The Decline & Fall Of The Roman Empire Essay – Flashcards

AGREE BISH

???? It was a mixture Internal Causes = contributing factors External Causes = immediate causes ???? Finley Hooper: "No 'fall' only a process..." ????^^^ No single event could have caused it; it was a process. ???? Multiple historians have varying ideas of what caused Rome's decline. Their arguments = parts of a large variety of problems that led to the downfall. ???? Rome = dealing with internal struggles ~~> gradually weakened its core. ???? When external pressures + invasions came ~~> Rome = already damaged from the inside ~~> the destruction from the outside tipped it over the edge.

???? Political: ???? People saw political office as a burden; did not care about it. ???? Civil war due to i ternal struggles when Diocletian retired in 305 BCE. ???? Empire split into two ~~> greatly weakened western half. ???? Social: ???? No one cared about public affairs (affected trade). ???? Empire had low confidence. ???? Corruption, disloyalty, & lack of patriotism. ???? Huge gap between rich & poor. ???? Increase in disease + food shortage = decline in population.

???? Economic: ???? Poor harvests = starvation. ???? The disruption of trade also weakened the empire economically. ???? No war plunder (were not expanding and taking from other people). ???? Gold and silver drain. ???? Inflation (worth of money goes down; price goes uo). ???? Taxes raise. ???? Gap between rich & poor impoverished Western Empire. ???? Military: ???? Low funds for defense. ???? Lack of recruiting Roman citizens forced them to recruit non-Romans. ????^^^Thus, soldiers were not patriotic or loyal. ????Arther Ferrill: Destruction of Roman's massive over 200,000 soldier military power in 5th century caused collapse of Roman government in West.

???? The Huns: ???? Migrated from Central Asia ???? Western Empire was no match for Attila's empire. ???? Germanic Invasions: ???? 400s CE ???? Huns were destroying everything in their path, driving Germanic tribes living along Rome's border to move into Rome. ⚫️ Because of the oressure from the Huns, the Visigoths and Germanic tribes streamed Rome. ???? After establishing settlement in Rome, the Visigoths stormed them under the rule of Alaric. ???? From Scandinavia and Russia. ???? St. Jerome (early church leader): Rome was captured after the attack and plunder of the Visigoths in 410. ⚫️ Edward gibbon: "the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest".

Mix of contributing internal factors and immediate external factors that caused the fall and decline of Rome.