Fall of Rome Through the Years, Students

Fall of Rome

Through the years, students have been taught that Roman Civilization and the Fall of Rome took place 476 A.D. when really the empire kept going for another two centuries. When considering such an event it is important to define the framework of examination. First, it is important to define "fall" in this context. Second, it is important to discuss the factors of emperors, Barbarians and Christianity and how these factors played a role in the fall of Rome. This paper will explores these concepts with the argument that the fall of Rome is not something that happened overnight but rather took a great deal of time.

Many scholars define the fall of Rome happening at different times depending upon the different factors they consider important. For instance, Edward Gibbon's date of 476 is acceptable because that is when the Germanic Odoacer deposed the last emperor ruling from Rome. Other researchers claim the fall happened when Rome split into two while others claim the fall happened over many years due to many different factors. Still, one must keep in mind, Rome still exists so maybe it never fell entirely. Despite what scholars argue, the Fall of Rome is an important event. It helps define a moment in time, a cross over from Ancient and Classical time to Medieval and Renaissance time. It defines people culturally, politically and religiously as these are the main factors for Rome's decline of power.

Rome became too big to control, simply stated. Not only did politicians, soldiers and their families live in the empire but also did non-working barbarians. This caused a decay in the economy while the military lost its hold on the area. It was too busy focusing on other frontiers like Gaul and England. This can be attributed to poor management and over confidence on the part of Rome's last emperors. Still there was also the threat of Christianity as a path away from its Pagan roots began. This caused unrest and instability for the city's people as rulers remained uncertain. The only other way to control the Christians was to convert as Constantine did making himself Pontif. It is said that because of the size of the Roman Empire that subjects in Italy lost belief in the controlling power. Decline continued as the Empire continued to support and feed the non-working poor. Barbarians overwhelmed and destroyed the city as the East became more stable than the West. It was due to Barbarian invasions, lack of powerful leadership and poverty that Rome split in two. The economy suffered as currency lacked circulation, the empire carried more debt and the infrastructure became weak as the military lost recruits to the north and to religious conversion to Christianity or Islam. Religious uncertainty on the part of leadership gave Roman citizens mixed messages and they easily fell under someone else's pragmatic leadership. Christianity and Islam offered a belief system in a time where life was short and fragile. These are just some of the reasons academics believe that Rome fell into decline. One can attribute this time to period of rebirth and transformation as Rome rose from the ashes to be recreated as so many cities would later do after similar situations. One can look at modern times as a means of seeing such cycles in history, even most recently the case of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans.