Internal Factors Responsible for the Fall of Rome free essay sample

Internal Factors Responsible for the Fall of Rome There were several reasons for the fall of rome but internal problems such as military deficiency, political turmoil, and a weakened economy were the predominant forces leading up to the fall. Civil wars were a common occurrence in western Europe and often challenged the imperial throne. â€Å"It is worth once again emphasizing that from 217 down to the collapse of Western Empire there were only a handful of periods as long as ten years when a civil war did not break out† (Goldsworthy). Emperors constantly faced threats for the throne and often abandoned war against foreign enemy to deal with a Roman rival or Usurper. Each civil war drained the empire of money and supplies. What was gained by the winning side was lost by through the destruction of provinces and farmlands. â€Å"Successive civil wars dislocated the army’s administrative and logistical structures, its training patterns, recruitment and also it’s discipline, which suffered whenever license was given in an effort to win loyalty† (Goldsworthy). We will write a custom essay sample on Internal Factors Responsible for the Fall of Rome or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Over time the military was in such disarray soldiers gave their allegiance not to Rome but to their commanders, who fought among themselves for the throne. In efforts to defend themselves from attack the government started to recruit foreign soldiers that would work for money. Because these soldiers were working solely for the money, they showed even less loyalty to Rome. The military was falling apart and causing fear among Emperors that they might lose their power. Personal survival became the priority of every empire and largely shaped their ideas and decisions. One of the changes brought about by the want of survival was the marginalisation of the senatorial class. Major provinces were divided so that no one could command too large of an army and therefor become to powerful. The problem that came about for emperors was that now, a far wider selection of people could be eligible for control of the throne making the threat for the throne even larger. This caused emperors to have little trust in anyone. If an emperor could not trust anyone with sufficient power to deal with a distant problem, most likely the problem was not dealt with at all. â€Å"This sense of neglect by central government prompted a region to rebel and proclaim it’s own emperor† (Goldsworthy). A solution to this problem was to have two emperors. This system had very little success and caused even more separation of military and civil order. Overall, the fear of usurpers overtaking power, lead emperors to lose focus on the necessary credentials of a successful society. The government had limited ambitions and lacked concern for major issues such as health, education, and agriculture. Due to the mass amounts of civil war taken place on Roman land, farming and agriculture greatly suffered. Land was over worked and overused causing the land to become infertile. Soon food shortages and diseases caused the population to decrease. From the cumulations of lost money to war and farming the economy weakened and inflation became high. The gap between the rich and poor gradually increased and the economy weakened. Between civil wars, high taxation, and food shortages, citizens lost a sense patriotism that once flourished throughout society. Throughout all this turmoil it is a wonder how the fall did not come any earlier. The turmoil caused the empire to weaken becoming more susceptible to attacks from bordering countries. And that’s exactly what happened. Some of the foremost enemies of the Western Empire were Germanic tribes including Visigoths in Spain and the Vandals in Africa. The Huns also contributed a great deal to the fall of the empire yet did not form lasting empires on the land they conquered. With this being said, the attacks that came from these groups were only successful because of the internal problems weakening Rome’s military and central government. â€Å"Throughout their history the Romans had always fought a lot of wars against very varied opponents. They had suffered some serious defeats, but had always recovered† (Goldsworthy). This shows that the external forces were far less insignificant in the fall of rome than the internal conflicts faced by the Roman empire.