His Essay 03/08/09 Why the Roman Empire DID Fall The Roman Empire, despite any arguments,

fell. However, people do argue this point. They argue that Rome did not actually fall, saying they just morphed. Yet, Anyone who thinks of the Roman Empire thinks of triumph, glory, and a model for future societies. People think of Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar, two pioneers that transformed Rome from a republic to a monarchy. These rulers, in the second century, led Rome to the pinnacle of the Roman Empire. But by the fifth century, the dominance that was once displayed was now obsolete. The eastern empire did not crash, but Rome, as we know it, had fallen. Several events led to the deterioration of Rome but can be highlighted by border legions. The same legions that helped Rome grow can show how Rome fell through inflation, being undisciplined, and invasions. These events caused major deviations from the Roman Empire. Subsequently, cementing the notion that Rome did indeed fall. The major changes in the empire were seen through the military, politically, and through the Roman civilization. Through the years that Rome grew to be an imperial power they acquired a lot of land. More land meant more borders that had to be protected. As Rome grew, they established Legions, or military forms that have auxiliary groups. This was great for Rome, if they established and provided for these legions, then they could extend their borders. The soldieremperors that watched over these extensive lands had to established fortifications and check over provincial administration. These legions were made up of the middle class. These middle class citizens were paid for their service to the legion. The pay scales were based on number of duties and amount of time served. As the empire grew so would the legions paychecks. The fights

were growing longer, so auxiliary units were away from their homes longer and were unable to directly provide for their family through farming. As the centuries passed, the borders of the Roman Empire came without much expansion of land or legions. However, the pay of the legions did not stop expanding. With the recourses declining and little return for any captured land, the Roman Empire experienced an economic crisis. The military was paid with coins that were real silver and gold, but as the resources diminished so too did the quality of the coin. The coinage still being created became less pure. Which meant that plenty of money still was circulated, but it was not worth as much. This usually causes inflation, a word economists frown upon. An economic recession struck fear and turmoil amongst the Roman Empire. ( http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-003.html) To make things worse, a plague traveled through the Roman Empire that originated in China. Because of this, in the mid-third century, the Romans could not re-populate the empire. This disease depleted an already thin Roman population, creating desperate measures. Good labor was tough to come by, so the government of Rome turned to outsiders to help the legions protect the border. Mercenaries crossed the borders to fight for Rome, and the legions of Rome increasingly came to resemble the barbarians from the outside. Structures like Hadrians Wall no longer separated the civilized from the uncivilized (150 Text). During these times Romes huge borders had become porous. The Germanic tribes, who were eager to invade the empires border in hopes for wealth, were brought in to become allies with the empire. So, too, were the Visigoths who were eventually brought in to settle in Rome. However, bringing these barbarians in to ally with the empire proved to be a mistake. In 378, in The Battle of Adrianople, one of the Roman legion emperors, Valens, was killed. Germanic tribes handed the Romans a defeat on the border and further proved that the borders were progressively militarily

weak. The outsiders that were brought in by Diocletian were untrained and had no moral stake in the empire. The borders were no longer claimed by the legions, the barbarians had the upper hand. The Visigoths eventually raided Italy and took Rome in 410. Rome, as described by the text, would never be the same. It seemed that an era had passed and that the empire had finally fallen but the end had not come quite yet the Visigoths left Rome and settled in Spain as allies of the empire, jus as many other tribes had done in other provinces. An emperor remained in the west, ruling from Italy, and a coruler continued to govern in the east, from Constantinople. But by 410 the western region had disintegrated so much that soon there seemed to be no point in referring to a Roman Empire in the was at all. (153 Text) It was no coincidence the Roman Empire fell with these recruited allied legion help. The discipline of the legion groups was the Achilles heel in the creation of the Roman Empire, yet it had the reciprocal effect to catalyze the fall. The early Roman legions were disciplined. By building these fortifications placed in the center of camp, they were protected from outsiders waiting to invade. Battles were won and lost from a simple good nights sleep creating a positive moral among the auxiliary. These troops were trained and were always on the go, creating a stronger fortification. If an enemy was trying to sack one of these legions, they knew they had many more legions and ultimately Rome to deal with, not just the one legion. Rome would just send a legion after legion till battle is won for Rome. Discipline taught the early legions how to plan and battle. But when the teams got hazy, when the so-called barbarians started joining the civilized side, that was when things got ugly for Rome. The same fear put in prospective enemies was no longer there. Was there any reason that the Germanic invaders would think twice about taking over a legion when half of their kind was allied with the Romans? No, there were no repercussions because the teams were fuzzy. The once Roman legions that were disciplined were no longer around due to all the unfortunate happenings of economic distress and

plague. An undisciplined army will, indubitably , lead to a loss. (http://www.romanempire.net/articles/article-003.html) After 395, when the Roman Empire was split with the eastern half ruled from Constantinople, the new Roman capital. The eastern half did last as the Byzantine Empire until 1453 when the Turks took it over. The first barbarian invasions began in the third century. After about 400 there were many battles. The invasions were limited by the Roman militaries lack of population, discipline, and economic issues. The last emperor of Rome was merely a puppet. His name was ironically, Romulus. This was the same as the renowned founder of Rome. In 476, the Roman Empire is finally abandoned. The Roman civilization had fallen with the empire. The old civilized values were lost with all of the changes of Rome. Language changed, religious beliefs changed, and even sexually related ideas changed. As shown above, everything can be derived from the Roman legions who established, and through bad fortune, tore apart the empire. (http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/WestTech/xromans.htm)

Works Cited: My three works cited here