The Fall of the Roman Empire

-------------------------Political Problems--------------------------------...

1. The senate became extremely corrupt and political instability came into existance. Consuls and officials would offer positions in office for those who could pay a lump sum of denarii (currency). Furthermore, they accepted bribes in exchange for favours of a wide assortment. A series of very incompetent, rather crazy Emperors were elected and the Plebians suffered as a result. Civil revolts sprung up, lead by rebellious citizens.

2. Emperor Constantine divided the empire into two halves. He declared Constantinople the new capital of Roman society, claiming rule over all Eastern provinces. The Western Roman Empire lost its power over towns in the East, causing a great reduction in profits from the treasury and weakening them dramatically in warfare. Now their strength had been dwindled.

-----------------------------Military Problems------------------------

1. By 300 AD the majority of the Roman army was comprised of barbarian trained soldiers- much less effective than the superior infantry that Rome had in previous centuries. This made the battles against enemies very difficult, Rome no longer had a firm grip or control over military situations.

2. Well at least Rome still had new recruits enlisting....Not! Another problem was that many of the Roman citizens who were expected to enlist in the legions refused and sneakily signed their slaves in their position. As you can imagine, the new forces were very sluggish, had low morale, didn't fight with courage and really, they couldn't care less about the development of Rome, after all they were servants to them!

3. Ok, Rome's been run down a lot in warfare.. but we can still rely on the older, more experienced troops to back us up, right? Unfortunately for the Romans, many of the men who had gallantly served their nation years ago had retired to estates or farms and simply did not want to be bothered with government affairs.

4. In remote locations under lenient Roman governing, it was common for soldiers to marry and adopt local customs, attitudes, values and beliefs, instead of keeping their original Italian heritage. This caused disloyalty, hesitation and disillusion worldwide among legions facing the same problems. Southern Britain is a great example. Oak tablets found by archaeologists show how most of the Roman army deserted or refused to carry out orders when fighting Pictish tribes in Scotland. They didn't want to destroy the culture they had integrated with. When Emperor Trajan requested the remaining men to campaign in Dacia, no one was eager to participate. This was a big issue because it accounts for a decline in moral obligations.

5. Barbaric hordes of fearsome warriors gathered in the North/East of Europe in large