Decline of the Roman Empire

The Middle Ages began in 500 CE after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and ended in 1350 CE. People of this time lived in a feudal system. Their social hierarchy started at the bottom with peasants, then knights, then nobles, then the king. These people were very religious and dedicated to the Catholic church. The rise of education and universities is what kept this period from being completely dark. However, many events took place over this time period that made the majority of the Middle…

William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Titus Andronicus, is an account of the last days of the Roman Empire. The drama is unique in that it abandons the actual timeline of the fall of Rome, opting for a non-sequential presentation of events in a theoretical and philosophical arena; therefore, leaving pockets of space in between for Shakespeare’s creative expression. Although Titus is masked as largely a story of war and revenge, its imagery reveals a deeper meaning. The clear dismemberment motif,…

Even during PaxRomana (A long period from Augstus to Marcus Aurelius when the Roman empire was stable and relativly peaceful) there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome. Emperors like Caligula and Nero became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties where guests drank and ate until they became sick. The most popular amusement was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum. There were many public health and environmental problems. Many of the wealthy had water brought to their homes…

I love soccer. 3 things that can go wrong while playing goalie is having your back bent backward, standing inside the goal, and not paying attention to the ball and players. Just like you can get blown out in a soccer game, so can an empire. Political assassinations, military problems, and foreign invasions. Of these, the most important reason was foreign invasions. One important reason that Rome fell was political assassinations. Evidence that there was a problem is that there were 23 emperors…

The Dark Ages, also known as the Middle Age, was a period of time between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance, in which a number of religious conflicts arose. Many people argue whether the Middle Ages were actually dark, or if the term “Dark Age” is an inaccurate description. Although there were several advancements made, there was also an immense decline in the economy which caused many problems. The Middle Ages were, in fact, a difficult time for Europeans to…

Despite the efforts of the Roman officials to balance out power, the Roman Republic fell due to continuous revolts. Citizens did not agree with the government placement of authority because they felt that the Patricians had more say than the Plebeians. Corrupt Roman officials were a big contribution as to why this was occurring. People such as Crassus and Caesar were causing the decline of the great Roman Republic. Citizens and public officials disagreed where the power in the government should…

we Rome? The Fall of an Empire and The Fate of America. He argues that yes, in fact, we in some ways are making the same mistakes as Ancient Rome. In doing so, he poses a series of questions that might help us better understand how exactly we have come to relate to that once mighty republic that met such a bleak end. Most importantly for us today, he questions if decline and fall lurk somewhere ahead? Throughout this book, Murphy tries to explain the complexities of Roman culture and how the…

Was Catholicism responsible for the Dark Ages? In history class we have read about the great ancient empires that came before us, such as the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians. During our studies we also learned about , the time in between the 6th and 14th century this period has come to be known as the “Dark Ages”. Many historians believe that the term Dark Ages might not be very accurate and that the reasons behind the origins of the Dark Ages, aren’t well understood. Most were taught…

The Western Roman Empire fell due to the Germanic tribes or barbarians constantly invading the borders of the empire. The invasions by the barbarians started in the Huns who pushed the Goths from their lands northwest of the Black Sea to the border of the Roman Empire at the western end of the Danube River. The 200,000 Goths emitted a lot of pressure on the emperor causing him to allow one Gothic tribe to cross the Danube River and live inside the border of the empire. Now in the empire the…

The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires in the world. Growing and expanding from Spain to Asia. But sadly, everything has an end. Three topics that contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire were bad emperors and leadership, illnesses, and invaders. Bad emperors contributed to the downfall of Rome because the Roman empire was not being ruled properly. For example, in Document A, the information shows that 63.5% of emperors were assassinated between 235 to 285 BC. This means that…