Mr.

Fall of the Empire

The roman empire was once the greatest empire and military power this world has ever seen. Its boarders span the entire basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately for the Romans, with great power, comes great responsibility. After about 1000 years or so of being the greatest power in the world, Rome became complacent. The trouble started for the most part when the empire was divided into two parts, east, and west, in the late third century. In 323AD, Constantine became ruler of the eastern half after a civil war. He established his capital in Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. The west side of the empire did not survive, mainly because the west was more favored. The west had more money, better emperors, and 70% of Rome’s total population.

Rome’s west side had survived much longer, but do not be fooled. Rome began to cripple its self in a variety of ways. Political corruption was one of the biggest problems in Rome. The struggle for which party had the privilege of choosing the empire only grew worse. The army, the emperor, the Praetorian Guard, and the senate all wanted to choose who was emperor. Eventually, the Praetorian Guard took control. The corruption was unimaginable. Essentially, they sold the throne to the highest bidder. To make matters worse, the rich were not always smart. The more incompetent the emperor was the more damage he did to the empire. The morals and values of Rome had also begun to decrease as well. Emperors would often give disregard to the economy of Rome, and spend its money on lavish parties and plush lifestyles, while its people suffered in the extremes of poverty. All of this budget squandering would only get worse with the lack of new territories. Without new lands, Rome could no longer obtain more gold to use as currency. On top of this, the barbarians were looting what gold the romans already had in their treasuries.

The