The Decline of Rome essays

The Decline of Rome essays The Roman Empire stood in great power for many decades. For an extensive period of time Rome was considered the center of civilization. For the empire was beautiful and attracted many invaders, the walls surrounding the empire and of course the powerful army served as protective forces against the invaders Some people believed that the Roman Empire would last forever. The fall of the eastern half of Rome was a result of major political, military, economic, and social problems. The western half lived on throughout the Byzantine Empire. The downfall of these four key aspects of Roman society destroyed the fabric of the great Roman Civilization. The various political problems that accursed in Rome were related to the fact that there was no law of succession to the throne. In the absence of a law of succession to the throne, in the most powerful military leader declared himself Emperor of Rome. An example of this is Julius Caesar, declared himself dictator after great military conquest. Caesar was a great leader for Rome, but there were Emperors that were given the title that were incapable of the responsibilities. Neros rule led to military rebellion and opened the path to widespread disruption. The empire was overextended. Rome controlled so much of the world that the majority of the Roman legion was composed of soldiers whose roots were not based in Roman culture. As a result, the quality of the Roman soldier became poor. These long-term military causes were threatening to Rome. There were consequences causes that would arise if Rome were to be attacked. The impoverished state of the Western Empire resulted in a weak m ilitary. The soldiers were no longer loyal to the army and their emperor. There were very few that would risk their lives for the empire. Now there were many foreign soldiers who served for pay. This made it that much harder to be able to hold a large army. There was not the type of ...