The fall of Rome cannot be attributed to a single event or sudden crumbling of the once vibrant and strong empires that ever existed. Roman Empire came crumbling slowly over the course of time due to challenges from within and outside its territory until it was no longer recognizable. Due to the long time and process taken for Roman Empire to be finally non-existence, different historians have placed its fall on different dates on a continuum. Various events catalyzed the fall of the Roman Empire.
Invasion by Barbarian tribes as one of the most open reason attributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. The Barbarians encroached on the borders of the Roman Empire and soon became one of the tribes within the territories of Rome. Rome needed a lot of laborers to provide services to their vast activities and such tribes the work force. They got positions in military, tax collectors and domestic workers. Cruel treatment from the Romans fuelled a revolution by the Barbarians which marked the start of threats from within its walls. Raids became frequent and constant threats in the Roman Empire. A king from one of the tribes of the Barbarians sacked the city of Rome but it survived the raid. However, the second attempt by another leader of the Germanic tribe led revolt that deposed the sitting emperor. That marked the end of emperors ruling from the Western Roman Empire.
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Due to constant attacks and wars, Rome started suffering from financial difficulties due to overspending lightening their coffers. The empire started taxing its people oppressively and led to inflation of prices. As a result the gap between the poor and the rich widened with rich families opting to relocate to countryside in fear of their lives. When expansion came to a sudden stop labor deficit kicked in since its economy highly depended on slaves who they received constantly from the military when they conquered other territories. The slaves were put to work in fields and as craftsmen. Rome’s supply of war treasures and slaves started to diminish. Rome suffered another blow when their trade routes started to be disrupted and ambushed by hostile tribes. With its sources of income and products beginning to decline the Empire started losing its dominance in Europe.
Rome was a vast empire and thus it provided challenges in governance suffering from administrative and logistical setbacks. Communication was ineffective and was not timely to facilitate protecting and managing their assets. It needed a large army to defend all its frontiers from rebellions within and outside attacks. However, it failed to mobilize enough resources and troops to satisfy its needs. A lot of resources were directed to military expansion and upkeep neglecting its infrastructure that needed to be repaired. Apart from overexpansion and military overspending, the government suffered from unreliable leadership. Corruption was rampant and the political system highly unstable which only magnified the problem in its administration.
Rome’s military was massive and it was envied worldwide. However, due to the decline the military could not recruit enough soldiers from the people considered to be the citizens of Rome. They opted to hiring mercenaries to replenish its military numbers. This led to the structure of the mighty army changing due to numbers of foreigners continually increasing. The foreign soldiers of fortune were fierce warriors but they had no loyalty to the Roman Empire. Sometimes the power-hungry foreign officers turned on their employers committing heinous acts. Historians claim that some of the barbarians that sacked the city of Rome had served in the Roman army and had earned their military stripes while serving for the Roman Legions.
