The Fall of The Roman Empire

Question: Describe about the fall of the Roman Empire? Answer: The ancient Roman Empire had large territories in and around the Mediterranean sea. The territory was in Europe, Asia and Africa. It was among the largest empire in the world history. The decline or fall of the Roman Empire is an event that marks the ending of the classical antiquity. The event also marked the starting of the Middle Ages in Europe. Ancient Rome had territories extending from Western Europe to north western Africa and included Italy (1737-1794, G. 2013). In the 5th century this entire territory was invaded several times by various tribes. The Roman Empire suffered great crisis in the third century. The period saw the Roman Empire collapsing due to the pressure of civil war, economic depression, plague and invasion. This crisis started after the emperor Alexander Severus was assassinated by his own troops. The fall of the ancient Roman Empire started around 190 AD when the empire was under the attack of the Vandals and the Goths. Some historians believe that the ancient Roman Empire did not actually fall in and around 476 AD (Frassetto, 2013). It was because the eastern part of the kingdom still continued to for many years as the Byzantine Empire. Rise of Christianity It is said that the rise of Christianity a new religion, was one of the many reasons of the decline of the Roman Empire. The traditional Roman religion was based on polytheism that is they worshipped many gods; while the new religion Christianity was monotheistic (Ushistory.org, 2015). Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor in the year 313 C.E., declared the religion to be tolerated in the empire. Later he declared that the religion to be official religion. Thus there arose confliction between the Romans and the Christians. The new capital of Constantinople Constantine also made another change which also led to the fall of the Roman Empire. In 330 C.E., he decided to split the vast empire into two regions. He was of the opinion that Rome was too far from the important areas in the empire (Gibbon, 2001). Thus he moved this capital to a new place called Constantinople which he had named after him in the east Byzantine Empire. The Roman Empire was thus divided into two parts. The western part was based in Rome and the eastern part was in Constantinople. The new city was had an advantageous situation since it on a peninsular region. Due to its geographic advantages the city was well fortified. Also it easily could defend itself from external threats and attacks. With the passage of time the eastern part thrived while the western part gradually declined. The eastern part continued as the Byzantine Empire for about hundreds of years. Invasion by the Barbarian tribes Rome was attacked several times by various barbaric tribes. By 300 C.E, the Goths had entered the Roman Empire and attacked the city. Again by the 410 C.E., King Alaric of the Visigoth plundered Rome which was the second attack. The Visigoths first attacked in between 376 to 382 C.E. The empire was raided again in 455 C.E. by the Vandals. The Vandals again destroyed the Roman fleet by launching a surprise attack in 461 C.E (History.com, 2015). Finally the Germanic leader Odoacer in 476 C.E. revolted against the emperor Romulus Augustus. Romulus was deposed and Odoacer became the first barbarian ruler of Rome. From then onwards the western empire began to disintegrate. Other reasons Apart from the warfare there were certain other reasons which led to the decline of the Roman Empire. For twenty years the epidemics like measles and smallpox continued to sweep through the empire. The diseases almost destroyed the western part of the Roman Empire. Moreover the lead poisoning also led to death of many people in the empire (Ushistory.org, 2015). Since the people used lead utensils and containers which contained toxic elements created problem such as lower birth rates, erratic behavior, anemia and even led to death The Roman Empire which was one of the powers of economic, political, cultural and military forces the world had in that time. The vast nature of the empire was the cause of the downfall of the Roman Empire. The rulers were unable to control the vast empire. The lack of strong decision by the emperor Constantine led to several conflictions among the people of Rome. Moreover the increased Germanic tribe in the Roman population led to political chaos in the empire (Frassetto, 2013). The eastern empire evolved into the Byzantine state after the death of Theodosius. The eastern empire also started to continue its own path. Thus all these reason led to the fall of the ancient Roman Empire. References 1737-1794, G. (2013).History of the decline and fall of the roman empire. [S.l.]: Hardpress Ltd. Frassetto, M. (2013).The early medieval world. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. Gibbon, E. (2001).The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. London: Electric Book Co. History.com,. (2015).8 Reasons Why Rome Fell HISTORY Lists. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell Ushistory.org,. (2015).The Fall of the Roman Empire [ushistory.org]. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://www.ushistory.org/civ/6f.asp