The Roman Empire Essay

At the beginning of the first millennium CE, the Roman Empire began to conquer the territory around the Mediterranean Sea. Smaller countries feared the Roman Empire because of their great strength. The Roman Empire acquired great wealth, territories, and a reputation as a strong and feared empire. But, as time passed the problems within the Empire accumulated and the state of Roman Empire began to deteriorate before collapsing in 476 CE.

The Roman empire was a prosperous empire that flourished between the years 27 BC - 476 AD. However, there were many internal and external factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman empire. Some internal factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman empire included their financial strains, and the people starting to distrust each other. Some external factors that contributed to the downfall of the Roman empire include constant pressure from the northern world, and Rome’s army not being able to compete with other armies.

The great Western Roman Empire was considered to be one of the most powerful empires in human history. Rome became the most powerful state in the world by the first century BCE through a combination of military might, political acumen, and economic might. The empire was founded on blood of two brother’s who fought to the death to be crowned King, which lead to the first King of Rome who was named Romulus. By the third century BCE, all of Rome’s power and greatness began to diminish. Rome was falling.

The Roman Empire lasted about 500 years from about 47 BC to AD 476. It started in Italy and eventually extended throughout Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Julius Caesar became dictator for life and was assassinated by the senate, however this began the transfer from a republic to an empire. The Roman Empire grew over time, getting bigger. Although it thrived, it fell around 476 C.E because of major issues.

Rome started expanding with its eyes first set on Sicily unfortunately it was loyal to Carthage. This first clash seemed an inevitable failure for Rome, however they triumphed. This set the stage for future expansion, Rome’s thirst for trade goods was quite healthy after all they had to maintain their population

The year 27 BCE marked the start of the Pax Romana, the height of the Roman Empire. Rome had a series of good emperors, and everything was well until 180 CE, when this period of peace ended. A few hundred years later, in 476 CE, the Western Roman Empire fell once and for all. The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by a combination of powerful enemies, geographical challenges, and most importantly, political instability. These factors weakened the Empire’s power and eventually led to its downfall.

The flexible drafting laws of the Roman army exempted many people in Rome's society including government officials, chefs, and even slaves (Document B). The lazy army was one of the major social issues in

and they didn 't want to join the military. So Rome had 2 options, either have a small military or an army full of mercenaries. A mercenary is a paid soldier.

The Roman Empire lasted from 96-180 C.E thanks to its large completed conquest and its flourishing arts, literature, and commerce, but there is more than just that to its success as it is said in 155 C.E by

Ancient Rome is recognized for strength in war and battles, so the ideal citizen would be strong and willing to fight. Hunt explains that in Rome “one man’s loss was another man’s gain” (177). The culture of Ancient Rome was aggressive, as the men were trained to fight and be devoted to their country. “Male elites had to be on guard to defend against and avenge any slights to their personal, family, and state honor” (Hunt 177). In The Aeneid, Virgil writes “Roman, remember by your strength to rule //

Rome was the center of one of the world's greatest empires. It began as an unremarkable settlement. Rome had become powerful by conquering territory. But Rome soon discovered that size has its problems. Controlling an expanded empire, meant a need for more food, clothing, weapons and supplies.

As a Roman citizen, watching the decline of the Roman Empire was frightening because of the constant worry. The Roman Empire lost its power due to simultaneous external and internal factors such as the lack of political stability, deterioration of the military, and constant invasions from outsiders. The first internal factor that led to the fall of the Roman Empire was the lack of political stability. This was due to the constant change of emperors, causing haphazard leadership. “The soldiers in various parts of the empire proclaimed fifty emperors in about the same number of years” (Lines 8-10, Document 3a, Third Century Crisis of the Roman Empire).

From about fifty BCE to two hundred BCE, the Roman Empire was the Powerhouse for the entire Mediterranean world. In those years, the empire grew with extreme amounts of power. Rome became known as the Superpower of the Mediterranean World. This was until around 220 BCE when the empire began to decline. Rome began to encounter many crises that together allowed the fall of the Roman Empire.

According to (10.5) Discovery Education, “Armies fought with each other to place their own man in power. The soldiers of the one who backed the next emperor would be rewarded with wealth and power … During the years 235-284, no fewer than 30 generals were proclaimed emperor by their armies.” The soldiers of a roman army were very highly valued which was shown by their reward if they were under the “next emperor”. Soldiers also made most of the decisions on who would be the next emperor at the time.

Between 100 and 600 C.E, the Roman Empire went through a number of political and cultural changes and continuities. Several changes were occurring such as the division and fall of Rome and the rise and spread of Christianity but one thing that continued was the idea of patriarchy and authority in the average Roman family. In the year 100 C.E, most of Europe was in a time of peace and prosperity but after 180 C.E, Rome started to decline due to ineffective leadership and outside invasions, ending the empire’s golden age. Germanic people spread plagues causing a decrease in population and also took the opportunity to attack Rome.