The Roman Empire was a huge period in Rome but the question is did the Roman Empire fall and how did it fall. There are many theories and controversies of how the Roman Empire fell and why it fell. Historians have supported many different theories of how the empire fell and it is still unclear exactly how the Roman Empire fell. The Roman Empire was “An empire that succeeded the Roman Republic during the time of Augustus, who ruled from 27 BC to 14AD. At its greatest extent it encompassed territories stretching from Britain and Germany to North Africa and the Persian Gulf. After 395 it was split into the Byzantine Empire and the Western Roman Empire, which rapidly sank into anarchy under the onslaught of barbarian invaders from the north and east. The last emperor of the West, Romulus Augustulus (born c. 461), was deposed by Goths in 476, the traditional date for the end of the empire.” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Roman+Empire) The Roman Empire did fall, but it fell for a number of reasons and there are many historians that back up these different reasons.
The Roman Empire began with the Julio- Claudians in 27BC. These were a number of different emperors that started the Roman Empire. The first Roman empire was Augustus. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roem/hd_roem.htm) After him there were a lot more emperors and the Roman Empire was doing very well for a long time. The Roman Empire then started to decline and it is said that it fell in 476 AD.
The people living outside of the Roman Empire were known as Barbarians and the Roman army was having trouble stopping these Barbarians from coming into Rome. Because of this the Romans had to make a bigger army which meant that they had to raise taxes to pay the large army. A lot of the people were not able to afford these high taxes and it became a big problem. There was also a terrible plague which caused almost 5,000 people a day to die. (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ROMbarbarians.htm) With all the people dying from starvation and the plague, there were less people to join the army and protect the city from Barbarians. There were also more people becoming Christians and some citizens became monks and they would not get married and have children. Since the rate of people having children went down even more of the population decreased. Then the Germans also started attacking and Rome and this lost even more of the Roman Empire. At this point the Roman Empire was declining a lot and eventually just died in 476AD.
There were also many theories describing how the Roman Empire fell. One theory was that the rapid growth of the Empire led to the Roman Empire’s decline. Since the Empire was so big they had to pay for more things like roads and water. And they also had to pay for the armies so the taxes were raised so much that the economy started to crash and the Roman Empire fell. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire#Theories_of_a_fall.2C_decline.2C_transition_and_continuity)
One man, Arther Ferrill, had another theory for the fall of the Roman Empire. He stated that since the barbarians were allowed to settle so close to the Roman Empire that it caused friction and decreased the size of the Roman Empire’s borders. There were also a lot of German recruits which caused the Roman army to decline in military skill. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arther_Ferrill)
Some historians like Arnold J. Toynbee and James Burke said that Roman Empire was a completely rotten system and that it wasn’t going to last long anyways. William H. McNeill said that it was the wave of many diseases that caused half the population to decrease. This made the army to large to support which led to the economic decline and eventually killed the Roman Empire. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire#Theories_of_a_fall.2C_decline.2C_transition_and_continuity)
One interesting theory of the fall of the Roman Empire was lead poisoning. The Romans would simmer sapa and defratum, a type of grape syrup, in lead lined pots and kettles. Then the sapa was mixed with the wine they drank to make it taste better. Since they simmered it in lead pots this caused them to get lead poisoning and caused a lot of Romans to die which effected the fall of the Roman Empire. (http://everything2.com/title/Lead+Poisoning+and+the+Fall+of+the+Roman+Empire)
There are still many theories about the fall of the Roman Empire and to this day people are still trying to learn more about it. Most of these theories are probably true in affecting how the Roman Empire fell. The Roman Empire did not fall for just one reason it was an array of reasons that made it fall.
There were also many theories describing how the Roman Empire fell. One theory was that the rapid growth of the Empire led to the Roman Empire’s decline. Since the Empire was so big they had to pay for more things like roads and water. And they also had to pay for the armies so the taxes were raised so much that the economy started to crash and the Roman Empire fell. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire#Theories_of_a_fall.2C_decline.2C_transition_and_continuity)
One man, Arther Ferrill, had another theory for the fall of the Roman Empire. He stated that since the barbarians were allowed to settle so close to the Roman Empire that it caused friction and decreased the size of the Roman Empire’s borders. There were also a lot of German recruits which caused the Roman army to decline in military skill. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arther_Ferrill)
Some historians like Arnold J. Toynbee and James Burke said that Roman Empire was a completely rotten system and that it wasn’t going to last long anyways. William H. McNeill said that it was the wave of many diseases that caused half the population to decrease. This made the army to large to support which led to the economic decline and eventually killed the Roman Empire. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire#Theories_of_a_fall.2C_decline.2C_transition_and_continuity)
One interesting theory of the fall of the Roman Empire was lead poisoning. The Romans would simmer sapa and defratum, a type of grape syrup, in lead lined pots and kettles. Then the sapa was mixed with the wine they drank to make it taste better. Since they simmered it in lead pots this caused them to get lead poisoning and caused a lot of Romans to die which effected the fall of the Roman Empire. (http://everything2.com/title/Lead+Poisoning+and+the+Fall+of+the+Roman+Empire)
There are still many theories about the fall of the Roman Empire and to this day people are still trying to learn more about it. Most of these theories are probably true in affecting how the Roman Empire fell. The Roman Empire did not fall for just one reason it was an array of reasons that made it fall.
sources:
"Arther Ferrill -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arther_Ferrill
"End of the Roman Empire." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ROMbarbarians.htm
"Lead Poisoning and the Fall of the Roman Empire@Everything2.com." Welcome to Everything@Everything2.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. http://everything2.com/title/Lead+Poisoning+and+the+Fall+of+the+Roman+Empire
"Roman Empire - Definition of Roman Empire by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Roman+Empire
"The Roman Empire (27 B.C.393 A.D.) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Metmuseum.org. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roem/hd_roem.htm
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