Essay on Internal Factors Responsible for the Fall of Rome

Michael Anderson Gen Ed 110 10/28/11 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†¦show more content†¦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 emper or† (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. Throughou t 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. SomeShow MoreRelatedThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1419 Words   |  6 Pagesof extensive political and social structures throughout western civilization. How did this empire fall and were internal factories responsible? Slow occurrences in succession to one another led to the fall of the empire rather than one single event. 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