Comparing The Fall Of Rome To The Collapse Of The Republic And The Empire

Ancient Rome, with its Republic (509 BCE-27 BCE) and later Empire (27 BCE-476 AD), was once known as the image of what a civilization should look like and stood as the most powerful Empire, the world had ever seen. From Rome's founding in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus to its peak in 117 AD under Emperor Trajan, unfortunately, numerous internal events occurred that led to the collapse of the once most powerful civilization ever. Internal conflicts such as political corruption/instability, economic challenges, and cultural challenges further led to the collapse of the Republic and the Empire. Although these internal conflicts looked different over the eras, they still significantly contributed to the collapse of both the Republic and Empire. While

This environment of instability caused a series of devastating civil wars, leading to chaos in Roman society. For example, the conflict between Marius and Sulla in the late 1st century BCE was a struggle for power between rivals, resulting in violence and instability. In the Republic, instability was also shown through the conflict between the Plebeians and the Patricians. The political exclusion of the plebeians from decision-making processes and the patricians' control of power created a sense of hate among the patricians and plebeians, which further led to extreme chaos and instability within Rome. Chapter 6 of the reading states, "Political instability kept stirring up trouble in the Republic, causing never-ending chaos and turmoil." This constant turmoil caused the Republic to stop focusing on external conflicts and invasions, which led to the Republic finally collapsing. Just like the Republic, political instability played a significant role in the collapse of the Roman Empire, contributing significantly to its eventual downfall. One of the main reasons for this downfall was the regular leadership

The major Roman economy was agriculture, but over time, small farms were replaced by large estates. This led to a population decrease in rural areas, as small farmers lost their land. The Republic faced the same financial crises due to excessive military spending and poor handling of public funds. Constant wars and conquests caused massive amounts of debt, which caused even more financial problems for the Republic. Economic inequality increased the gap between the rich and the poor in Republic society. Most of the money was in the hands of a small elite, while the majority of Roman citizens struggled to afford even the littlest things. This made the poor people hate the wealthy people. To show their anger, the lower class people caused protests, riots, and fights, which led the Republic to become unstable. For the Empire, economic challenges and inequality also led to the collapse of the Empire. In the Empire, they heavily relied on slave labor to work on farms, estates, and plantations, where they cultivated crops. Slaves also served as household servants, performing chores such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare for their owners. However, over time, the supply of slaves decreased heavily, while their work became increasingly costly. Because they relied so much on slaves, they did not look for other ways to get people to work, so their economy plummeted. The Empire's