The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire
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.
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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...