Essay 2 Final

Grace Leung

4/12/11

Western Civ Essay 2

The Roman Empire was one of the strongest empires in the beginning of ancient civilization, yet this large and powerful empire eventually began to fall apart. The Roman Empire began under the rule of Augustus. After August died, the Roman government was in  disarray, especially when choosing a new emperor. The instability in leaders led to dangerous power struggles between competitors for the throne. Rome’s large military needed to be taken care of and repaid, but the great Roman Empire could not care for its soldiers. The Roman Empire’s lack of structure and discipline among those who ruled the Roman Empire caused it to fall.

The first step to the weakening of the Roman Empire involved the end of the blood line of Augustus. When the throne ran out of heirs, the Roman people had to fill the Emperor’s  position with non-royalty. This difficulty created many power struggles between people who wanted the throne. Although the Roman people were allowed to vote, the voting process was influenced most by the wealthiest people. “Even the system of voting was weighted to give more influence to the votes of the wealthy” (Beard, 2011). The wealthy had a greater voice in government because they were more educated and could afford to spend time and money supporting who they wanted to rule. This partiality to the wealthy would threaten the structure of the Roman Empire.

A second step that hastened the decline of the Roman Empire involved the increasing number of people seeking the power of the Empire and their undisciplined behavior. Because an Emperor had to be voted in, many sought to control the government that previously had been only available to a royal succession. The normal place or forum where politics were discussed and an emperor was chosen quickly became chaotic and undisciplined. According to one ancient writer,“ this was when daggers first entered the forum” (Beard, 2011). The intensity of the Roman forum was high during discussions for the new emperor and tempers were short. The forum’s lack of discipline undermined the Roman Empire’s power because it hurt the voting process.

The strongest evidence of the weakening of the Roman Empire was concerning its treatment of Roman soldiers. The Roman Empire was built on its extremely large and strong military. Many soldiers returning from war campaigns fell into poverty because they were not paid by the Roman government as promised. The government was disorganized and could not pay its military. “How were the needs of such soldiers to be met?” (Beard, 2011) became a growing concern for many of the people because they were soldiers themselves or related to soldiers. When the Roman Empire cannot pay its military, it is in true economic crisis. With so many dissatisfied veterans, few people wanted to risk their lives to defend the Roman Empire from threats from other countries. This unrest in the Roman people caused the Roman Empire to crumble..

Although the Roman Empire began strong, it began its decline when heirs to the throne were gone. The instability of the government was reflected in the struggles for power as well as the decrease in ideas and increase of  influence among the wealthiest of the Roman people. Those who had privilege and money influenced the process of voting held in the forum. Soldiers who fought long and hard for Rome returned home to poverty, and many of the Roman people grew resentful. The Roman Empire fell because of its own inability to stay focused and organized through economic turmoil.

Works Cited

Beard, Mary. (2011). The fall of the roman republic. BBC.

Evans, J. A. S. "Roman Empire." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 12. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 299-322. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Apr. 2011.