The Roman Empire's Fall To A Barbarian Invasion

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In 476 C.E., The Roman Empire in the West officially fell to a barbarian invasion led by the Germanic leader Odoacer. There were many different reason why the Roman Empire was too weak to repel the attacks of the barbarians. The economic and military decline of the eastern empire weakened the overall power of the empire and the ability to protect itself. The bankruptcy and inflation played a crucial role in the fall. In addition to financial problems, the empire had As the money became scarce, the empire could not continue paying for the mercenary soldiers that they had to contract when military participation started to diminish. The inability to stabilize their finances and military ultimately led to the downfall of the Roman Western Empire. …show more content…

The Roman economy was based on a plundering system that relied on continual expansion to add to its wealth. The Judio-Claudian emperors continued to annex and grow the empire in order to create income through new taxes. Claudius was able to alleviate some of the financial crisis left by his predecessors, but Nero singlehandedly destroyed all the progress made with his rampant wastefulness. In the year 64, Rome was ravaged by the great fire caused by Nero. Instead of using the empires wealth to repair the damage, he used it to build his lavish golden palace. Nero began destabilizing the currency, by reducing the weight of the denarius without readjusting it’s worth. The inflation cause by Nero continued to diminish the weight and quality of the coin until it reached catastrophic levels during the rule of