final draft

Rome went from being a small town in Italy to being the center of a vast empire. This took hundreds of years and many wars. Eventually it was bound to fall; it’s a long fall from the top. This fall was extremely painful and hurtful for the Romans. The Roman Empire started to decline after the pax romana, which was a 200 year long time of peace. The Roman Empire fell from the top and this was tough for them.

“After Commudus was killed by one of his guards, then they sold power to the highest bidder. This led to chaos every time a leader died. All leaders became dictators, and almost all were eventually killed by their guards. The Roman Empire had 26 leaders in the next 50 years” (Mr. Sedivy). Leaders had to pay their army well to keep them happy so that they would fend off invasions. This led to high taxes and inflation. Borders were left open as Romans fought among themselves. Germanic tribes invaded, Persians took Roman lands, and Gaul tried to become independent. This was the start of the decline of the political and economic strength of the Roman Empire.

“After Commudus’ death the politics in Rome went into chaos” (Mr. Sedivy). Wealthy aristocrats paid for positions in the government; as a result they raised taxes on the poor and cut aid for those in poverty. These acts caused even more corruption. This corruption even broke up the armies of Rome; there was infighting between the armies which caused Rome to be easily infiltrated. Germans and Persians invaded Roman lands. Also Gaul’s tried to separate from the Roman Empire (Mr. Sedivy).The Huns also threatened Rome, and then were paid off and then they still attacked Rome. Vandals also attacked Rome and sacked it (N.S. Gill). Also the economy of Rome went to shambles because the new leaders heavily taxed the citizens.  This caused inflation which even furthered the debt that the citizens of Rome were in. This was a hard hole for Rome to dig itself out of but they tried.

Diocletian,( who was elected by the army) and Constantine were the main leaders in the reform of the politics and economy of Rome,( Mr. Sedivy). They did this in a number of ways. One of which was government workers had to keep the same job for life. Also their children had to have the same job. A political aid was moving the capital of the empire to Constantinople now known as Istanbul. Diocletian also separated the empire into two separate parts which spread power over more representatives. This made it easier on the leader. It helped educate leaders on the different cultures and necessities of different areas.

In conclusion many things led to the fall of Rome. But most of all was the end of the Pax Romana.  Remember that the Pax romana was a 200 year time of peace throughout the Roman Empire.  Other reasons for the fall like the corrupt politics and economy. Diocletian and Constantine were the two main benefactors for bringing the Roman Empire out of the hole that it dug for itself. In the end Rome had fallen and it took a long time to get back up to the greatness they had once achieved.

Works cited

Mr. Sedivy, Initials. (n.d.). World history rise and fall of the roman empire. Retrieved from http://mr_sedivy.tripod.com/r_decline.html

gill, ns. (n.d.). Fall of rome timeline.. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/tablescharts/a/120610-Fall-Of-Rome-Timeline.htm