This is a short essay on why the Roman empire fell.

Why the Roman Empire Fell

The Roman Empire was one of the greatest in history until it fell. The Roman Empire fell for many reasons. Some of the problems were inside the empire and some of them were from outside the empire. Drastic drops in the economy, a decaying government, Germanic peoples invading, and the Huns moving into the empire were just a few of the reasons the Roman Empire fell.

Drastic drops in the economy started the Empire's decline. One reason the economy dropped was that hostile tribes and pirates on the Mediterranean disrupted trade. Another reason was that the wealthy spent money on luxury items from places like China, India and Arabia, which depleted the empire's treasury of gold and silver. The government raised taxes to pay its mounting expenses. The government also minted coins with less and less silver in them. Then the economy started to suffer from inflation, which is a drastic drop in the value of currency along with a rise in prices.

English: The Roman Empire in 500 AD.

Map of the "barbarian" invasions of the Roman Empi...

The Roman empire in the time of Hadrian (ruled 117...

Agriculture also faced very serious problems. Harvests in Western Europe and Italy became very meager because of the overworked soil losing its fertility. Then there was the decaying government.

Loyalty to the Roman Empire was a key problem. Before the 2nd Century, Romans cared so deeply about their republic that they would die for it willingly. The local officials were making money from their positions and holding them was considered an honor. During and after the 200's no one really cared for it any more and local officials were losing money because they had to pay for things like public baths and circuses, which were costly. Very few people chose to serve the government under those terms and it was no longer an honor. The only people that remained interested in politics...