Reasons For The Fall Of Rome DBQ

Most people know of the city called Rome in Italy but did you know that Rome was a super powerful civilization for 1200 years? You may be wondering what caused such a great civilization to fall. What caused its sudden fall? The primary reasons for the fall of Rome were foreign invasions, an unstable government, and natural disasters. One reason for Rome's fall was caused by foreign invasions. In document B it says that the soldiers became weak and requested to not have to wear their breastplates and their helmets. This means that the army was weak and vulnerable and wouldn’t stand a chance against their enemies. In document C it shows that there were many different people who were trying to invade Rome. This means that after each attack Rome was weakened and eventually it would have to succumb to its enemies. Foreign invasions caused the fall of Rome because of many different people invading and a weak army.

In document E an ex-citizen of Rome says, “The condition of Roman subjects in time of peace is [worse than war] … 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”. This shows that even the citizens of Rome no longer wanted to be citizens anymore. The government was unfair and unstable and the people inside and outside of Rome knew it. In document A it shows that there were many emperors that ruled in a short period of time. Most of their reigns were ended by assassinations. This means that people didn’t like their leaders and their unstable government system and the people would go as far as assassination to get rid of their emperors. An unstable government caused the fall of Rome because of injustice and because people kept assassinating their