The Western Roman Empire

The Fall of the Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire was at its height, and one of the strongest empires in history. The Romans technologie and architectural advancements were amazing accomplishments, but unfortunately, the Empire began to crumble. Many reasons contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but there were four main reasons in consecutive order. Political problems within the government, economic issues, disastrous diseases, and foreign invaders. Political problems were primarily the reason for the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Hence, there was several unfit, greedy, cruel emperors in the Empire. Furthermore, the throne was inherited through generations, but most emperors lacked the ability to rule because …show more content…
Hence, legions demanded an increase in their salaries so taxes were raised for the people of Rome. In result, the legions threatened to stop defending Rome if they were not being paid more money. Moreover, a growing desire to have more goods purchased from other empires spread through Rome, which meant that merchants didn’t make enough money, so many of them went out of business. In addition, there was less economic growth within Rome. Also, there was lots of trade roots going through the seas and through the land which meant sea traffic, and with that came pirates. As a result, the pirates stole goods and ships on the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, high tariffs were in place, and a lack of gold was imported into Rome because of less conquests of land. Thereupon, less gold coins were produced and the few that were were smaller with less gold in them. Also, tremendous inflation of products began to happen in Rome. Therefore, barter began to happen rather than exchange money which meant a limited money flow. Also, through droughts, farming decreased and famine developed, which led to financial difficulties for farmers and merchants, so many migrated into …show more content…
Accordingly, the Empire was too massive to protect because communication was limited which made it hard to keep the empire running smoothly. As a result, the Romans used unprotected walls and natural borders but they were almost impossible to control and protect, and could be crossed easily. In addition, there was not enough legionnaires to guard the frontier boundaries. Furthermore, legions weakened because they were so concerned with their salaries and who controlled the throne, they lost focus of their job. Moreover, Germanic mercenaries were hired by Rome, but they were not loyal and would fight for whichever side payed them more. As a result, they ended up turning against Rome. On the contrary, Germanic tribes invaded Rome, destroying aqueducts so that little to no fresh water could flow into the cities, so that there would be no availability of water to the Romans. Also, Germanic tribes crossed over frozen rivers (Rhine and Danube Rivers), which instead of natural barriers, acted as gateways and easy access into Rome. Furthermore, in 410 CE, Germanic Chief Alaric and the Germanic tribes invaded