The Downfall Of The Western Roman Empire
Uploaded by srheric on Apr 25, 2007
The Downfall Of The Western Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was strong for a time. It flourished because of social, economic, political, military and religious strengths. However, when the very things that make a civilization flourish start to decline, the civilization will also lead to a downfall.
The first reason for the fall was economic decay. The rulers of Rome had expensive lifestyles. To aid their image, they needed money. They gained money through taxation on the poor. In response to the torment of tax collectors, the poor fled to barbaric lands. The poor made up a large percentage of the Roman population. Barbarians disrupted trade on the Mediterranean Sea. Rome's gold and silver were being drained into buying luxuries from China, India, and Arabia. The government decreased the silver content in money. The value of the money also decreased. The emperors felt that the tax issue needed to be addressed. They decided to make the hereditary class of tax collectors pay the difference. This concept wiped out a whole class of moderately wealthy people.
Later, slavery split communities. Rome believed the workers of society should not benefit from slavery. Slaves then had to reason to try hard or improve. Eastern slaves started doing technical work. Thus, all technical work was looked down upon. Labor was cheap and worthless. Upper-class Romans were content with what they had become. They felt no need to improve their inventions, they were content with slaves.
Another reason for the fall of Rome was political issues. Citizens no longer displayed patriotism for that they were indifferent. Only the rich ran for office and likewise, only the rich could run for office. It had become too expensive to hold office. The officers were forced to pay for public engagements themselves. The wealthy men destroyed Greco-Roman civilization. The loss of Greco-Roman civilization led to the decline of civilization in general. The general pattern of the classical civilization was based upon slavery being at the root of society. The army had proven it to produce many leaders. The army needed to be maintained. Again, taxes were forced mainly on the poor or made more people impoverished. Soon the Pax Augusta came. It brought prosperity, but failed to release new productive forces. It also didn't contribute to industrialization. The whole political system was put on display when gladiator shows and public executions were held. They reaffirmed the moral order.
The...