The Fall of Rome
Just like it’s beginning, the end of the Roman Empire didn’t happen all at once. For almost 500 years, Rome ruled over the Mediterranean Sea and put fear into neighboring countries with their powerful military and vast territory. Other civilizations didn’t dare to cross them. But all good things must come to an end… What caused the Roman Empire to fall? Invasions, corruption, instability, military weakness, and natural disasters are just a few.
There were not only foreign wars, civil wars, street fights, fires, and revolts that reduced population. Many different natural disasters such as earthquakes, famines, and plagues contributed to its decline. Various plagues, like the measles, literally plagued *ha… ha…* the Roman citizens lives. The diseases were brought over to other areas in the empire where people hadn’t built an immunity which caused a lot of deaths. This decreased the population by 75%. An earthquake in 366 CE followed by a severe flood wiped out approx. 50,000 citizens. (Documents E&F) Wealthy residents would order their water to be delivered by lead pipes, which caused lead poisoning, and …show more content…
In its last 50 years, over 19 emperors had been elected, and almost half were assassinated. Being a Roman emperor was pretty dangerous, but during the last century it was like digging your own grave. (Document A) Unlike the Greeks, Rome didn’t have a legit way to elect a new emperor once the old one died. Usually, an emperor's successor would be a relative. But at times when there was no one to succeed him, a literal civil war would break out over who should take charge. Stability is a key component of any civilization, so this definitely contributed to the fall and overall weakness of the empire. To add to that, the rest of the government, like the Senate, were super corrupt. In these times, it wasn’t illegal to pay someone to vote for them. This led to lawmakers being bribed to
Just like it’s beginning, the end of the Roman Empire didn’t happen all at once. For almost 500 years, Rome ruled over the Mediterranean Sea and put fear into neighboring countries with their powerful military and vast territory. Other civilizations didn’t dare to cross them. But all good things must come to an end… What caused the Roman Empire to fall? Invasions, corruption, instability, military weakness, and natural disasters are just a few.
There were not only foreign wars, civil wars, street fights, fires, and revolts that reduced population. Many different natural disasters such as earthquakes, famines, and plagues contributed to its decline. Various plagues, like the measles, literally plagued *ha… ha…* the Roman citizens lives. The diseases were brought over to other areas in the empire where people hadn’t built an immunity which caused a lot of deaths. This decreased the population by 75%. An earthquake in 366 CE followed by a severe flood wiped out approx. 50,000 citizens. (Documents E&F) Wealthy residents would order their water to be delivered by lead pipes, which caused lead poisoning, and …show more content…
In its last 50 years, over 19 emperors had been elected, and almost half were assassinated. Being a Roman emperor was pretty dangerous, but during the last century it was like digging your own grave. (Document A) Unlike the Greeks, Rome didn’t have a legit way to elect a new emperor once the old one died. Usually, an emperor's successor would be a relative. But at times when there was no one to succeed him, a literal civil war would break out over who should take charge. Stability is a key component of any civilization, so this definitely contributed to the fall and overall weakness of the empire. To add to that, the rest of the government, like the Senate, were super corrupt. In these times, it wasn’t illegal to pay someone to vote for them. This led to lawmakers being bribed to