What caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire? This is a question that has been asked by many people throughout history. It is a question that cannot be totally answered because so many different things led to the fall of the empire. But, there was small factors, and very large factors that led to the fall. Rome was a very stable nation for hundreds of years. It started with the Republic, turned into an empire during Caesar's rule, and ended after about a thousand years of being a nation. Rome was one of the greatest civilizations ever, but several different factors could not allow it to survive forever. The two most significant causes of the fall of the Western Roman empire were the decline of the military, and the rise of Christianity.
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Many different reasons caused the military to no longer be able to function. First, Rome became so big and widespread that no one person could have possibly had a grasp on what was going on around the empire. The army ended up turning into a divided group offered mercenary armies over time, with no allegiance to the central leadership of Rome. This all happened because as the empire grew, the emperor struggled to provide enough troops and resources to defend things such as local rebellions, and attacks around the empire. Second, too much money was invested into the military which caused economic troubles. The expenses of the military, and other things led to very high taxes, which made the Roman standard of self reliance to go down the tubes. In other words, people began to rely on the government for money, which created a population of "weakened" citizens. The military was in shambles, with no money, and no people to fight. Finally, the military declined because it was being destroyed inside and out. On the outside, Germanic tribes were attacking Rome from all sides, creating pressure on the military to get more troops to several different areas of the empire, so they could defend. …show more content…
Before Christianity became the official religion of Rome in 380 CE, Rome had their own religion similar to the Greeks. In the traditional Roman religion, the emperor was viewed as deity, which gave him a lot of power, and authority. When Christianity became the official religion, it took power away from the emperor, and gave more power to the church leaders. The emperor was no longer viewed as a God, and that took away a lot of the influence he had on the people of Rome. In other words, Christianity made the people of Rome less loyal to their leaders, and it created rebellion. Another thing Christianity did, was that it eroded the traditional Roman values of loyalty, courage, and respect. Christianity promoted peace, patience, love, and other values that contradicted Rome's traditional values. What this did, was it weakened the military, because it caused pacifists who were against war. "...while barbarians threatened the empire from the outside, Christianity undermined it from within, encouraging men to neglect their duties
Many different reasons caused the military to no longer be able to function. First, Rome became so big and widespread that no one person could have possibly had a grasp on what was going on around the empire. The army ended up turning into a divided group offered mercenary armies over time, with no allegiance to the central leadership of Rome. This all happened because as the empire grew, the emperor struggled to provide enough troops and resources to defend things such as local rebellions, and attacks around the empire. Second, too much money was invested into the military which caused economic troubles. The expenses of the military, and other things led to very high taxes, which made the Roman standard of self reliance to go down the tubes. In other words, people began to rely on the government for money, which created a population of "weakened" citizens. The military was in shambles, with no money, and no people to fight. Finally, the military declined because it was being destroyed inside and out. On the outside, Germanic tribes were attacking Rome from all sides, creating pressure on the military to get more troops to several different areas of the empire, so they could defend. …show more content…
Before Christianity became the official religion of Rome in 380 CE, Rome had their own religion similar to the Greeks. In the traditional Roman religion, the emperor was viewed as deity, which gave him a lot of power, and authority. When Christianity became the official religion, it took power away from the emperor, and gave more power to the church leaders. The emperor was no longer viewed as a God, and that took away a lot of the influence he had on the people of Rome. In other words, Christianity made the people of Rome less loyal to their leaders, and it created rebellion. Another thing Christianity did, was that it eroded the traditional Roman values of loyalty, courage, and respect. Christianity promoted peace, patience, love, and other values that contradicted Rome's traditional values. What this did, was it weakened the military, because it caused pacifists who were against war. "...while barbarians threatened the empire from the outside, Christianity undermined it from within, encouraging men to neglect their duties