What Led To The Fall Of Rome

Mikhail Pitts
Mrs. Roden
World History
Feb 17, 2023
Fall of Rome Theories
Rome ruled and controlled much of Europe near the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this large empire and territory, it ultimately led to Rome’s downfall due to political, economic, and social issues. There were also several outside armies and invaders who came to take over Rome which in the end, doomed Rome and caused it to fail as an empire. There are several theories surrounding the fall of Rome: a decline in morals and values, environmental and public health problems, and political corruption.
There is strong evidence that the fall of Rome occurred due to a decline in the morals and values of the Empire

Some historians claim that leaders and the rich of Rome died due to consuming too much lead (Guided Notes). Lead poisoning often leads to death and may have killed most of its leaders and the wealthy. The rich were able to have lead pipes for water supply and used lead utensils for cooking (Student Handout 1.3A). These pipes and utensils were considered contaminated which eventually may have led to their deaths. Both environmental and public health issues are another theory that may have led to Rome’s downfall along with another theory, political

Rome never established a way to decide who would be next in line to become emperor. It was up to the old emperor, the Senate, the emperor’s private army, and the army to argue on who would become emperor and the new emperor would reward them for their selection (Guided Notes). Because there was no set system in place, the throne began to be bribed off starting in A.D. 186 and there were 37 new emperors where 25 were assassinated (Student Handout 1.3A). This shows that too many people ruled in little time and may were killed off to get the throne. Many historians thought political corruption with new emperor selection and bribery for the throne is one of the theories thought to be behind the fall of Rome.
There are several theories historians believe on what may have been behind the fall of Rome. One of the theories is due to its decline in morals and values and how its citizens carried themselves. The other two theories that were discussed were the environmental and public health issues and Rome’s political corruption in choosing the new emperor to rule. The importance of theorizing why Rome did not last as an empire is to try to figure out why the empire was destroyed and how its stability threatened the United