Summarize the reasons for the fall of Rome. In your opinion, which reasons were the most important and why?
Historians do not know for sure why the Roman Empire collapsed but they have decided on at least six factors that could have influenced the fall:
1) Geography:
The Roman Empire was shaped like a donut around the Mediterranean and the western border was weaker than the others. To defend this border from any barbarian invasion, it took many soldiers and resources.
2) Economic Decline:
During the last century of the empire, the army and the government grew larger and the Romans continued to import luxury goods. The Roman economy was not strong enough to support these activities.
3) Growth of Government:
The government kept demanding more from the people and the government officials were often dishonest and used their power to get rich. When leaders fought over who would become the next emperor, Rome's valuable resources were wasted.
4) Decline in The Work Force:
As the Roman death rate increased and the number of slaves decreased, the empire had fewer soldiers and fewer workers.
5) Lack Of Technology:
There were less workers available to produce the demands of the empire and Rome had very little machinery that could make human labor more productive.
6) Military Defeat:
The Roman army was no longer strong enough to defeat the barbarians.
In my opinion, the fall of Rome was due mostly to the fact that there was a huge problem with the economy which meant that the people could no longer afford anything to eat and forced them to leave their farms or their jobs. Automatically, there was a higher death rate, there were fewer workers and there were fewer soldiers. With fewer soldiers, the Roman army was no longer strong enough to defeat the barbarians.
