Western Roman Empire Dbq Analysis

Ancient Rome was one of the greatest empires in the entire world. However, 476 CE marks the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Many issues caused this to occur. For example, apathetic citizens spread a negative vibe. Also, the economy began to struggle economy upon halted expansion. These are only two of the many problems that the Western Roman Empire faced, and this proved that no matter how great an empire, issues can lead to its decline. Much of Rome 's population was made up of serfs. When the serfs were not able to contribute much to society, they found little value in Rome. Therefore, many simply did not care about Rome. This apathetic nature was not beneficial, and spread throughout Rome, creating a negative environment for all (Document 1). In addition, Rome was an extremely large empire. Rome was doing very well and expanding. However, at a certain point, Rome 's size caused …show more content…
Between the late 300 's the and 410 CE, Rome endured Gothic battles, Germanic attacks, and being sacked by Visigoth King Alaric. Rome was left torn up after these, and was nearly destroyed. Then, in 476, Odoacer, a Germanic leader, had a plan to dethrone Romulus Augustus, the then emperor. When he was successful, it marked the end of Roman emperors, and therefore, 476 was the year of the Fall of Rome (Andrews, 2014). In conclusion, many factors contributed to the fall of Rome. Rome was an empire that was built on expansion, and it became one of the largest empires ever. Upon expansion, many problems plagued the Western Roman Empire, and they gradually got worse and worse. If Rome had not become so huge, then it may not have fallen the way it did. However, since Rome expanded the way it did, I believe that caused many of the problems it experienced. So, due to the nature of the empire, I do believe Rome was destined to collapse. Rome had a good run, but no empire can last forever, as it clearly