The end of the 5th century, when the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist, was the end of the era of antiquity. Together with the Roman Empire, an entire era with its values, ideals and special worldview has gone into the past. The ancient foundations gave way to medieval, essentially Christian principles.
Roman society and state on the eve of the fall
The decay of Roman society began long before 476. It was extremely difficult for the state to survive the Crisis of the III century, when soldier emperors were constantly replaced on the throne, unable to strengthen the empire. In the III-IV centuries, there were people on the Roman throne who thought on a national scale and were capable of serious reforms. Thanks to the emperors Diocletian and Constantine, Roman greatness was revived for a while. However, the process of destruction could no longer be stopped. The main reasons for the impending disaster, the researchers include:
- The political and ethnic heterogeneity of the empire. Already in the 2nd century, there was a noticeable difference between the eastern aristocracy, whose representatives ascended to noble ancient Greek families, and the western nobility. In the future, cultural-historical and political differences will lead to division united state to the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. There was no unity among the Roman citizens themselves and the ruling elite, as evidenced by a whole series of civil wars that took place during the III-V centuries.
- Decay of the Roman army. By the 4th century, the image of the courageous Roman legionnaire was completely in the past. The Romans lost all interest in military service and only went there for the money. Even under Septimius Severus (193-211), due to the lack of volunteers, barbarians began to be accepted into the army, which later resulted in a fall in military discipline. In addition, the North, in order to raise the prestige of the military craft, allowed legionnaires to buy land and marry before completing their service. The reforms of the North, of course, played a role in strengthening the combat capability of the state, but later began to manifest back side his transformations. Legion camps began to turn into villages where ordinary peaceful life flowed. Roman units were losing their mobility, and the warriors were losing their dexterity. From now on, the chiefs of the camps had to combine military leadership with the solution of civilian tasks, because of which the process of bureaucratization began in the headquarters, in which the entire state apparatus would later become mired.
- The crisis of the pagan worldview. Over time, the Romans also lost their former religious and ideological ideals, which were the basis of Roman statehood. Ideas about former heroes and gods educated people already seemed naive, the attempt of the authorities to introduce the cult of the "genius" of the emperors also failed. From the 1st century A.D. e. the Roman aristocracy was inclined to the teachings of the Stoics, and among the lower class and slaves, the idea of the appearance of a savior who would restore justice was increasingly spreading. The image of the savior united with the images of pagan dying and resurrecting gods (Osiris, Attis, Mitra), as well as with the idea that beyond the line of death begins new life where everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds. Gradually, Christianity began to develop on this basis, the foundations of which radically differed from the ideals of ancient Roman mythology. Emperor Constantine in 313 proclaimed religious tolerance, which actually meant the victory of the Christian Church and the final collapse of the pagan worldview.
- economic situation. In the 4th century, the collapse of the slave system began in the empire, which led to the decay of cities, a return to subsistence farming, the destruction of economic ties between different regions, and the coarsening of crafts. Since the role of centers of crafts and trade passed from cities to large landowners, the latter began to seriously compete with imperial power. The last Roman emperors could no longer compete with the appetites of their subjects. To maintain the state and its treasury, the emperors raised taxes, because of which the peasants and artisans were massively ruined.
- Barbarian raids. Many historians consider this factor to be the main reason for the destruction of the Western Roman Empire. The Romans first encountered the barbarians in the 2nd century, but then they managed to repel the threat quite easily. However, small skirmishes on the borders of the empire have since become permanent for the Roman legionnaires. In the second half of the 3rd century, the Great Migration of Peoples began, when entire hordes of Asian nomads moved from the expanses of Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, China, etc. to the west. At the forefront of this movement were the Huns - formidable and fearless conquerors. Due to the constant military threat, Emperor Constantine was forced to move the capital of his state to Constantinople, which served as an impetus for the development and growth of the wealth of the eastern part of the empire, but at the same time became the reason for the decline of its western half. Many European tribes, fleeing the Huns, asked the Roman emperors for asylum. In 378, a battle took place between the Roman emperor Valens and the Visigoths, who settled on the outskirts of the empire. In this battle, the barbarians not only defeated the Roman army, but also killed the emperor. All further relations between the Roman emperors and the barbarians can be characterized as maneuvering. Rome either bribed the barbarian leaders, or tried to pit them against each other, or tried to repulse them. In 395, the empire was officially divided into Western and Eastern parts. The forces of the Western Empire were too weak to deal with the barbarian threat on their own. The tribes of the Suebi, Vandals and others began to seize vast areas and establish their own states here. Every year the Roman emperors were forced to make more and more concessions to the barbarians.
The last years of the empire
By the 5th century, the state finally ceased to cope with the functions assigned to it. The emperors could neither stop the chaos within their state, nor put an end to the constant raids of the barbarians. Meanwhile, the barbarians were no longer limited to campaigns on the outskirts of the state, the threat hung over the Eternal City itself. In 410, Rome was taken and sacked by the Visigoth king Alaric, while Emperor Honorius was hiding from the barbarians in Ravenna. For contemporaries, this event was a real collapse of the old world. However, the empire still continued to exist. In 451, in the Catalaunian fields, the Romans, temporarily united with their enemies - the Visigoths, Saxons and other tribal unions, even managed to stop the formidable leader of the Huns - Attila.
However, this victory did not have much significance for the further fate of Rome. Four years later, the city was sacked by the Vandals. After the pogrom that was perpetrated in the city, the name of this tribe began to mean any acts of senseless destruction.
The last one for real significant person in ancient Roman history was the emperor Julius Majorian (457-461). He initiated a series of reforms aimed at reviving the former greatness of the empire. However, Majorin's undertakings frustrated the plans of the barbarian kings and the provincial nobility, accustomed to independence. Therefore, the emperor was soon killed. After his death, several completely insignificant figures were replaced on the Roman throne. In 476, the commander Odoacer (a German by birth) overthrew the last Roman emperor, who, ironically, was called Romulus - just like the legendary founder of Rome, and founded his own state. Thus ended the existence of the Western Roman Empire.
Further weakening of the empire in the 4th century
During the period of the Roman Republic and at the beginning of the empire, the interests of the slaves and the free poor were quite different. The free poor man, no matter how hard his life was, did not sympathize with the alien crabs. He feared and hated them. Many understood that an increase in the number of slaves would lead to the ruin of free peasants and artisans and to their replacement by slaves. By the 4th century Differences in the position of the Raev and small free farmers gradually began to disappear. Columns, like slaves, were attached to the land and could be sold along with the land. Both those and others cultivated the plots that the master gave them. Colon, like a slave, could be subjected to corporal punishment. Finally, dependent farmers very often were themselves what kind of "barbarians" or descendants of "barbarians", like slaves.
Gradually there was a merger of slaves and columns in new class dependent and exploited farmers. The revolutionary uprisings of this vast class were much more dangerous for the slave-owning state than the earlier uprisings of the slaves.
At the same time, it gets worse. external position empire. "Barbarians" intensify the onslaught on its borders. In the IV century. in the steppes between the Don and the Volga, a strong alliance of Hun tribes developed. These nomadic pastoralists, who came from Central Asia, collided in the Black Sea steppes with peoples who wore common name ready. Part of the Goths - the Visigoths - retreating under the blows of the Huns, crossed the Danube and turned to the Roman emperor with a request to settle in the territory of the empire.
Hoping to use the Visigoths to fight an even more terrible enemy of the Romans - the Huns, the emperor agreed, and the Goths settled on the Balkan Peninsula in the places indicated by him.
Dissatisfied with the attitude of Roman officials, the Visigoths soon revolted. Thousands of slaves and columns fled to them. The uprising swept the entire Balkan Peninsula. The rebels expelled or killed large landowners, divided their land among themselves, and freed slaves. They exempted the cities that surrendered to them from taxes. In Constantinople, the slaves and the urban poor were worried.
With selected legions, the emperor moved on the rebels. The battle took place in 378 near the city of Adrianople. The Romans were defeated. Forty thousand soldiers died. The emperor himself fell. Encountering no resistance, the rebels reached the outskirts of Constantinople - in the east, to the borders of Italy - in the west.
The division of the empire into Western and Eastern
Forty thousand Goths were enlistedin the army of Theodosius. This allowed him to deal with the columns and slaves.
Theodosius ruthlessly fought against the remnants of paganism. Under the threat of the death penalty, non-Christian rites, sacrifices, and holidays were banned. With the support of the emperor, the Christian church organized a terrible destruction of pagan temples. Many wonderful monuments perished ancient culture. An irreparable loss was the burning of the temple in Alexandria with the remains of the famous Library of Alexandria.
In 395 Theodosius died. Before his death, he divided the Roman Empire between his two sons. Since that time, two heads appeared on the imperial coat of arms - the eagle. The year 395 is considered the year of the emergence of two independent states - the 3rd Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire included: Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain. The Eastern Roman Empire included: the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, North Africa.
The Eastern Roman Empire was richer and more cultured than the Western. The two states never united again.
Capture of Rome by the Visigoths
The leaders of the "barbarians" were well aware of the weakness of the Western Roman Empire. At the beginning of the 5th century The Visigoths, led by their leader (king) Alaric, attacked Italy. They met with no serious resistance. Slaves and columns fled to them. The Roman soldiers, among whom there were many "barbarians", were unreliable. Alaric became the ruler of the Yesei of Northern Italy.
In 410, the Visigoths approached Rome, which was largest city Italy and all
Mediterranean, although it was no longer the capital. Emperors have long lived in the small city of Ravenna (on Adriatic coast Italy).
Rome was ill-prepared for a siege. A terrible famine began in the city, from which slaves and the free poor suffered the most. Hundreds of fugitives crossed to Alaric every day. The Roman authorities wanted to bribe Alaric, but only prolonged the agony of the besieged city. And when they, wanting to intimidate the Visigoths, declared that in Rome there were tens of thousands of men who wielded a sword, Alaric replied: "The thicker the grass, the easier it is to mow."
Into the dark midsummer night Hordes of Goths broke into Rome. "Barbarians" slaves who joined them defeated the palaces and rich houses of the Romans. Most of the slave-owning nobility were killed, taken prisoner or fled to remote provinces.
The capture of Rome by the "barbarians" showed all nations the weakness of the slave-owning empire. Rome, which existed for more than a thousand years and defeated powerful opponents, Rome, considered the "eternal city", was in the hands of a tribe that no one had recently known about.
Death of the Western Roman Empire
At the beginning of the 5th century other "barbarians" - vandals - invaded the empire. They went west to Spain, and from there penetrated into North Africa. In 455, the Vandals attacked Italy by sea and captured Rome. For two weeks they plundered the city, ruthlessly destroying palaces and temples, burning libraries. The senseless destruction of cultural monuments later became known as vandalism.
Wherever conquerors settled on the lands of the empire, “barbarian” states arose. The leaders of the "barbarians" took land from wealthy slave owners and gave it to their soldiers. Slaves and columns fled in droves to the territories occupied by the "barbarians", since the oppression there was not as strong as in the areas belonging to the empire. Slave-owning orders began to disappear.
Only Italy remained of the Western Roman Empire. And here the "barbarians" were in charge. In 476, the leader of the Germans who served in the Roman army overthrew last emperor Western
Roman Empire and seized power. The new ruler did not accept the title of emperor. He sent the signs of imperial dignity to Constantinople, declaring that there should be one emperor on earth, like one sun in the sky. Italy became one of the "barbarian" states. Thus ended the existence of the Western Roman Empire. The Eastern Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire, lasted until 1453.
The fall of the slave system in Western Europe
The destruction of the slave state of the Western Roman Empire led to the fall of the slave system in Italy and the former Roman provinces.
Having destroyed the slave-owning system, which had become an obstacle to the development of economy and culture, the masses opened the way further development peoples of Europe.
Probably, any student who does not skip history lessons will be able to tell when the Roman Empire collapsed. But today not everyone knows and remembers the reasons for the collapse of the state, which seemed unshakable and even eternal for several centuries. We'll try to fix this. And let's start from the time when Rome was just gaining power, so that it would become clearer what processes were going on in the state, when it collapsed and why it happened.
How did the Romans gain power?
This powerful state existed for almost five centuries - like most others, at first rapidly gaining influence, and then losing it even faster.
As an empire, it appeared in 27 BC. But Rome itself, becoming more and more powerful and enlightened, was founded as early as 753 BC. The first ruler was Romulus - according to legend, he was fed along with his brother Remus by a she-wolf. Over the next seven centuries, the country has seen everything - wars, betrayals, fraternal strife, a change of rulers.
However, all this time the state and the people were gaining power. As a result, 27 years before the advent of our era, a powerful political association was formed, which called itself an empire. At that moment, under the influence of Emperor Augustus, there was a really huge territory - almost the entire basin of the Mediterranean Sea several hundred kilometers deep (Europe, Asia, Africa), as well as the entire territory Western Europe, including part of present-day Great Britain.
The Romans even managed to defeat the Hellenes - a powerful people who had a huge impact throughout the region. Alas, after several centuries of prosperity and recovery, the inevitable decline began.
Decay date
If you are interested in when the Roman Empire collapsed, the year can be quite accurately - 395 AD. However, one should not think that this was the end of a powerful state. Not at all, just the far-sighted and wise emperor Theodosius the First, trying to postpone the almost inevitable death of his state, divided it into two parts. Perhaps this was a mistake, but after that one of the parts existed for almost a century, and the other for almost a millennium and a half, leaving many traces in the history of mankind.
Separately, it is worth clarifying one nuance. Many novice historians are seriously interested in when the Holy Roman Empire collapsed, considering it to be the power that Caesar and Augustus glorified, tens of thousands of legionnaires carrying civilization on the tips of their gladias. Of course, this is a serious mistake. After all, the Holy Roman Empire appeared only in 962. And even in its heyday it included only Northern part Italy, which is the successor of the Roman Empire. But it included the entire territory of modern Germany, the Czech Republic and some regions of France. She was located in Central Europe, that is, much to the north and partly on lands that were never part of the empire of Rome. Emperors have repeatedly sent their legions here, but few have returned from these harsh places.
And this empire collapsed only in 1806, surviving not only the Western Roman Empire, but also the Eastern.
Background of the fall
Let's start with the fact that it had a huge area. Judge for yourself - from Austria in the north to Algeria in the South, from England in the west to Turkey in the east. It is indeed a gigantic political entity that would be very difficult to keep track of even today, in the era of the Internet and high-speed aircraft. What can we say about the ancient centuries - any news, even the most important, reached the emperor in best case in a few days, and more often - weeks.
Of course, with such a size of the empire, corruption flourished in many places, especially on the outskirts, although Rome itself was infected with it - most of the influential officials did not leave the capital and were simply content with the privileges that the actions of their fathers and grandfathers granted them.
Neighborhood with the barbarians also did not add calmness either. ordinary people, nor politicians. If earlier the legionnaires boldly threw back superior forces, using tactics and advanced weapons, now those in power preferred to solve the problem by bribery. Many barbarian leaders received titles, were part of the ruling elite.
The army was rapidly disintegrating. An important role was played by extremely low salaries - the highest ranks simply took the lion's share of the money intended for legionnaires for themselves. But even more terrible blow was the loss of patriotism. Previously, legionnaires went on the most dangerous missions with delight, knowing that if they died, then for the glory of Rome and Caesar. Now, seeing in the ruling elite the Gauls, Franks, Ostrogoths, Saxons and representatives of other tribes whom the true Romans used to consider second-class people, many simply deserted, not wanting to shed blood for an empire that had lost honor and a single nationality.
Reasons for the crash
It is simply impossible to say unequivocally why the Roman Empire collapsed. You can only identify the main reasons.
Let's start with the economy. She kept herself primarily on slaves. Even the poorest citizens of the empire were considered shameful to work in the fields or construction - for this there were people from the slave class. But the slaves did not want to remain a wordless property. More and more rebellions broke out. Sometimes tiny, during which overseers were killed and the owners' villas were burned. Sometimes large-scale, covering entire cities.
The weakness of the army also affected - few people wanted to shed blood on the borders, protecting the empire from the Gauls and Franks, knowing that people from these tribes had long taken a place in the government.
All this led to the fact that instability reigned in the country. People were simply afraid to give birth to children, uncertain that they would be able to feed and protect them.
And the absence of children deprived the lives of many people of meaning. If it is not possible to bequeath one's wealth to descendants, then what is the point of increasing it? Many citizens of the empire preferred to spend whole days in pleasant and harmful activities: feasts, depraved orgies, excessive consumption of wine.
Therefore, we can say with confidence that by the time the Roman Empire collapsed, that powerful people who created it simply did not exist.
Fatal set of circumstances
As mentioned above, it is impossible to name the only reason for the collapse of the empire. To date, experts put forward as many as 210 versions! But that they were intertwined in the most unfortunate way, it can be said without a doubt.
People who are not ready to give birth to children, a decline in morality, a completely demoralized army, external and internal enemies, instability - some reasons clung to others, which led to the fact that it became impossible to manage a huge empire.
He made his contribution and a sharp transition from the usual paganism to Christianity. Supporters of the new religion zealously began to destroy culture and science, to which the Romans had been going for several centuries. Perhaps this accelerated the process of the collapse of the Roman Empire.
Into what parts was the empire divided?
If you are interested in what states the Roman Empire broke up into, then this question can be answered unequivocally: none. Because officially the collapse did not happen. It's just that Emperor Theodosius the First divided his possessions into two parts. Western empire he bequeathed to his eldest son Flavius, and the East - to the younger Honorius. He sensibly reasoned that it would be easier to restore order in a smaller area than in a huge one. But there was no official breakup. There was the usual administrative division. So it is impossible to say that the Roman Empire split into two parts. Alas, this did not save either the Roman Empire or the people of Rome.
The fate of the east
The further future of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known to us as Byzantium, developed, if not brilliantly, but quite well. For many centuries, the people managed to repel raids from the southeast, although over time they had to pay off their northern neighbors more than once - from the Vikings to the Slavs, who went on military campaigns against them.
Alas, gradually Ottoman Empire, gaining tremendous power, was able to crush a fragment of the once powerful state. And we know exactly when the Eastern Roman Empire collapsed - it happened when the Sultan captured Constantinople, finally turning Byzantium into part of his empire.
What happened to Western
The history of the Western Roman Empire turned out to be much shorter. It lasted less than a century and was abolished in 476. Why did the Western Roman Empire collapse? Because, unlike the Eastern one, it was constantly subjected to raids by stronger barbarians - people from the harsh Central and Northern Europe.
Once just an unpleasant neighborhood with the barbarians has become critical. Constant raids finally crippled the power of the country. Scorched crops, devastated cities - the Romans could not resist this. As a result, on September 4, 476, the leader of the barbarians Odoacer deposed the last emperor - the young one, having founded a new state - Italy. Well, the Western Roman Empire collapsed.
So the history of a powerful empire began with Romulus and Romulus ended.
Consequences
When the Roman Empire collapsed, many cultural and scientific achievements were lost. To again reach those heights in construction, medicine and mathematics, Europeans had to spend many centuries.
Cultural monuments, carefully guarded for centuries, were destroyed by Christians as a relic of godless paganism.
But even worse, the fall of the Roman Empire (or rather, Byzantium) allowed countless hordes of Turkic peoples to penetrate the territory of Europe and shed the blood of local residents for several centuries, driving hundreds of thousands of people into slavery.
What states were formed on the territory of a powerful empire
But the fall of the Roman Empire did not bury Europe, as many philosophers predicted. On the territory of its western part, albeit not immediately, but such states as Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and also partially Algeria and Egypt arose.
On the lands where the Eastern Roman Empire was once located, Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also partly Turkey, Ukraine, and Hungary appeared.
Conclusion
This ends our brief digression into history.
Now you have a much better understanding of when and for what reasons the collapse of the Roman Empire occurred, which means you can show off your erudition in any conversation.
The period of history IV-VII centuries. called the Great Migration of Nations. It is reliably known that at that time several dozen tribes changed their territory of settlement, where they lived for a long period. Now they prefer to go to explore new territories. In connection with this grandiose event, the map of Europe changed dramatically.
The fall of the Roman Empire happened.The Western Roman Empire disappeared, but the small kingdoms of the Germans appeared. Rome has fallen, and this means that the era of antiquity has ended. started new story- history of the Middle Ages.
Background of the fall of the Roman Empire
In the III century. Germanic tribes encroached on the borders of the empire of Rome. The Romans managed to hold back their attacks, but at the same time they expended a lot of strength. Some territories passed into the hands of the barbarians, but in general the empire continued to exist. The destruction began with the arrival of the Huns tribe on the European territory. For reasons of their own and incomprehensible to us, they left the territory of Asia. Previously, they were located near the borders of Ancient China.
The Huns went to the West and in 375 ended up on the territory of one of the Germanic tribes - the Goths. The Goths then lived in the northern Black Sea region, they were excellent warriors, but the hordes of the Huns were soon able to defeat them. The Ostrogoths immediately submitted to the Huns, and the Visigoths had to flee to the borders of the Roman Empire. They chose to submit to Rome in order to avoid the massacre of them by the Huns.
The Goths settled on the land of the Roman Empire, but gave little territory. And besides, she was extremely infertile. As a result, food was scarce. There were few food supplies from the Romans. We can say that they openly mocked the Goths, moreover, they interfered in their internal affairs. This led to an uprising. The Goths marched on Constantinople.
In 378, near Adrianople, they were met by the Roman army. There was no way back for the Goths, they rushed into battle. A few hours later the glorious Roman army ceased to exist, the emperor was killed. This battle hit the Roman Empire very hard, the army could not be restored.
In other battles, the empire was already defended by an army of mercenaries. German mercenaries for a fee agreed to protect the Romans from other Germans. Ordinary citizens of the empire did not want to defend its territory, they were of the opinion that worse life after the conquest of their territory by the Germans will not.
Beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire
The last army that approached the walls of Rome was the army of Hannibal. But even he did not dare to conduct a siege of this city. Rome was the capital of the greatest state. Around it was the territory of the empire. Therefore, the idea to capture the city, to break through the steel legions did not visit any conqueror.
The current emperor of the Roman Empire, Honorius, is still a child - the real power is in the hands of the military leader Stilicho. He was originally a vandal. Many did not trust him, believed that he himself wanted to seize power. Honorius listened to the rumors and Stilicho was killed. The great general has died. The Visigoths approached Rome, the inhabitants were on the verge of death and agreed to surrender. The leader Alaric demanded to bring him all the gold, jewelry and slaves.
The treaty took place, the Visigoths left. But after a couple of years, Alaric again approached the walls of Rome. The gates were opened, how it happened is not known for certain, but in 410 the Roman Empire fell. The city was sacked in three days. Many Romans managed to escape, the rest were sold into slavery. Rome was not useful to Alaric, and he went to the northern territories.
A fall " the eternal city"had a terrifying effect on his contemporaries. It even got to the point that many believed that the fall of Rome is the collapse of the whole world! Everyone was in despair from the destruction of the previously unshakable, as it seemed, state. The great empire has fallen, what will happen next???
All these feelings were well expressed in his works by Aurelius Augustine. The essay "On the City of God" tried to explain why this happened. Why did the Roman Empire fall? Aurelius expressed the opinion that this is the price for the cruelty that the empire has done for many centuries.
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
The sack of Rome left the empire in complete chaos. The Huns were advancing, who had previously ruined many tribes. The most famous Hun leader was Attila, in order to gain power, he committed fratricide. In 451, Attila crossed the Rhine, he met with the army of the Roman general Aetius. The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields went down in history. It was a meeting of two huge armies, the Huns retreated. A year later, Attila invaded Italy and approached Rome. Pope Leo I gave the leader a gift and he went back. A year later, Attila died at his wedding.
Four years have passed since the Battle of the Catalaunian fields, Rome was again captured by the barbarians - vandals. In 455, the Vandals sailed along the Tiber to Rome, the inhabitants of the city were not ready to defend it. Again the Pope negotiated and the Vandal leader Gaiseric accepted the Roman gifts and sacked Rome for only fourteen days. At the same time, all the inhabitants survived, and churches and temples were not burned.
Few noticed the complete disappearance of the state of the Western Roman Empire. It has long been clear to everyone that this will happen soon, so it did not cause much horror. In 475, Romulus Augustus was emperor in Rome, nicknamed "Augustishka", since he did not play a big political role. In 476 there was a coup d'état. He was arranged by the barbarian Odoacer, but he did not want to be emperor. Obliged the Senate to declare that the emperor of the Western Roman Empire was not needed. Let him be only in the eastern part, they sent a diadem and a purple mantle there. It was the end of a great power. Only its eastern part remained, which later became known as Byzantium.
Fall of the Roman Empire video
Traveling around Rome and admiring the preserved sights, every tourist reflects on why such a strong civilization ceased to exist. The decline and fall of the Roman Empire cannot be traced back to a single cause.
One version dates the death of the Roman Empire to 410 AD, when the territory was invaded by the Gothic tribes led by Alaric. The tribes of the Goths were Christians, so they did not commit massacres and did not destroy buildings, but only robbed, took out jewelry, and removed valuable decorations from buildings.
According to the second version, Rome was destroyed to the ground later, in 476, by Odoacer, the leader of the barbarian Germanic Heruli tribe, who forced the young Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of Rome, to abdicate.
However, according to many researchers, the fall of Rome began much earlier and was caused not only by such obvious reasons as the raids of external aggressors. The beginning of the crisis phenomena in the Roman Empire was noted as early as the 3rd century, after the political, economic, religious and cultural life of the Romans had profoundly changed. Now historians name more than 210 reasons for the fall. Let's dwell on some of them.
Lack of a strong leader
In the Roman Empire, there was a frequent change of emperors, rulers of regions and provinces, who did not have political strength, authority and foresight.
Among the representatives of power, people of non-Roman nationalities are increasingly appearing, which also reduces authority and absolutely destroys the patriotic idea.
barbarization
A significant proportion of the population of Rome during the period of decline were representatives of barbarian tribes who did not have a developed culture and ideology. Due to the difference in the level of development public relations the assimilation of representatives of these tribes into Roman society is insignificant. However, Rome is forced to maintain peaceful relations with the barbarians, since a significant part of the army was formed from their ranks.
army crisis
External enemies, advancing from all sides in small and numerous detachments, did not meet with resistance from the Roman army, weakened by poor maintenance and extreme exploitation, which did not have strong leaders and was not inspired by the patriotic idea.
Most military commanders appropriated the salaries and allowances of soldiers, therefore the lower ranks were extremely demoralized, cases of looting directed against compatriots became more frequent. The ranks of the armed forces were replenished insignificantly for a number of reasons:
- The decline in fertility;
- The unwillingness of the landowners to give their slaves and hired workers as soldiers and lose cheap labor;
- The reluctance of urban residents to join the army because of low wages.
Sometimes these phenomena are associated with such a movement as pacifism. However main reason crisis - the destruction of a professional army, the loss of military discipline, an increase in the number of soldiers from among poorly trained recruits - former peasants - and barbarians who settled on the territory of the Roman Empire.
Slave owners and slaves
Official version of school textbooks: Rome ruined. Exploitation gave rise to revolts and uprisings of slaves that flared up regularly. The uprisings were of different scales: the dwellings of landowners were burned, tools and domestic animals were destroyed, slaves refused to work.
To suppress the uprisings of slaves, the help of the military was required, but they barely had time to repel the attacks of external enemies.
Slavery led to extreme decline Agriculture destroying the country's economy.
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Economic crisis
The Roman Empire was going through a period of fragmentation into provinces, while large possessions were divided into small ones, partially rented out to small landowners and slaves. Subsistence economy began to predominate, the share of processing sectors of the economy decreased, and prices for the transportation of goods increased. Trade is going through an extreme degree of decline, relations between some provinces are finally terminated.
The state raised taxes, but the solvency of the population fell sharply, and there was nothing to pay taxes. Inflation was followed by a reduction in the amount of money in the country.
Small agricultural holdings began to unite in communes or ask for protection from large land owners - the process of separating large feudal lords and the final ruin of the small peasantry began.
Demographic crisis
The decline of the economy and the lean years that followed each other caused famine in the country, a wave of infectious diseases. The death rate rises, the birth rate falls sharply. The government issues several decrees to support families with children, on benefits for the children of barbarians, but in Rome the number of older and elderly people is steadily increasing, society is aging.
Social causes
The middle class is gradually ruined, urban culture, production and trade are falling into decay, riots are arising. The second side is the so-called social apathy, the destruction of spirituality and patriotism.
Crisis of Spirituality
Gradually destroyed and forgotten ideal harmoniously developed person, a proud Roman who serves his city-state, builds his life on the basis of social principles. There comes a crisis of art: literature, architecture, sculpture.
The moral decay of the population is often associated with the flourishing of vices, depravity, and homosexuality.
