At the height of its legacy, Rome was a formidable and respected empire. It gave the world many architectural and technological innovations such as the arch, the aqueduct, and concrete. The Empire stretched from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, and few dared to challenge it. But internal plights such as assassination plots and corrupted rulers, kept it from thriving longer than it should have. The Roman empire’s eventual decline was caused by a negligent upper class, venal political leaders, and an unsatisfied populace.
The lethargic upper class assisted in the fall of the roman empire by ignoring the problems happening around them but not affecting them. As stated in the background paragraph,“When a country is on the make,when energy and
…show more content…
A citizen of rome complains, “taxes are very severe, and unprincipled men inflict injuries on others ... A [wealthy lawbreaker] ... is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man ... undergoes the legal penalty .... The climax of misery is to have to pay in order to obtain justice .... [He said] that the laws and constitution of the Romans were fair, but deplored that the governors, not possessing the spirit of former generations, were ruining the state.”(Doc E) Most governing the state were primarily driven by the desire to acquire more wealth, and inflicted harsh taxes upon the poor. Very little was done to help the issue of imminent invasion. While they were aware of this, people in the heart of rome believed they were safe and had no reason to fear the Huns or the Goths. But these unconcerned citizens did not know that their military had become an unprincipled operation. Many politicians and nobles could bribe their way out of of joining the military. Drafts were not well regulated, and as a result their army shrank and became unruly. This shrinking brought about an undisciplined army, unable to fend off any sort of attacker, causing irreparable damage to their