Roman Empire DBQ

Hollis Bluestein
Ms. Peckham
History 9F
February 2, 2015
Roman Empire DBQ
The Roman Empire’s decline lasted for about 300 years before it finally fell.
During this period of decline, everything about the empire was falling apart. The
Government was very unstable and the military was weak. These are some of the biggest things that helped the Empire to fall. After the Fall, The western part of the empire vanished in 476 CE but the eastern side was still in tact. This side thrived for many years until its fall in 1453 CE. This part of the Empire was known as the Byzantine Empire.
The Roman Empire’s government and military still survived in the eastern part. The weak military and unstable government of the Roman Empire played a huge role in its decline and fall.
During the decline of the Roman Empire, it’s military became very weak, which was one of the biggest reasons for the fall. The Roman Empire’s military was the strongest in the world at the time and they won all their battles. Eventually, the soldiers became complacent and lazy because they kept winning. They eventually complained so much about the heavy armor that they just didn't wear any at all (Document B). This made them much weaker in battle and they were not able to protect themselves. Without armor, many soldiers died in battle. This made other soldiers scared so they would run off

and not fight. With the soldiers unwillingness to fight, they were defeated but the Huns, who had a much greater and stronger army.
The Roman Empire’s government was very unstable which caused the decline and eventual fall. Over a span of 50 years, there were 19 emperors who were either assassinated, killed themselves, died of a plague or died as a slave (Document A). Having so many different rulers in such a short period of time made the government very unstable. There was no sense of order in the government so the Empire could not function very well. The government’s unstableness is a major reason of the fall.
To refute the argument that the government and military played a big role in the fall of the Roman Empire, The government and military helped the Eastern part of the
Roman Empire, or The Byzantine Empire, thrive for a 1000 years. This Byzantine
Empire was able to use Roman Military to protect their people and they used the Roman government to rule their people. This shows that the Roman government and military also has good aspects to them.
Before, during and after the Roman Empire’s decline, the government and military have played huge roles. Before the decline, they were a key part of the Roman
Empire. It helped them become the largest and strongest empire at the time. During the
Decline, they played a huge role because they were eventually the things that killed of the
Roman Empire. After the fall, they played a huge role in the Byzantine empire which survived for many years. Overall the government and military were the main causes of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, in good and bad ways.