Why Rome Fell Essay

From the fires that burned Rome’s buildings to the gladiator matches to the multiple bad emperors the Pax Romana was a time for things to build up. Sadly whenever things go up they must also go down. This is what happened to ancient Rome. The main reasons Rome fell were the rise of Christianity, expensive military spending, and political corruption. The first theory that Rome fell was because of the rise of Christianity. The notes explain that “ Christians refused to fight as soldiers for the Roman army. Most of the Roman leaders turned to Christianity and refused to work for the Roman government" (Ten theories on the fall of Rome). This evidence shows that Ancient Rome had a lack of soldiers to fight and back then soldiers were essential. The states “Also, many

The notes state, "Maintaining the army to defend the borders of the empire was costly. Military spending left few resources available for other vital activities like public housing or maintaining roads" (Ten theories on why Rome fell). The notes explain that there was so much money being put forth for military spending that the rest of Rome was suffering. They were living in disease-infested homes and the worth of Rome itself was declining. The text states “ Romans lost their desire to defend the empire. In order to pay for the soldiers, emperors had to raise taxes”(Guided notes). The evidence explains that Romans lost their desire to fight. This supports the idea that Rome fell because of the rise of Christianity and excessive military spending. People stopped wanting to fight because of their beliefs in Christianity. When people started not wanting to fight people had to start paying more to the people who would. Then due to this, the emperors had to start raising taxes and all of the money would go into the military. In conclusion, excessive military spending is one of the main reasons Rome might have