The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire

The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire

Introduction

The Roman Empire was the largest in the ancient world and at its height controlled the land around the Mediterranean and most of continental Europe, with the exception of modern-day Germany, Denmark, and Russia. The incipient Roman Empire led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the accession of Octavian (better known by his posthumous title Augustus Caesar). The Roman Empire was a trading empire as well as a military empire, and Roman money was widely recognized throughout the region, and beyond. Latin became the language of the educated elite of the entire empire and of government officials and soldiers who settled in various parts of the empire. Gradually, Greek began to supplant Latin in the eastern Mediterranean, and it became the language of business and commerce in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire was founded on military glory, but its legacy was much more broad. Roman roads connected many cities and towns, most of which are still inhabited, and archaeological digs uncovered the remains of Roman walls, buildings, and lifestyle. Roman aqueducts can be seen in many parts of the former empire, with Roman plumbing and sewage disposal being unmatched in western Europe until the Italian Renaissance. The Roman system of law is still followed by many parts of the former Roman Empire, and many other Roman customs survive (Goldsworthy, 2003).

Gibbon, Edward

According to Gibbon, the Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian invasions mainly due to the loss of traditional Roman civic virtues by their citizens. They have become weak, delegating the task of defending the Empire barbarian mercenaries became so numerous and ingrained in the Empire and their structures were able to take it to the end. The Romans, he said, after the fall of the Republic had been gradually becoming "effeminate", little desire to live a military life, tougher and "manly" in the manner of their ancestors. This would have led to the progressive abandonment of their freedoms for the tyranny of the Caesars, and would have led to degeneration of the Roman army and the Praetorian Guard . In fact, Gibbon sees as the first catalyst for the decline of the empire's own Praetorian Guard, which established a special, privileged class of soldiers camped in their own Rome , did not stop interfering in the administration of power. Give examples of continuous interference of the guard, which he called "the praetorian armies" whose "licentious fury was the first symptom and root cause of the decline of the Roman Empire", highlighting the dire results of the interference that the include several murders of emperors and continuing demands for better weld the treasury could not bear, would desetabilizado the Empire (Reill, 2004).

However, Gibbon presents a theory decadent in the sense that he sees as root causes of the fall of Rome to endogenous problems, and decaísta, in the sense that they see as the final cause ...