what factors contributed to the fall of the roman empire?
6f. The Fall of the Roman Empire
Constantine the Dandy, 306-337 C.E., divided the Roman Empire in two and fabricated Christianity the dominant religion in the region.
The invading army reached the outskirts of Rome, which had been left totally undefended. In 410 C.E., the Visigoths, led by Alaric, breached the walls of Rome and sacked the upper-case letter of the Roman Empire.
The Visigoths looted, burned, and pillaged their way through the city, leaving a wake of destruction wherever they went. The plundering connected for three days. For the start fourth dimension in almost a millennium, the metropolis of Rome was in the easily of someone other than the Romans. This was the first time that the urban center of Rome was sacked, just by no means the final.
Constantine and the Rise of Christianity
One of the many factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was the ascension of a new religion, Christianity. The Christian religion, which was monotheistic ran counter to the traditional Roman religion, which was polytheistic (many gods). At different times, the Romans persecuted the Christians because of their beliefs, which were popular among the poor.
This 16th-century medallion depicts Attila the Hun, one of the most vicious invaders of all time.
In 313 C.E., Roman emperor Constantine the Bully ended all persecution and declared toleration for Christianity. Later that century, Christianity became the official country organized religion of the Empire. This drastic change in policy spread this relatively new religion to every corner of the Empire.
Past approving Christianity, the Roman state directly undermined its religious traditions. Finally, by this time, Romans considered their emperor a god. But the Christian belief in i god — who was not the emperor — weakened the authorisation and credibility of the emperor.
Constantine enacted another alter that helped advance the fall of the Roman Empire. In 330 C.E., he dissever the empire into two parts: the western half centered in Rome and the eastern one-half centered in Constantinople, a city he named subsequently himself.
Why 2 Empires?
This map of the Roman Empire in 476 C.East. shows the various people who invaded and how they carved up the Empire.
In 324, Constantine's army defeated the forces of Licinius, the emperor of the east. Constantine became emperor of the entire empire and founded a new capital metropolis in the eastern half at Byzantium. The city was his New Rome and was later named Constantinople (the "metropolis of Constantine").
Empress Theodora was one of the almost powerful women of late antiquity. She helped continue her husband, Emperor Justinian, in power and solidified the strength of the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century C.E. as the western Empire collapsed.
Constantinople was advantageously situated for two reasons. First, it was on a peninsula that could be fortified and defended easily. Further, because Constantinople was located on the frontiers of the empire, imperial armies could respond more than hands to external attacks or threats.
Some scholars as well believe that Constantine established a new urban center in order to provide a place for the immature faith of Christianity to grow in an environment purer than that of corrupt Rome.
The western Empire spoke Latin and was Roman Catholic. The eastern Empire spoke Greek and worshipped under the Eastern Orthodox branch of the Christian church. Over time, the eastward thrived, while the west declined. In fact, later the western part of the Roman Empire fell, the eastern one-half connected to exist as the Byzantine Empire for hundreds of years. Therefore, the "autumn of Rome" really refers only to the fall of the western half of the Empire.
Other fundamental problems contributed to the fall. In the economically ailing west, a decrease in agricultural production led to higher food prices. The western half of the empire had a large trade deficit with the eastern half. The west purchased luxury goods from the east but had cipher to offer in exchange. To brand up for the lack of money, the regime began producing more coins with less silver content. This led to aggrandizement. Finally, piracy and attacks from Germanic tribes disrupted the period of trade, especially in the due west.
There were political and military difficulties, too. It didn't aid matters that political amateurs were in control of Rome in the years leading upwardly to its fall. Regular army generals dominated the emperorship, and abuse was rampant. Over time, the military was transformed into a mercenary army with no real loyalty to Rome. As money grew tight, the government hired the cheaper and less reliable Germanic soldiers to fight in Roman armies. By the end, these armies were defending Rome against their fellow Germanic tribesmen. Under these circumstances, the sack of Rome came as no surprise.
Goth Rockers
Wave later wave of Germanic barbarian tribes swept through the Roman Empire. Groups such every bit the Visigoths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Ostrogoths, and Lombards took turns ravaging the Empire, eventually carving out areas in which to settle down. The Angles and Saxons populated the British Isles, and the Franks ended up in France.
In 476 C.E. Romulus, the last of the Roman emperors in the westward, was overthrown by the Germanic leader Odoacer, who became the start Barbarian to rule in Rome. The order that the Roman Empire had brought to western Europe for g years was no more.
Source: https://www.ushistory.org/civ/6f.asp
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