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 was based on slavery: slavery on a massive scale. Therefore The success and spoils of Roman wars meant that slaves were everywhere putting regular Roman citizens out of work. This solution was not ideal but no rich Romans (patricians) seemed willing to compromise and give up their slaves. Attempts were made to base taxes on the numbers of slaves owned but the rich simply freed their slaves to avoid taxation and then added on still to the numbers of unemployed.
Simon Baker's Ancient Rome, Tiberius Gracchus realized that the Senate was not in the best interest of the people and therefore tried to address one of Rome's biggest problems by become tribune and give the people back there land. He appealed to the common people by promising that he would get back what was rightful there's. This lead to him being voted in as tribune, and from there the problems of Rome, attempted solutions, and obstacles he faced only spiraled him down faster. Tiberius was well loved by the people, but not so much by the Senate. Simon Baker's Ancient Rome says it best by saying "As Tiberius left the Senate House in disgrace, he received a very different reception from the Roman people" (86).
The Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, had intentions of making Rome the best it could be, which contradicted the visions of the Senators. The two brothers grew up during a tough time in the Roman Empire, but they took it upon themselves to make a difference. “The Empire went through tremendous growth, through both acquisition of land, slaves, and various citizen classes.” This drastic growth ultimately led to a fall in the Roman political system. Tiberius, the older brother, founded the idea of the agrarian laws, which was later continued by his younger brother, Gaius, after his death.
The great Western Roman Empire was considered to be one of the most powerful empires in human history. Rome became the most powerful state in the world by the first century BCE through a combination of military might, political acumen, and economic might. The empire was founded on blood of two brother’s who fought to the death to be crowned King, which lead to the first King of Rome who was named Romulus. By the third century BCE, all of Rome’s power and greatness began to diminish. Rome was falling.
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.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, better known as the ‘Gracchi Brothers’ were a pair of tribunes descending from the plebs from the 2nd century BCE who sought to introduce land reforms and other legislations that aligned with their populist views/ideas. It can be said that the career of the two brothers was marked by murder, riots and outright manipulation of the power they were granted which completely altered the state of Roman politics- aiding in the breakdown of the Roman Republic. The legislation they sought to pass essentially redistributed major aristocratic land ownership among the commoners such as the urban poor and veterans. After achieving little success during the early stages of the reforms, both were assassinated by enemy parties.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a prominent figure in the late republic of Ancient Rome, rising to power through establishing allies and his military accomplishments. As a member of the patrician class Sulla rose to power through the Roman political ladder (Cursus Honourum). Sulla was the victor of the social war, conducted war against the Mithridates and headed the first civil war in Roman history against Marius. Through his military accomplishments, he gained support from the senate and was later elected consul and then transitioned into dictatorship. He became a well-known dictator in 82 BC where he established a series of governmental reforms altering Rome’s political system.
If it weren 't for need for power and jealously/rivalry between generals ( Maricus, Sulla, Caesar, ad Pompey) the republic would have survived, thrived, and been more democratic. Rome developed into a city-state, first ruled by kings, then formed a new form of government called the Republic. For 500 years, Ancient Rome was governed by the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was not upheld by a written document. The United States government is very similar to Rome’s model of the Republic.
The Roman Empire is far and away most of what could within the blink of an eye fixed be viewed as Western Europe (History Learning Site). The area was vanquished by the Roman Army and a Roman suggests that of life was started in these vanquished countries (History Learning Site). At some stage in a movement of 3 wars, same in lightweight of the very fact that the Punic Wars, the Romans ultimately pounded the Carthaginians (History Learning Site). Body politic was busted to the most negligible and each one signs of city were wrecked by the Romans as a sign that the limit of the Carthaginians had vanished ceaselessly (History Learning Site).
The Ancient Roman republic lasted many years from 509 BCE all the way to 27 BCE during such time Rome was nearly destroyed many times with people like Hannibal, Spartacus and other non foreigners like Sulla for example. But the kind of destruction that Hannibal was ready to bring was nothing compared to what Gaius Marius dished out. Gaius Marius was a Roman general and politician. Marius’ fame soars with him winning many outstanding victories in Africa while acting as general of the legion there. He is soon commissioned to fight the oncoming barbarians that have been pillaging the north, northeastern borders of Rome for some time.
The composition and the governing structure of the Roman republic was not uniform throughout its existence, but some of the fundamental elements of its government came into being in the immediate aftermath of the monarchy’s collapse. Therefore, it is unsurprising that many of these institutions were created in reaction to the monarchy and its failures, and thus were shaped by this relationship. For example, the fundamental opposition to monarchy and the rule of kings that came with the experience of the Kingdom of Rome, remained quite strong in the Roman mindset throughout the existence of the Republic and into the beginnings of the Roman Empire, and its influence can be seen throughout Roman political discourse especially in the discussion
The Gracchi were officials in the Roman administration known as tribunes. The two brothers introduced the populist government changes and numerous land reforms and are referred to as the fathers of populism and socialism. Julius Caesar – Julius Caesar lived between 100-44 BCE and was a ruler in the Roman Republic. He is considered one of the greatest army generals in the world’s history owing to his conquests across Europe. Caesar is also credited for the precedence of the formation of the Roman Empire and he was killed by his rivals at the senatorial room.
This was a major influence on the fall of Rome. The Senate began to lose his power very quickly and was soon redeemed powerless. This increased government corruption and lacked an organized system of succession. Once the government lost its power, the citizens, who
