What were the Primary Reasons for the Fall of Rome?
What Were the Primary Reasons for the “Fall” of Rome? By 200 BC, Rome was quickly becoming one of the world’s greatest empires with their excellent military conquering territory from modern day Scotland to Spain. After the Punic Wars and the defeat of Carthage, Rome had full control of the Mediterranean region, establishing colonies in North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. Julius Caesar became Rome’s first emperor using his military influence. Under his reign, Rome shifted from a republic to an empire under the rule of an emperor and the military. Rome steadily increased in stability, power, and wealth, reaching Pax Romana (the time of Roman peace) under Emperor Augustus Caesar. Rome was forced to discover, as many other large empires throughout history have, that size can create complications. Political strains developed and Rome eventually morphed into a government similar to a dictatorship. Believing their goal of a “perfect empire” had been reached, leaders in Rome began to become lazy. Romans developed a thirst for luxury and a lack of work ethic, which resulted in a decline in the quality of products made by the empire. Around the 5th century BC, Rome began to have constant invasion attempts by Germanic tribes at their borders. There was a multitude of factors contributing to the fall of Rome, the most impactful being the frequently changing leadership, the increasing negligence of the Roman army, and foreign invasions along Rome’s borders. Rome’s government went through a number of transitions; from republic to triumvirates, triumvirates to an empire, an empire to a dictatorship. As shown in Document A, a chart compiled from various sources, there came a period of time (235-285), after the start of Rome 's decline, where the leader of Rome changed 19 times, the throne belonging to whoever had enough military control to seize it. During this time, 13 of these emperors were killed through assassination. To citizens of the Roman Empire,