Roman Empire Dbq Essay

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In 27 BCE (Before Common Era) the Roman Empire was entering its golden age, “The Pax Romana.” During the Pax Romana, the citizens of all Roman cities enjoyed free food and entertainment along with access to all of the Roman amenities such as bathhouses, roads, and mail service. However in 180 CE (Common Era) the Roman empire took a turn for the worse and eventually the last empire fell in 476 CE. The once powerful Roman Empire was in shambles. So what happened to the empire? The two most important factors that led to the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE were poor leadership and Military problems. The poor leadership in the Empire was a major factor that ultimately led the Roman Empires to their demise. Some of these bad emperors had mental …show more content…

First of all the Roman People did not want to serve in the military. They were used to the lavish lifestyle that the Roman people enjoyed (class notes). In order to fill this hole in the Roman Army they had to hire German Mercenaries. The loyalty of these mercenaries was questionable since they did not pledge allegiance to the Emperor (class notes). “The Roman Army was composed entirely of Germans” but the worst part was that the army could not even defend their own territory (DBQ, Doc. 5.) “In the late 300s a nomadic Central Asian people, the Huns, stormed out of the east and sent the Germanic tribes fleeing. Imperial defences in the east managed to hold, but those in the west were soon overwhelmed. The speed and ferocity of the Huns struck terror in the people they attacked.” (Holt p.191). The Huns even made it all the way to Rome itself, but Pope Leo I stopped them and even managed to get the Huns to leave, (class notes). Although he did get the Huns to leave that wasn’t the end of the invasions. “The endless column of Barbarians pressed on the Roman empire with accumulated weight; and, if the foremost were destroyed, the vacant space was instantly replenished by new assailants,” (Doc. 6). This meant the army was always fighting some barbarian group at any given time after the Pax Romana. Since the military problems affected everyone in the empire this is one of the two biggest factors that led to the fall of

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