some rear guard actions are being planned.


33 posted on 10/26/2003 12:01:23 AM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: wardaddy
Did not Theodoric also defeat Attila?
where Theodoric died and was not Theodoric a Visigoth?

That was Theodacer the Visigoth. (d.451)
Theodoric the Ostrogoth (d,526) was a generatiion or two later.

34 posted on 10/26/2003 12:01:59 AM PDT by Oztrich Boy (You realize, of course, this means war?" B Bunny)
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To: Intolerant in NJ; wardaddy; archy
"IV. I have reserved for the last the most potent and forcible cause of destruction, the domestic hostilities of the Romans themselves. In a dark period of five hundred years Rome was perpetually afflicted by the sanguinary quarrels of the nobles and the people, the Guelphs and the Ghibelines, the Colonna and Ursini. With some slight alterations, a theater...was transformed into a strong and spacious citidel. Even the churches were encompassed with arms and bulwarks...." (chap seventy-one, abridged verson)...."

Civil War. Coming soon to an urban jungle near you.

35 posted on 10/26/2003 12:04:20 AM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Oztrich Boy; wardaddy
Apologies. I wuz wrong. The Visigoth was also called Theodoric, as was the Ostrogoth.

36 posted on 10/26/2003 12:15:15 AM PDT by Oztrich Boy (You realize, of course, this means war?" B Bunny)
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To: Travis McGee
How about public works that overtaxed the poor ... Rome and middle ages both !
37 posted on 10/26/2003 12:15:18 AM PDT by f.Christian (evolution vs intelligent design ... science3000 ... designeduniverse.com --- * architecture * !)
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To: SpaceBar; Williams
Readers will note the striking similarity to the situation of the present day United States.

I don't. Half of those things listed don't apply to the present day US at all (massive pandemics? rampant inflation? out of control unemployment? inferior technology? I don't think so), and the half that could even arguably be compared to our current situation (military spending, urban decay, political corruption and declining morals and values) are all generic "things sure aren't like they were in the Good Old Days" complaints that people have been bemoaning practically since the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.

38 posted on 10/26/2003 12:19:02 AM PDT by Timesink
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To: donmeaker
The Romans evolved, from Camillius and his three lines of skirmisher, main body, and heavily armored "triari" third line, to the Marian legion with chain mail, to the empire with lorica segementata, that you see in the cartoons (asterix and Obelix! ) Later they adopted heavy cavalry which was a weakness in the republican and principate, a major strength in the Eastern Empire.

The motorized units would have come later, following up on the earlier successes of the chariots of Scipio Africanus, no doubt.


39 posted on 10/26/2003 1:12:55 AM PDT by archy (Angiloj! Mia kusenveturilo estas plena da angiloj!)
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To: archy
Did the British Empire really pass, or was it transformed?

ie: United States, Austrailia, Canada..
40 posted on 10/26/2003 1:40:53 AM PDT by Dallas59
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