Causes For Fall Of Roman Empire
By the end of 476 AD, the Roman Empire was completely devastated due to invasions by Germany. There was a constant pressure being built up by the German tribes on the Roman Empire. While Britain and Gaul were taken over by the Angels, Saxons, Jutes, and Franks, Spain and Italy were controlled by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths respectively. |
Although these Germanic incursions were the most apparent reasons for the fall of Rome, the underlying social, economic, and political causes for fall of Roman Empire were all the more significant.
Social Causes: The morale of the citizens had weakened to great extent due to the prevalent slavery system and a large number of disgruntled people began to become disenfranchised. Consequently, the Roman Empire saw a sudden decline in its traditional citizenry. The gradual weakening of the moral fiber of the citizens was evident in amusements, literature, and people’s changing lifestyles, marked by violence and gratuitous sex. The conventional traits of character were challenged by Christianity and people began to concentrate more on personal salvation than on the well-being of the state. As a result, feelings of loyalty and patriotism declined among the citizens. These social causes became one of the major catalysts in the fall of the Roman Empire.
Political Causes: The problem of succession was prevalent in the Empire for hundreds of years. The government was primarily run by the military or the rich aristocrats, who were not efficient enough to rule a vast, polyglot empire in a structured manner. As the military became disloyal, the citizen began to lose interest in the government.
Economic Causes: With the eventual decline in the traditional work ethics, the labor force began to breakdown, leading to a considerable decrease in the productivity. This made Rome highly dependent on foreign made products. Eventually, trade deficit began to build up and the infrastructural development of the major cities came to a halt. The enormous military and welfare costs became unbearable, compelling the government to overtax certain regions of the Empire. This in turn led to an economic warfare between different regions and different classes of the rich and the poor.
All the aforesaid socio-economic and political causes led to the fall of the Roman Empire in the west. The eastern part of the Empire continued to rise as the ‘Byzantine Empire’ until 1453, when it was finally overthrown.
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