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Marcqus Johnson
Dr. Taylor
World Literature I
2 November 2015
How the great Roman Empire fell
When taking a look at the Roman Empire, many people believe that was one of, if not,
the greatest empire or dictatorship of all time. The Ottoman Empire and the many Chinese
empires gave it a run for its money, but the Roman Empire is one that changed the Western
civilization. The main points to be discussed is the beginning when it conquered Egypt to
officially begin its run of the Mediterranean, the change from the Roman Catholic Church to
Christianity, to the division of the Roman Empire, the fall of the western part of the Roman
Empire, and how the Dark Ages impacted the future of Western Civilization.

The Beginning of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire has a debated beginning. Many people feel the true beginning of the
empire started after the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, while others believe it started when the
Roman Senate gave Gaius Octavian Thurinus, renamed Augustus Caesar, complete power over
the empire in 27 BCE. According to Mark, Augustus ruled the empire from 31 BCE until 14 CE
when he died. He said he found Rome a city of clay and left it a city of marble. Augustus
reformed the laws of the city and, by extension, the empires, secured Romes borders, initial
vast building projects, and secured the empire a lasting name as one of, if not, the greatest,
political and cultural powers in history. (Mark, Ancient History Encyclopedia) The Pax
Romana, which stands for Roman Peace, was a 200 year period where peace and prosperity was
found all around the Mediterranean. After Caesars passing, his heir Tiberius took the throne.
Tiberius continued many of the policies his father implemented, but he lacked the vision his

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father had. The next three emperors of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty were a lot like Tiberius, where
their lack of strength and vision didnt make the impact that Augustus Caesar made. The first five
emperors for the Roman Empire were Augustus Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.
Mark also stated, Although Caligula has become notorious for his depravity and apparent
insanity, his early rule was commendable as was that of his successor, Claudius, who expanded
Romes power and territory in Britain. (Mark, AHE) All was great among the next emperors
because many of them were unfit to do the job or people wanted to get the power all to
themselves. Galba was the emperor who followed Nero after he committed suicide in 69 CE and
was proven to be immediately unfit for the job. He was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard and
Otho rose to the title of emperor that same day. Many people believed Otho would have been a
great emperor, but a man by the name of Vitellius sought the power all for himself. General
Vitellius, however, sought power for himself and so initiated the brief civil war which ended in
Othos suicide and Vitellius ascent to the throne. Vitellius proved no more fit to rule than Galba
had been, as he almost instantly engaged in luxurious entertainments and feasts at the expense of
his duties. (Mark, AHE) The citizens of the Roman Empire called for the great General
Vespasian to ascend to the throne because of Vitellius ignorance on how to properly maintain and
expand the empire. Vespasian took power in 70 CE, exactly one year to the day that Galba took
over as emperor. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian Dynasty of emperors, which ruled
from 70 CE to 96 CE, when Domitian was assassinated. According to Mark, Vespasian ruled
from 69-79 CE, and in that time, initiated the building of the Flavian Amphitheatre (the famous
Coliseum of Rome) which his son Titus (ruled 79-81 CE) would complete. Titus early reign saw
the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE which buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Ancient sources are universal in their praise for his handling of this disaster as well as the great

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fire of Rome in 80 CE. Titus died of a fever in 81 CE and was succeeded by his brother Domitian
who ruled from 81-96 CE. Domitian expanded and secured the boundaries of Rome, repaired the
damage to the city caused by the great fire, continued the building projects initiated by his
brother, and improved the economy of the empire. Even so, his autocratic methods and policies
made him unpopular with the Roman Senate, and he was assassinated in 96 CE. (Mark, AHE)
Many more emperors came to power from 96 CE to 305 CE, but Constantine the Great rose to
power in Rome in 306 CE and changed the religious aspect of the Roman Empire that created a
paradigm shift in how their relations took off.

Introduction of Christianity
Christianity was viewed by the Roman Catholic Church as an act of treason because you
put your faith in Jesus Christ instead of the emperor. Many people were persecuted because of
their Christian faith and belief in only one true quote unquote God. Constantine converted to
Christianity in 312 CE and many felt this was the beginning of a new Christian-run Roman
Empire. Many historians believe that Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, was the capital of the
new Christian empire. Historians are still troubled by his conversion. According to LunnRockliffe, Many of his actions seemed resolutely pagan. Constantine founded a new city named
after himself: Constantinople. Christian writers played up the idea that this was to be a 'new
Rome', a fitting Christian capital for a newly Christian empire. But they had to find ways to
explain the embarrassing fact that in this new, supposedly Christian city, Constantine had erected
pagan temples and statues. (Lunn-Rockliffe, BBC) Constantine really made Christianity more
acceptable to the people of the empire begin because they realized that if the powerful emperor
was willing to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, then why cant we do the same.

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Division of the Roman Empire

At the end of Constantines reign as emperor, he realized that the Roman Empire was too
large to be controlled from one major city. He decided that the Roman Empire needed to be
divided into an eastern and western portion with Rome controlling the western side of the empire
and Constantinople controlling the eastern side of the empire. When Constantine passed away in
337 CE, his three sons began a civil war among each other to see who would gain control.
According to Ferguson, The first was civil war as Constantine's three sons fought among
themselves for his throne--a struggle from which Constantius II finally emerged in 350 not
necessarily as victor but as last-man-standing. In any event, leadership of the Empire was unified
once more. (Ferguson, pg. 7) The western side of the empire had to deal with the Visigoths from
the Nordic countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden; while the eastern side had to deal with
the threat of the Persian army trying to invade and gain more territory. According to Ferguson,
In the west, however, the cloud of territorial encroachment by the Goths from the north grew
steadily darker, a trend underscored by a great Goth victory in the Battle of Adrianople in 378.
As Emperor from 379, Theodosius the Great brought a temporary respite through a careful policy
of appeasing and containing the Goths. Theodosius' death in 495 brought the Empire into the less
skilled hands of his sons Honorius and Arcadius, who compounded their lack of statecraft by
their deep personal animosity. Their personal hostility was resolved by a decision to divide the
Empire irrevocably into two parts. Arcadius became Emperor of the Eastern Empire, which soon
became known as the Byzantine Empire. Honorius assumed the throne of the new Western
Empire--just 81 years before its demise at the hands of Odoacer, leader of its rebellious barbarian
mercenaries. (Ferguson, pg. 11)

The fall of the Roman Empire

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The fall of the Roman Empire is truly one that you saw coming one they had to divide the
empire into east and west. According to Andrews, there were eight critical reasons as to why the
Roman Empire fell. (Andrews, History) The first reason was the continuous invasion of
barbarian tribes into the western side of the empire. According to Andrews, The Romans
weathered a Germanic uprising in the late fourth century, but in 410 the Visigoth King Alaric
successfully sacked the city of Rome. The Empire spent the next several decades under constant
threat before the Eternal City was raided again in 455, this time by the Vandals. Finally, in 476,
the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed the Emperor Romulus Augustulus.
From then on, no Roman emperor would ever again rule from a post in Italy, leading many to
cite 476 as the year the Western Empire suffered its deathblow. (Andrews, History) The second
reason that the empire fell was due to economic issues and an overreliance on slave labor. The
third reason for the fall was the rise of the eastern side of the empire, due to being unable to
adequately work together to combat outside threats, and the two often squabbled over resources
and military aid. (Andrews, History) The fourth reason the empire fell was because of
overexpansion and overspending on the military. The fifth reason why the Roman Empire fell is
because of government corruption and political instability. Andrews states, The Praetorian
Guardthe emperors personal bodyguardsassassinated and installed new sovereigns at will,
and once even auctioned the spot off to the highest bidder. (Andrews, History) The sixth reason
for the fall of the Roman Empire was the invasion of the Huns in Europe causing the migration
of barbaric tribes into the empires territories. Although they allowed them to stay within the
confines of the empire, the barbarians were treated with extreme cruelty. The seventh reason for
the fall of the empire is the entrance of Christianity as the main religion and also losing the core
traditional values that made them the successful empire that they were. The eighth and final

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reason for the fall of the empire is the weakening of Roman legions. According to Andrews,
Unable to recruit enough soldiers from the Roman citizenry, emperors like Diocletian and
Constantine began hiring foreign mercenaries to prop up their armies. (Andrews, History) The
Roman leaders began leaning on barbaric soldiers more and more, but the soldiers had no loyalty
to the empire and often attacked the empire looking for more power.

Dark Ages Impact

The period of the Dark Ages in Europe is from 476 CE until the renaissance
began in the 1400s. The main why to describe this period is a time where no advancements to
better the society were made. The History.com staff stated that, Between 1347 and 1350, a
mysterious disease known as the "Black Death" (the bubonic plague) killed some 20 million
people in Europe30 percent of the continents population. It was especially deadly in cities,
where it was impossible to prevent the transmission of the disease from one person to another.
(History) This mainly occurred due to a lack of education during the Dark Ages and no
improvements in medicine. The Catholic Church took more control and many of the leaders were
making decisions in unison with that of the Catholic Church. When Charlemagne was made the
Holy Roman Emperor in 800 CE, many of the decisions he made was made within unison with
the Catholic Church. Islamic tribes began to migrate into Europe, most notably the Muslim Moor
tribes from North Africa. The barbaric tribes began to do crusades because they felt they needed
to rid Islam from Europe and instill the Christian faith back into their people. Towards the end of
the Dark Ages, however, began to turn around late as Europe finally began to embrace
knowledge as the way to improve their life.