The Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires in the world, but its fall was inevitable. During the Roman Empire’s first two centuries, there was peace and prosperity. The Roman army conquered territory from modern-day Spain to Scotland. But, as the Roman empire would soon find out, size has its disadvantages. The main cause for the fall of the Roman Empire was political instability, which led to military mistakes and economic and civil decay. Diseases and natural disasters were also causes of the fall of Rome. To begin with, military mistakes were a substantial part in the fall of the Roman empire. For one thing, according to Document B, after the year 400 CE, Roman soldiers abandoned parade ground drills and became weak and lazy. Because of this, they abandoned breastplates and helmets, and fought unprotected. So when the soldiers fought the Goths, they were easily defeated by archers. In addition, as stated in Document B, regular conscription was not enforced. Many categories were exempted, …show more content…
For example, according to Document A, there were 22 emperors in just 50 years, and 13 of them were assassinated. This shows that there was no leadership, and the emperors were weak and could not easily negotiate. According to the map in Document C, many foreign invaders, including the Vandals, Huns, and Ostrogoths, seized Roman territory. This indicates to other people living outside the Roman empire that it was easy to attack the Roman empire. Political instability in the Roman empire caused many problems, which eventually led to the fall of Rome. In conclusion, the primary reason for the fall of the Roman Empire was political instability. Political instability was the main cause because it caused all of their problems. Other causes were military mistakes, economic and civil decay, and natural disasters and