Roman Empire Dbq Essay

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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.
One of the main reasons that caused the Roman empire’s downfall was due to their financial strains. This can be shown in the text where it says, “There was a noticeable decline in trade and small industry, and the labor shortage caused by the plague affected both military recruiting and the economy. Armies were needed more than ever, but financial strains made it difficult to pay and enlist more soldiers. By the mid-third century, the state had to hire Germans to fight under Roman commanders.” (Document 1). This shows that one of the main reasons that led to the fall of the Roman empire was because of their financial strains. Because of this, they weren’t able to recruit people to fight for them in wars, which overtime caused them to lose wars. …show more content…

This is shown in the text where it says, “Under pressure on the two frontiers, the Romans started to squabble among themselves. Civilians distrusted their own armies and the soldiers distrusted some of their commanders- even the emperor to whom they had sworn allegiance.” (Document 3a). This shows that another reason that caused the Roman empire to fall was because of its people starting to distrust each other. When the people distrust each other, nothing in an empire can really be done

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