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Question: World History:Can you help me add causes that contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire!?
This is what i have so far!.!.!.
1!.) Political:The wealthy class becoming uninterested in politics and the army contributed to the decline of the politics!.
2!.) Military: Bad leadership by emperors, who often met untimely deaths contributed to the decline of the military when success of barbarian invasions allowed by a weakened Roman army was reflected on the leaders!.
3!.) Economic: The rich class romans contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire by their lazy behavior and acts of overindulgence!. Because they could afford such life style they stopped working and just concentrated on themselves so the economy went down!.
4!.) Social: The Roman persecution of Christians, which was a brutal reflection of the civilization's decline in the social category!. !.!.!.And im suppose to!.!.!.Divided into four categories: political, military, economic, and social the causes that contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire and explain how' they contributed but i need help finding more info!. Help plzWww@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Another one is the decline of health in Roman cities because of overcrowding and the use of lead pipes for water!. There's also lots of information at the 'Decline of the Roman Empire' Wikipedia page: http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Decline_of_!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
The enemies of the Romans got stronger!. In the east the feudal and loosely organized Parthian Empire was replaced by the centralized Sassanian Empire centered on Persia and Mesopotamia which had a professional army!.
The barabarians to the north learned much from fighting the Romans!.
Political disunity: 50 emperors in as many years in the mid-third century!.
I would not put much stock in moralistic explanations about over indulgence and such life style changes!. That's like blaming Hurricane Katrina on Gay Pride Day in New Orleans!.
The Roman persecution of Christians was episodic and ineffective in the long run!. Christians make entirely too much of it for their own reasons!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
The Roman Emperor instituted Roman Catholicism before the complete fall of Rome--that was the effort to save it!. The persecution of Christians was earlier!.
Economic: Rome and its expansion cost a LOT of money, and the vast Empire was eating away at the wealth!. They were basically bankrupt!. You could see it as they retreated from the furthest outposts (such as at Hadrian's wall between what is now England and Scotland)!. That reduced trade, which reduced wealth, etc!. Once you stop paying the soldiers, it's all over!.
It's one thing to go and conquer new territories and keep expanding through warfare!. It's another thing to run an Empire! The same thing would have inevitably happened to Alexander had he not died so early!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
To military, you can add an increasing unwillingness of Romans to serve as soldiers!. As time went on, the Roman army increasingly had to rely on foreigners and "barbarians"!.Www@QuestionHome@Com