ETEP 2: The Fall Of The Roman Empire
ETEP 2: The Fall of the Roman Empire
The fall of Rome is a heavily debated topic in the annals of historical perspective. It signaled the end of the Ancient World, and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The Roman Empire had existed for a long time and ran functionally for about six or seven centuries, until Rome was eventually sacked at the hands of the barbarians in 410 A.D. What was the cause of the fall though? Was it because of a lack of proper leadership coupled with a corrupt system? Some historians from the time feel that this is an important factor. Other historians think that the rise in Christianity lead to the fall of the empire. It is my opinion that the fall of the Roman Empire encompasses both theories. The major component of the fall was incompetent leadership and the corruptness of the government, but the rise of Christianity fueled some of these attributes and lead to a weaker Empire.
Poor leadership was a major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire. Procopius of …show more content…
Salvian, in a much debated account, proclaimed that the governing body used public levies for their individual gain. Salvian stated that it was not only the high officials, but also their “underlings” who would steal money from the common people. Salvian further posits that the standards of living were so low in Rome, that some of its citizens, even the well educated, left to join the barbarian forces. Late eighteenth century historian Edward Gibbon gives his take of the situation in a similar fashion. He says “The decay of the Roman world has been frequently ascribed to the translation of the seat of the empire; but [it] has already [been] shown, that the powers of government were divided, rather than removed.” This quote says that the empire could not function as a whole, and there were divisions in the way the East and West Empires though it should have been
The fall of Rome is a heavily debated topic in the annals of historical perspective. It signaled the end of the Ancient World, and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The Roman Empire had existed for a long time and ran functionally for about six or seven centuries, until Rome was eventually sacked at the hands of the barbarians in 410 A.D. What was the cause of the fall though? Was it because of a lack of proper leadership coupled with a corrupt system? Some historians from the time feel that this is an important factor. Other historians think that the rise in Christianity lead to the fall of the empire. It is my opinion that the fall of the Roman Empire encompasses both theories. The major component of the fall was incompetent leadership and the corruptness of the government, but the rise of Christianity fueled some of these attributes and lead to a weaker Empire.
Poor leadership was a major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire. Procopius of …show more content…
Salvian, in a much debated account, proclaimed that the governing body used public levies for their individual gain. Salvian stated that it was not only the high officials, but also their “underlings” who would steal money from the common people. Salvian further posits that the standards of living were so low in Rome, that some of its citizens, even the well educated, left to join the barbarian forces. Late eighteenth century historian Edward Gibbon gives his take of the situation in a similar fashion. He says “The decay of the Roman world has been frequently ascribed to the translation of the seat of the empire; but [it] has already [been] shown, that the powers of government were divided, rather than removed.” This quote says that the empire could not function as a whole, and there were divisions in the way the East and West Empires though it should have been