At the beginning of the first millennium CE, the Roman Empire began to conquer the territory around the Mediterranean Sea. Smaller countries feared the Roman Empire because of their great strength. The Roman Empire acquired great wealth, territories, and a reputation as a strong and feared empire. But, as time passed the problems within the Empire accumulated and the state of Roman Empire began to deteriorate before collapsing in 476 CE.
The Roman empire was a prosperous empire that flourished between the years 27 BC - 476 AD. However, there were many internal and external factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman empire. Some internal factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman empire included their financial strains, and the people starting to distrust each other. Some external factors that contributed to the downfall of the Roman empire include constant pressure from the northern world, and Rome’s army not being able to compete with other armies.
As a Roman citizen, watching the decline of the Roman Empire was frightening because of the constant worry. The Roman Empire lost its power due to simultaneous external and internal factors such as the lack of political stability, deterioration of the military, and constant invasions from outsiders. The first internal factor that led to the fall of the Roman Empire was the lack of political stability. This was due to the constant change of emperors, causing haphazard leadership. “The soldiers in various parts of the empire proclaimed fifty emperors in about the same number of years” (Lines 8-10, Document 3a, Third Century Crisis of the Roman Empire).
The Roman Empire used to be cutthroat and menacing, but what ultimately ended it? There were military invasions and the Roman army began to lose skill and discipline. There were also corrupt officials in office. Taxes grew and the poor became isolated. There were many elements that brought about the downfall of Rome, but the fundamental reason was the emperors.
There were many different causes for the fall of the Roman empire, not just one. The Roman Empire was very strong, but eventually broke down over time for a multitude of reasons. Most of those reasons had to do with changes in Rome’s identity. Some of these changes in Rome’s identity led to the fall of Rome because they were so sudden; only portions of the Roman population were prepared for the change. Other times, citizens got into arguments because they were, in a way, too prepared.
The Fall of the Roman Empire In ancient Rome there was a lot of change that was always happening. Around 50 BCE until 200 CE the Roman empire was the key to everyone's problems in the Mediterranean world. Some of the changes in the Roman empire caused death and assassinations.
The year 27 BCE marked the start of the Pax Romana, the height of the Roman Empire. Rome had a series of good emperors, and everything was well until 180 CE, when this period of peace ended. A few hundred years later, in 476 CE, the Western Roman Empire fell once and for all. The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by a combination of powerful enemies, geographical challenges, and most importantly, political instability. These factors weakened the Empire’s power and eventually led to its downfall.
The height of Rome began in 118 CE because it was the largest in size. It encompassed the Mediterranean Sea. Rome once had a magnificent army, and the Romans earned glory around the world. Roman peace was a result of the Pax Romana. Both military and political victories were achieved.
I attended a meeting of Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA). CoDA is an open group aimed to help those who self-identify as co-dependent. Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), CoDA is a self-help group founded upon the twelve steps. This group is run by its members, not by a professional, and it focuses on individual rather than societal concerns (Doel and Kelly, 2014). The meeting was easy to find through their website, coda.org, though it did require some travel to get to a meeting as they are not as common as AA or NA.
Romans were considered practical, because they borrowed other people’s beliefs, so to speak. It usually was from the Greeks and their ideas or beliefs. Romans allowed other religions in their culture if they made sacrifices to their emperor. Another example they had a simple like writing system and was easy to understand. Finally, Romans had a great belief in morality among their people.
The Roman empire was one of the most powerful or the most powerful empire in ancient times. A portion of this can be credited to its location in an area with good geography and climate. However, once the empire was vast enough its geography varied quite a bit. It went from the moderate climate of northern Italy too much warmer climates in northern Africa. In Italy, the central part of the empire, stood the city of Rome.
The Roman Empire during the late republic (133-30 B.C.E) stretched from Mesopotamia to Germany. During this time period people witnessed the end to a vast and wealthy Republic because of problems generated by it. The Gracchi (Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus) reforms took place around this time. And Cornelius Sulla an ambitious general ordered by the Senate to restore order to the East after the Gracchi Reforms. He eventually gave complete power to the senate and limiting the power of the Tribunes and Tribal Assembly.
Ancient Rome was a slave based economy whose main concern was feeding the vast number of citizens and legionaries who populated the Mediterranean region. Agriculture and trade dominated Roman economic fortunes. Most people in the Roman world were farmers. Some of the people who worked on farms were slaves but most were free. They grew wheat and barley,and olives and grapes and apples, onions and celery.
The legendary Roman Empire lasted from 753 B.C.E. all the way until 1453 A.D. However Rome split in two at about 395 A.D. which crippled the ancient Rome we know. So really ancient Rome lived from 753 B.C.E. to 476 A.D. But the name of Rome continued on in the Byzantine empire for about another 1000 years. Yet many people nowadays still refer to Rome as one of the greatest ancient civilizations of all time.
Living in such an enormous empire had its benefits. As a Roman, you had education, culture and the protection of the largest military empire on your side. Living in this Empire also had some notable drawbacks. The empire had extreme poverty rates, threats of being in a constant state of war, and the government could impose huge tax burdens on the people.
