How big a factor was the failing economy to the downfall of the Roman Empire?
score:12
Economy of the period is analysed in the book by Bryan Ward-Perkins, Fall of Rome and the end of civilization (Oxford UP, 2006).The author gives abundant evidence that the fall of the empire was accompanied by a collapse of economy, material production and infrastructure in general. The evidence is based on contemporary accounts and archeological data.
However it is not completely clear whether the collapse of the economy was the reason or a consequence of the fall of the empire. My impression from the evidence presented in this book is that it was rather a consequence. The reason for destruction of economy was apparently collapse of administration, as a result of civil wars and invasions.
EDIT. Another recent book on the subject, Adrian Goldsworthy, The fall of the West. The death of the Roman superpower, (US title: How the Rome Fell), 2009 attibutes the fall of the empire to the constant internal struggle for power. It was so intense that the emperors cared more about their own survival than for the survival of the empire. The result was invasion of the tribes, which in turn led to the collapse of the central government and of the economy.
Upvote:-4
Economics were better than ever. Both the Imperial Romans and their successors, the Byzantines, were very wealthy. Unfortunately for them, it takes more than wealth to keep an empire together.
The thing to remember is that by 450 Rome did not really exist anymore in its original sense. All of the old families were gone or dispersed. There were no Cornelii, no Julii, no Scipii, all the old gens were gone. The city was full of Greeks, Africans, Germans and Judaeans. Nobody was even Latin anymore. The original Latins were a very serious, austere, strict people. The Romans of the 5th century were all on public welfare and wasted their time going to games, theaters and prostitutes. The army was a joke, mostly populated with foreign mercenaries. There were all sorts of wierd religious cults like the cult of Mithras. Economic activity wasn't the problem; the problem was that Rome was not a coherent group of noble people any more.
Upvote:4
There is no consensus among historians as to what exact reasons lead to the downfall of the Roman Empire. There are varying different theories on this matter, but at least Edward Gibbon in his 1776 book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, gives a well-researched and more importantly, well-referenced account. According to him, barbarians from the outside were majorly responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire:
Significant events include the Battle of Adrianople in 378, the death of Theodosius I in 395 (the last time the Roman Empire was politically unified), the crossing of the Rhine in 406 by Germanic tribes, the execution of Stilicho in 408, the sack of Rome in 410, the death of Constantius III in 421, the death of Aetius in 454, and the second sack of Rome in 455, with the death of Majorian in 461 marking the end of the last opportunity for recovery.
More post
- 📝 Why do old kitchen stoves have circular openings in the upper surface?
- 📝 What have warriors that would typically bear a coat of arms done to their heraldic achievements to indicate they have deserted or defected?
- 📝 How much gunpowder could the average Napoleonic ship of the line carry?
- 📝 What is the meaning of this short passage in Thomas Carlyle's 'French Revolution'?
- 📝 Were there luxury restaurants in East Germany?
- 📝 During the Normandy landings, were any German naval assets brought to bear against the Allies?
- 📝 What do the four castles on the flag of Ibiza represent?
- 📝 Comparison of Ancient Greecian and Egyptian schools and methods of studying to modern day
- 📝 What was the fastest military draft in the United States?
- 📝 When was it considered fact that rats caused the Black Death?
- 📝 Why is neither side of the warhammer blunt?
- 📝 Why was the Soviet Marine Infantry disbanded in 1947?
- 📝 Can anyone explain why the Scottish flag on this map from 1504 has a red cross on a white background?
- 📝 For how many years in the eighteenth century were Russian soldiers present within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth borders?
- 📝 What was the official currency used in North Carolina in 1814?
- 📝 Did people attempt to repair their television sets themselves back in the day and die from it?
- 📝 Which days in the Mayan calendar were most auspicious for performing sacrifices?
- 📝 What was the technology in pre-war traffic recorders?
- 📝 Who has dated Mahabharata around 1800BC?
- 📝 Who liberated Denmark in WWII?
- 📝 When was the Yemenite Jewish community isolated from the rest of the Jewish world?
- 📝 How was Herodotus able to get accounts of the Battle of Thermopylae?
- 📝 Why were/are mines ever considered sensible as a weapon?
- 📝 How strong a land force did Germany need for a conquest of the British Isles in the summer of 1940?
- 📝 How were taxes collected for traveling merchants in the middle ages?
- 📝 Constantine the Great created the Chi-Rho from the Greek word for "Christ". Why choose Greek over Latin, even though he was Roman?
- 📝 When was a decree issued by the Greeks that forbade speaking God's name?
- 📝 What is Poosball, an early 1900s women's team sport?
- 📝 How did ancient Roman family names survive to current day use?
- 📝 Why did United Kingdom not keep the colonies after Napoleon's defeat?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How big a factor was the failing economy to the downfall of the Roman Empire?
- 📝 How was the Roman Empire officially referred to by contemporaries throughout the 1st to 6th centuries AD?
- 📝 Why was the Roman Empire considered an empire rather than a kingdom (again)?
- 📝 Was the Roman Empire based on a 'plunder economy'?
- 📝 How profitable was India for the British Empire in the 1800s?
- 📝 What was the northernmost region/city in the Roman Empire that spoke Greek as the native language?
- 📝 How common was decimation in the Roman army?
- 📝 How were the borders of the Holy Roman Empire established?
- 📝 How big was the Golden Horde?
- 📝 How was the relation between the Ottoman Empire and Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro during the Second Balkan War?
- 📝 Why was the government expenditures of the Roman Empire very low compared to modern governments?
- 📝 How was the Roman army in fact organized during Caesar's campaigns in Gaul?
- 📝 How big was the kapa trade out of Hawaii?
- 📝 How big was the IMF loan Britain received in the 1970's?
- 📝 How did agricultural productivity change in Italy with the fall of the Roman Empire and through the early Middle Ages?
- 📝 How was the Roman Princeps Senatus appointed?
- 📝 Did the food economy of the late Roman republic rely on foreign imports, or was it more localized?
- 📝 How did the helmsman know what he was sailing towards with a big mast in his face?
- 📝 Was there ever support for any persons outside of the empire to be elected Holy Roman Emperor?
- 📝 How big was the percentage of white people in the USA who were not against granting the blacks equal rights?
- 📝 How did member states of the Holy Roman Empire justify only including part of their land inside it?
- 📝 What was the cost of buying Silk in the Roman Empire
- 📝 How were the territories added to (and thus the limits set in) the Holy Roman Empire
- 📝 What was the population of the Roman Empire around 210 AD?
- 📝 How were the Big Four compensated when British Rail was formed?
- 📝 Was the Holy Roman Empire a financial union as well as a defensive union?
- 📝 How many civilians of Roman empire (except jews) died in the Bar Kokhba revolt?
- 📝 If there was truly 3 hours of darkness in Roman empire following the crucifixion, would we expect some sort of record to survive of this happening?
- 📝 Was Constantinople in Europe or Asia during the Eastern Roman Empire Period?
- 📝 What was the biggest region in the Holy Roman Empire that was never Protestant, if any?