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Many different historians, teachers, philosophers, archeologists and ordinary people have talked about, and brought up ideas and hypotheses about how this glorious Empire fell. This civilization and their way of life is, in some historians' opinions, the most prosperous and content time in human history. Many writers differ not only in their style, but also in how they view and interpret the events of history. One of the greatest historians of the eight-tenth century, Edward Gibbons, wrote that the fall of Rome had to do with religion, social, and political reasons. The Empire stretched from Atlas Mount to the Danube and the Rhine, all the way to the Tigris River in Mesopotamia. However, with an empire this big it was hard for a ruler in Rome to be able to rule with the support of all his people and correctly without the abuse of his absolute power.
Edward Gibbons is most famous for his saying, "instead of inquiring why the Roman Empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it had subsisted so long. " And this is true, the Roman reign over the Mediterranean stretched over many centuries. One of the main reasons that Edward Gibbons pointed out about the decline of the empire was the fact that the army started to oppress the Republic and eventually it decided who would be Emperor. Also, the church preached pacifism and then the people forgot the active virtues of the Roman society. His views and opinions are different in some respects to those of Chadwick, Walbank, Rostovtzeff, and Brown.
Yet, they are similar in more than one way. Mr. Henry Chadwick pointed out that when 200 AD rolled around that the Mediterranean trade was falling into a recession, the birth rate was dropping and enemies were invading their borders. He also goes on to point out that the collapse happened over time and it was barely even noticed in 476 AD when it was all over. However, he points out that there is no relationship between the downfall of Rome and the church preaching pacifism like Gibbons believes. Rostovtzeff and Walbank both concur with the fact that the Mediterranean Empire was falling into a recession, however they did not comment about the relationship between Christianity and the Fall of Rome.
Rostovtzeff, Walbank, Chadwick, and Brown all mentioned that the Germanic Tribes and the attacks on their frontier lands and their civil wars between city-states. All four of these authors seem to have the same ideas expressed in different ways and with an emphasis on different points. In every separate emperor's time you read about many battles and wars raging along the borderlands of the Roman Empire. You hear about the savage Goths, Gauls, Huns, and many other rebel city-states. The Huns, for example, were tall well-built people who had a very rough life. They could fight in single combat and they could scatter enemy lines with their sudden movements and randomness in direction.
They were also as deadly with a bow as they were on foot. You could not make a truce with them because they were easily swayed. Also, they could not tell the difference between right and wrong. The Gauls are much like the Huns and other Germanic Tribes.
They were tall with fair skin and reddish hair. Their savage eyes and hot tempers made them fearful among all. The wives, who had eyes even harder than their husbands, settled most disputes. They were great tacticians who loved combat. They would not dodge military service because that was their life. Ammainus Marcellinus, Herodian, and Salvian agree immensely on the fearfulness of the Germanic Tribes.
Yet, Herodian also mentions the revolting city-states within Rome. The Aquileians had to rebuild their city's walls and brought in their farmers and families. Everyone was inside that wall day and night fighting off the Roman legion. At first the legion thought that it would be an easy siege. However, they were very wrong and in the end the legion turned back to Rome. They did this after killing their emperor Maximinus who was always complaining and blaming others.
Salvian, however, talks about how happy the former Roman tribes and cities were under barbaric rule. That even some people would flee their Roman town to live in one already taken by the onslaught of invaders. The Romans casted aside the Senate and Emperor to flee to the barbarians. This brings us to Dio Cassius who is famous for righting the History Of Rome in 80 books. Good portions of that number are still here today, but these books show what a Roman thought. For example, Dio thought that the ascension of Commodus to the throne was the beginning of the troubles for Rome.
Even Dio wrote of how the army controlled the empire. He wrote of how Julianus bought the Roman Empire from the soldiers. These four historians agree on the points of savageness by the Germanic Tribes and the corruptness of the Roman Legion. Walbank agrees with both of the other historians but also expands their ideas by saying that it was the whole structure of ancient society. The government indirectly caused civil strife, and slavery grew into a horrible oppression. Slavery lead to more separation between the rich and the poor.
Then the ancient world saw a decline in trade, religion, population, and an uprising in the legion. All of this together, Walbank believes, caused the fall of Rome. Mike Rostovtzeff points out the civil wars and the fierce external attacks by the Germanic Tribes. These things resulted in the emperors' poor decision in using methods of terror and compulsion to force the populace into doing what was needed.
Some people believe it was a political crisis. However, Rostovtzeff disagreed greatly. He believed that the mobilization of the Legion and the integration of barbarians into the army brought about a corrupt militaristic force. This force was able to make the Senate and the Emperor bow to its will. The army fought everyone from the plebeians to the privileged class. When a group of people tried to assert their influence on others the ramifications were usually open war.
The citizens of Rome started looking towards the soldiers for haven and protection. In the fourth century the peasants' opinion did not change from the third century towards the emperor. This lead to Rome's downfall and Rostovtzeff told us that there were no winners. Brown's views do not concentrate centrally on the rule of the Empire but also in the aftermath of the fall. "was held together by the illusion that it was still a very small world.
Seldom has a state been so dependent on so delicate a sleight of hand, " says Brown. This is true according to all of these historians, however Brown goes into more detail by saying that Rome started conforming and nearly becoming the embodiment of Greece. Their art, ideas, and philosophies reflected the Greeks. He also came back to point out that the grip on the Mediterranean world was loosening.
In 410 AD the Goths sacked and pillaged Rome and Britain was abandoned by the empire. And in 480 AD Gaul also became a lost cause. When Rome fell, Brown told us, all of the cities and villages remained "sub-roman." But, in contrast to that, when the Byzantine empire fell the cities and villages did not remain "sub-Byzantine", they quickly turned oriental. "The question we should be is asking is not why the Roman Empire was destroyed but we should rather be asking how is it subsisted so long, " said Edward Gibbons. This is completely true in every aspect one can look at.
Nothing lasts forever. The Roman Empire had a lot of the luxuries that we have now in the second millennium. For their time they were an advanced and prosperous civilization. They may have been advanced in their technology. However, their dictatorship and Republic governments failed because of the expansion and corruption within the Roman Empire. These things alone make the decline and fall of the Roman Empire not only inevitable, but also a reality.
The dictatorship (emperor) was setup by an extraordinary person and leader, Octavian 'Augustus' Caesar. This type of government was meant for people close to or equal to the mental and physical capabilities of Augustus. The Old Republic failed with the expansion of the Roman empire. With the defeat of Carthage and their empire stretching across the northern part of Africa the Romans acquired a navy, an army, and more land than they could handle.
The Republic failed because that type of government is meant for cities or towns separately and it is not designed to rule an empire at all. The corruption started with the creation of the Dictatorship government started by Augustus. This was not a problem for him because of his virtuous self, however, with the exemption of Marcus Aurelius, most of the succeeding emperors could not handle the responsibility. This lead the Senate to become weakened and able to be bribed.
Walbank, Rostovtzeff, Brown, Marcellinus, Herodian, and Salvian all wrote of these happenings. They wrote of great distress within the Roman empire. Additionally, some of them wrote of the constant civil strife within the Empire itself, not to mention the constant raiding by the Germanic Huns and Goths that plagued the Roman Legion. More corruption came with the victories against the tribes. One of the biggest pieces of corruption that hit Rome was when the armies, made up of mostly captured Germanic Tribes, were able to come into power over even the emperor. Also, Dio Cassius wrote of Julianus and how he bought the throne by paying an enormous amount of money to each soldier.
Chadwick mentioned that the demise of an Empire that lasted nearly a millennia is not something that should go unnoticed, however the decline of Rome started and dragged out for so long that the people could not tell that the Empire was falling apart. This is truly when the Roman Empire fell.
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Research essay sample on The Fall Of Roman Empire
