Fall of the Roman Empire
Taylor Davino
Professor Horsley
HIS 126
3 March 2010
The fall of the Roman Empire Political, economic and social aspects were all involved in the fall of the Roman Empire. In 395 A.D., Rome was divided into two empires, with one capital in Rome and the other in Constantinople. During that time, the western Roman Empire was being invaded by barbarian tribes from the North. In 410, the Visigoth tribe succeeded in conquering the western capital in Rome. In 476, the western Emperor Romulus Augustulus was finally overthrown at the substitute capital set up in Ravenna, and in 529 the eastern Emperor Justinian declared that the pagan religions of ancient Rome were illegal. All of these events caused the end of the western Roman Empire, although the eastern Empire continued to flourish throughout the Middle Ages as the Byzantine Empire. The fall of the western Roman Empire was very significant. Ancient Rome first operated under a republic before it eventually transitioned to an empire. A republic is a representative government that is elected by the people to make political decisions based on the greater public interest. When Rome later became an empire, which is a government that operates in an autocratic manner where the power vests in one ruler, it still recognized the importance of having a Senate to voice the concerns and visions on the people. In a sense, even though Rome shifted from a republic to an empire, they did not entirely leave their governmental foundation behind. Ancient Rome was found aristocratically. The government wanted to be as fair as possible by giving power to the people, and stopping tyranny. While Rome was a republic, the government took a democratic form. Once Rome became and empire, it was no longer democratic. It became and autocratic government, but still had a senate to hear out. Ultimately, the ruler make the decisions. While Rome was a republic, they had a constitution as well, but it was never officially
Professor Horsley
HIS 126
3 March 2010
The fall of the Roman Empire Political, economic and social aspects were all involved in the fall of the Roman Empire. In 395 A.D., Rome was divided into two empires, with one capital in Rome and the other in Constantinople. During that time, the western Roman Empire was being invaded by barbarian tribes from the North. In 410, the Visigoth tribe succeeded in conquering the western capital in Rome. In 476, the western Emperor Romulus Augustulus was finally overthrown at the substitute capital set up in Ravenna, and in 529 the eastern Emperor Justinian declared that the pagan religions of ancient Rome were illegal. All of these events caused the end of the western Roman Empire, although the eastern Empire continued to flourish throughout the Middle Ages as the Byzantine Empire. The fall of the western Roman Empire was very significant. Ancient Rome first operated under a republic before it eventually transitioned to an empire. A republic is a representative government that is elected by the people to make political decisions based on the greater public interest. When Rome later became an empire, which is a government that operates in an autocratic manner where the power vests in one ruler, it still recognized the importance of having a Senate to voice the concerns and visions on the people. In a sense, even though Rome shifted from a republic to an empire, they did not entirely leave their governmental foundation behind. Ancient Rome was found aristocratically. The government wanted to be as fair as possible by giving power to the people, and stopping tyranny. While Rome was a republic, the government took a democratic form. Once Rome became and empire, it was no longer democratic. It became and autocratic government, but still had a senate to hear out. Ultimately, the ruler make the decisions. While Rome was a republic, they had a constitution as well, but it was never officially