Arther Ferrill's The Fall Of The Roman Empire

The expansion and evolution of the Roman Empire occurred over hundreds of years. The Roman Empire expanded to its height in the second century C.E. stretching three thousand miles from Britain to Egypt, with a border nearly six thousand miles long. This evolution brought with it adverse changes which greatly impacted the strength of the Roman Empire. The deterioration of the army greatly contributed to the demise of the Roman Empire. Many things can be attributed to the military’s crucial role in the fall of the Roman Western Empire. These things include internal problems within the army, poor tactical and political decisions, and detrimental invasions from the barbarians. The Roman Empire’s army, a once strong and formidable force, was weakened due to economic, social, and political issues. In Arther Ferrill’s book, The Fall of the Roman Empire, the author’s central message is that the Roman military played a considerable role in the Empire’s gradual decline and eventual collapse. As a military historian professor …show more content…
“Diocletian and Constantine devised new economical and social policies that were based on coercion and loss of individual freedom.” City councils began to decline, as they had to make up the difference in the taxes they collected from their own pocket. “This caused both Diocletian and Constantine to issue edicts which forced the rich to remain in their posts as curiales making the positions virtually hereditary.” To maintain a tax base the emperors issued edicts that required people to stay in their chosen vocations. Diocletian introduced a system of annual conscription in which recruits were levied much like taxes. Large landowners would have to provide multiple recruits to the army. Smaller landowners were allowed to pool their resources together and provide one recruit. Roman society viewed this as a steep price to pay for the military defense of the