The Fall Of Rome: The Praetorian Guard

The Fall of Rome
Without a strong economy a nation is nothing. Things like unemployment, inflation, and overspending by the government can all wreak havoc on a nation and its citizens, and Rome was no stranger to these issues. Like all things in life, Rome’s massive army and territorial expansions came with a price, a very high price to be more specific. These constant wars had resulted in a tremendous amount of oppressive taxation and over spending. This eventually leads to inflation and increased the wealth gap between the rich and the poor which created tension amongst the people . Much of Rome’s economy also relied on slave labor, these slaves were seized from newly acquired territories, however, as the expansion of Rome came to a stop,
Sure a good nation would have a strong infrastructure, strong economy, and a powerful military, but none of these mean anything if you have a dysfunctional society, which Rome most certainly did. Corruption was not uncommon in Roman society, especially among the wealthy and those holding government positions. One particularly notable corrupt group was The Praetorian Guard, a group of elite soldiers dedicated to guarding the emperor, but guarding the emperor seemed to be the opposite of what they did. The Praetorian Guard would often assassinate the emperor for personal or political gain, in fact they killed so many emperors that in 75 years Rome went through 20 emperors! Severely weakening the infrastructure and stability of the empire. One time the Praetorian Guard even “Sold at auction the throne of the world to the highest bidder.” (http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/). Another problem within Roman society was the rise of Christianity. The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in 313, ending a protracted period of persecution for those of the Christian faith. However when Christianity became the state religion in 380 the new religion began to erode traditional Roman values, these new found Christian values encouraged the nation’s populus be be more pacifistic rather than aristocratic . In addition Christianity, “displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and onto a sole deity.” (http://www.history.com) Further more the rise of Christianity brought religious officials such as the Pope and Bishops into politics, whose religious authority further complicated and weakened the Roman Government. Although many things within Rome may have caused its collapse that may have been able to be avoided, there were other factors outside Rome that lead to Rome’s eventual