The Primary Reasons for the Downfall of the Roman Empire

 What are the reasons a flower starts to wither? There are many reasons, just as there are many reasons for the “fall” of an empire, such as the Roman empire. The Roman empire began around 750 BCE (Before Common Era), having its first two centuries of ruling with the most stability, increasing power, wealth, and peace. This period was known as the Pax Romana. The Roman army conquered land from modern-day Scotland to Spain to the Mediterranean Sea, and parts of North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. By this time, Julius Caesar had become emperor, and Rome had no other major rivals to defeat. However, having such a big empire to control and govern led to problems. All the problems ultimately led to the “fall” of Rome; but some problems contributed more than others, just as certain things have more impact than others on the withering of a flower. Of the many reasons for the downfall of Rome, military problems and foreign invasions were both very serious problems, but natural disasters/diseases were the problem which most impacted Rome and led to its downfall.

The military problems were incredibly important in contributing to the downfall of the Roman empire. According to Document B, an ancient book entitled, “Concerning Military Matters,” written by the Roman historian Vegetius, the soldiers were not covered and protected with the proper armor. Though there were many possible reasons this could have happened, one of the largest contributors was because there were no rules enforced about wearing protective gear during battle. Since there were no rules about it, many soldiers just got lazy and too tired to put on such heavy equipment. Without the proper gear, soldiers could have easily been killed or seriously wounded by anyone in battle. With so many soldiers being killed or unable to fight, the invaders could have easily passed them and continued their journey to destroy Rome. Some of the Roman Emperors were also killed in battles because of a lack of proper armor. This would have shaken the whole empire, as they no longer had someone in charge. Another reason that shows that military problems heavily impacted the fall of Rome is the failure to enforce certain conscriptions. Just as an example, some of the people exempt from being soldiers were senators, bureaucrats, and some bakers/cooks. With so many people exempt from fighting, there weren't enough soldiers to properly guard and protect the entire empire. The military issues were one of the biggest contributors to the fall of the Roman empire.

Another issue which deeply contributed to the unfortunate fall of Rome was the foreign invasions. According to Document C, a map compiled from various sources, many different countries from many different parts of the world tried to invade and take over the Roman empire. Countries/tribes were always trying to invade the Roman empire, always keeping them on the edge of their land. The invaders also came from all over the world, so Rome had to place soldiers at each entrance. The amount of invasions along with how unstable their military was did not work well together; soldiers were constantly being killed, and they did not have enough protectors to start with. Some of the countries/tribes who attempted to invade Rome were the Huns, Visigoths, Vandals, Carthage, and Saxons. All in all, because so many tribes attempted to invade Rome, it weakened the empire and made it easier for others to defeat. The foreign invasions were a large factor in helping the Roman empire fall.

Finally, the most important reason to explain the downfall of the Roman empire is the natural disasters/diseases. According to Document F, a secondary source book entitled,  “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” written by Edward Gibbon, one of the largest earthquakes recorded in Rome hit the empire in 366 CE (Common Era). The earthquake killed off a huge amount of the population, and also destroyed a lot of buildings/land. Not only was the extremely dangerous and violent earthquake there, but also created a huge wave which led to a massive flood near the coasts of Sicily and Greece which alone killed over 50,000 Romans. Another  natural disaster/diseases are the series of plague diseases (the measles being one of them). Most were brought over from southern Asia because of travel and trade. The diseases also killed an insane amount of the population, decreasing it from around a million people to only about 250,000 people. As they are natural and from foreign countries, they are extremely hard, even impossible to prevent from happening. The natural disasters/diseases were the most important contributor towards the downfall of the Roman empire.

Out of the many possible reasons towards Rome’s downfall, military issues and foreign invasions were both very serious issues, but natural disasters and diseases were what impacted Rome and its downfall the most. Just like natural disasters/diseases were the biggest factor towards Rome’s downfall, lack of water/sun are the largest contributing factors to a flower’s rotting. Flowers will also have their version of a “Pax Romana,” sometime in their life, who knew flowers and empires could be so similar?