The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire is a good mirror and historical example for the United States to analyze and better understand our current Western Civilization. Christianity contributed to the weakening of the Roman Empire by weakening the emperor’s hold on the Empire, by being Monotheistic. Barbarians weakened the Empire by raiding, sacking and eventually conquering the Roman Empire’s capital of Rome. The Roman Economy weakened- especially in the West- by overspending, corruption, widening inequality and rising food prices. The Fall of the Roman Empire was caused by Christianity, Barbarians and a weakening economy.

Carthaginian Soldier

Christianity contributed to the weakening of the Roman Empire by weakening the emperor’s hold on the empire and undermining traditional Roman Values. The Roman Empire was Pagan and converted to Christianity which was very popular with the poor. The Roman Empire converting to a Monotheistic Religion weakened the emperor’s hold on the Empire because he was supposed to be a god. The Roman Empire was raided and had vicious enemies on its border starting in the 3rd century of the Roman Empire.

              The Roman Empire, starting in the 3rd century, had vicious enemies on its borders that raided the Roman Empire and weakened its manpower. The Roman Empire was facing pressure from the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Angles and the Visigoths who viciously attacked them and hurt the Roman Empire, some were hired as mercenaries. The Roman Empire started getting raided by the Huns in 355Ad. The Roman’s were sacked in 410 AD by the Visigoths. Finally in 476 AD, a Germanic Ruler, named Ocedeus overthrew the Western Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was split into East and West in the 3rd Century. The Roman Economy was hurt by a lack of men for their armies which caused them to need expensive mercenaries- this was caused by a lack of manpower.

              The Roman Empire’s economy was hurt by many different problems and other social issues. The Roman Empire over relied on slave labor and faced increasing food prices due to lower food output that was caused by a weakening economy. Another problem was that the Roman Empire’s taxation and working system caused widening inequality that caused massive economic disparities that caused religious, military, political and economic turmoil. The Roman Empire also had a labor deficit that caused an economic recession. The government was also corrupt and extremely unstable. The emperor Constatatine changed the Roman capital from Rome to Constantinople to remove Christianity from the extremely corrupt Roman Capital called Rome.

              The Roman Empire’s capital- Rome was very corrupt and it caused religious differences as well as economic and military problems. The Roman Empire becoming Christian weakened the Roman Emperor’s power. The Roman Empire faced a lower amount of manpower and was forced to recruit expensive mercenaries due to a lack of Roman Citizens that could serve. The Roman Empire was very strong, however faced a conflux of terrible events and poor decisions that caused the fall of the Roman Empire.

Citations

Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire : A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. New York ; Oxford University Press, 2010.

Andrews, Evan. “The Fall of the Roman Empire.” U.S. History.org. Accessed June 16, 2025. https://www.ushistory.org/civ/6f.asp.

Andrews, Evan. “8 Reasons Why Rome Fell.” History.com, January 14, 2014. Accessed June 16, 2025. https://www.history.com/articles/8-reasons-why-rome-fell.

Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Edited by Henry Hart Milman. New York: Hurst and Company, 1880. https://www.loc.gov/item/43041171/.