Friday, May 14, 2010
Why rome fell
View more presentations from patdawg5.
Rome's Decline and Disintegration
The chapter “Rome’s Decline and Disintegration” in the book From Founding to Fall: A History of Rome by Dan Nardo describes the main reasons why Rome fell. It outlines certain causes like the size of the empire, Christianity, and weaknesses in the army. Rome’s decline began when barbaric tribes like the Huns and Visigoths began invading parts of the Roman Empire in 378. These tribal people were described by the Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus, as “abnormally savage”. These barbarians swept across different parts of the empire due largely to a weak army. After a harsh defeat at Adrianople, the Roman military became smaller in size and those that were replacements were normally less disciplined. Also, the army was not seen as a patriotic endeavor anymore because many Christians said it was against their religion. Nardo describes this by saying, “Many young men used whatever means necessary to avoid service; some went as far as to cut off their own thumbs.” (Nardo 98). These are the reasons that the Roman Empire began to decline in the late 300s into the early 400s.
This chapter talks about how barbarism was a key factor in the decline of the Roman Empire. I agree with this because the Romans not only were being attacked from every part of the empire by barbarians, but were also beginning to use them in their own armies. The Roman military began to disown its traditional values and take in these tribes as a part of the army. Although it served as a good strategy for fighting off these barbaric tribes for a while, it soon brought about much trouble because these tribal people couldn’t be trusted. It was for reasons like this that the Roman army began to lose its patriotic status. After barbarism surrounded the military all hope was lost for the empire to stand.
Nardo, Don. “Rome’s Decline and Disintegration.” From Founding to Fall: A History of Rome. Lucent Books: Farmington Hills, 2003. 93-109. Print.
This chapter talks about how barbarism was a key factor in the decline of the Roman Empire. I agree with this because the Romans not only were being attacked from every part of the empire by barbarians, but were also beginning to use them in their own armies. The Roman military began to disown its traditional values and take in these tribes as a part of the army. Although it served as a good strategy for fighting off these barbaric tribes for a while, it soon brought about much trouble because these tribal people couldn’t be trusted. It was for reasons like this that the Roman army began to lose its patriotic status. After barbarism surrounded the military all hope was lost for the empire to stand.
Nardo, Don. “Rome’s Decline and Disintegration.” From Founding to Fall: A History of Rome. Lucent Books: Farmington Hills, 2003. 93-109. Print.
The Fall of Rome- End of Roman Empire
The article “Fall of Rome- End of the Roman Empire” by N.S. Gill not only discusses the reasons why the empire fell, but also the exact time when it fell. The article says that there are two dates when Rome could have fell; first in 1453 when the Ottoman Turks took over Constantinople or in 476 when Odoacer, a Germanic leader in the Roman army, conquered the Western empire. Since Rome became so large it was split into two sections the Eastern and Western Roman empires, and that is where the controversy begins with when and why Rome fell. Odoacer conquered the western empire and was the first barbarian king of the Western empire therefore technically ending part of the empire. Gill claims, “While this bloodless coup in 476 is a frequently accepted date for the Fall of Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages, it was not, at the time, a major turning point.” (Gill). This is one of the major controversies over why Rome fell which actually lies in the question when Rome fell.
I believe that the true end to the Roman Empire was in 476 when the barbarians like Odoacer began to take over the Roman Empire. Although the Eastern Empire remained for many more years I don’t truly see it as Roman because the heart of the Empire was in Rome which was in the Western Empire. Also after Odoacer took over many of the same Roman customs and rituals were no longer practiced in the Eastern or Western Empires. I believe that after the barbarians began to run the Empire it could truly no longer be called the Roman Empire.
Gill, N.S. "Fall of Rome- End of the Roman Empire." Ancient Classical History n. pag. Web. 31 Mar 2010.
I believe that the true end to the Roman Empire was in 476 when the barbarians like Odoacer began to take over the Roman Empire. Although the Eastern Empire remained for many more years I don’t truly see it as Roman because the heart of the Empire was in Rome which was in the Western Empire. Also after Odoacer took over many of the same Roman customs and rituals were no longer practiced in the Eastern or Western Empires. I believe that after the barbarians began to run the Empire it could truly no longer be called the Roman Empire.
Gill, N.S. "Fall of Rome- End of the Roman Empire." Ancient Classical History n. pag. Web. 31 Mar 2010.
Rome's Decline and Disintegration
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The chapter “Rome’s Decline and Disintegration” in the book From Founding to Fall: A History of Rome by Dan Nardo describes the main reasons why Rome fell. It outlines certain causes like the size of the empire, Christianity, and weaknesses in the army. Rome’s decline began when barbaric tribes like the Huns and Visigoths began invading parts of the Roman Empire in 378. These tribal people were described by the Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus, as “abnormally savage”. These barbarians swept across different parts of the empire due largely to a weak army. After a harsh defeat at Adrianople, the Roman military became smaller in size and those that were replacements were normally less disciplined. Also, the army was not seen as a patriotic endeavor anymore because many Christians said it was against their religion. Nardo describes this by saying, “Many young men used whatever means necessary to avoid service; some went as far as to cut off their own thumbs.” (Nardo 98). These are the reasons that the Roman Empire began to decline in the late 300s into the early 400s.
This chapter talks about how barbarism was a key factor in the decline of the Roman Empire. I agree with this because the Romans not only were being attacked from every part of the empire by barbarians, but were also beginning to use them in their own armies. The Roman military began to disown its traditional values and take in these tribes as a part of the army. Although it served as a good strategy for fighting off these barbaric tribes for a while, it soon brought about much trouble because these tribal people couldn’t be trusted. It was for reasons like this that the Roman army began to lose its patriotic status. After barbarism surrounded the military all hope was lost for the empire to stand.
Nardo, Don. “Rome’s Decline and Disintegration.” From Founding to Fall: A History of Rome. Lucent Books: Farmington Hills, 2003. 93-109. Print.
This chapter talks about how barbarism was a key factor in the decline of the Roman Empire. I agree with this because the Romans not only were being attacked from every part of the empire by barbarians, but were also beginning to use them in their own armies. The Roman military began to disown its traditional values and take in these tribes as a part of the army. Although it served as a good strategy for fighting off these barbaric tribes for a while, it soon brought about much trouble because these tribal people couldn’t be trusted. It was for reasons like this that the Roman army began to lose its patriotic status. After barbarism surrounded the military all hope was lost for the empire to stand.
Nardo, Don. “Rome’s Decline and Disintegration.” From Founding to Fall: A History of Rome. Lucent Books: Farmington Hills, 2003. 93-109. Print.
Stephen Sansom Interview
I interviewed Mr. Stephen Sansom, Latin and classics teacher, on the reasons that the Roman Empire fell. Sansom gave two main reasons for the fall of Rome: the economic system was based on solely conquering lands for expansion and the stealing of resources and slaves from foreign tribes. He said, “When Romans were no longer able to conquer foreign lands, their entire economic system collapsed because of the like of resources, funding, and slaves.” (Sansom). Romans were very intuitive and technologically advanced therefore they were able to exploit the resources of foreign lands in many useful ways. They used the ideas of the Etruscans to build arches and invented structures like the aqueducts and roads. However, when Rome could no longer take advantage foreign people and land they ran out of resources and manpower, slaves, to do the jobs necessary to the empire. Sansom also claims the barbarians and their ability to make allies helped them take over the western empire. Overall, Stephen Sansom believes the reason Rome fell was due to their lack of conquering new lands which hurt their economic system through resources, money, and slaves.
I thought this interview was very valuable because I was able to learn new things not only about the fall of Rome itself, but also about the Roman Empire as a whole which helped me understand better why it fell. Mr. Sansom provided me with multiple book sources that would help me further understand this topic. I learned about the tribes that Rome conquered and the things that Rome was able to take away from them. He also talked about the reasons why Rome flourished, which helped further my knowledge on why Rome fell. With Mr. Sansom being a Latin and Greek language expert, he taught me some new words that enriched the interview and helped me to understand more about Romans. I thought this interview was helpful because Stephen Sansom is a very knowledgeable person on the time period and brought many good ideas to my research topic. He is also extremely cool. Vale
Sansom, Stephen. Telephone Interview. May 7, 2010.
I thought this interview was very valuable because I was able to learn new things not only about the fall of Rome itself, but also about the Roman Empire as a whole which helped me understand better why it fell. Mr. Sansom provided me with multiple book sources that would help me further understand this topic. I learned about the tribes that Rome conquered and the things that Rome was able to take away from them. He also talked about the reasons why Rome flourished, which helped further my knowledge on why Rome fell. With Mr. Sansom being a Latin and Greek language expert, he taught me some new words that enriched the interview and helped me to understand more about Romans. I thought this interview was helpful because Stephen Sansom is a very knowledgeable person on the time period and brought many good ideas to my research topic. He is also extremely cool. Vale
Sansom, Stephen. Telephone Interview. May 7, 2010.
Are We Rome?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The book Are we Rome? by Cullen Murphy is a critical and provocative piece of literature that compares Rome, especially the decline of it, to America. He begins by naming the numerous ways in structure, politics and economy that we are identical to the Roman Empire. Then, the book progresses into the many reasons why Rome fell like its power- hungry bureaucrats, weakening army, barbarism and many more. Murphy says that Rome “Had evolved into something different from what it once was” and that was why they fell; they got away from the traditional Roman values (Murphy 28). He says that the Roman army was once a proud army made up of all social classes even the elite, but it transformed into a paid army full of barbarians. The ruling class was once made up of yeomen had changed to an autocracy full of selfish bureaucrats. Cullen Murphy gives many factual events and reasons as to why the great Roman Empire fell.
This was by far one of the best books I have ever read because of the subjects it covered and the writing style. The idea of the book was simply brilliant in itself, the comparison of Rome’s fall to possibly America’s fate. This comparison helped me to understand the book more because it put some Roman ideas in comparison with American so I understood it. Murphy also referred to many Latin terms used during the Roman times which helped bring the book to life. The ideas of this book and the subject matters made this an exceptional book.
Cullen Murphy did many different things to make his writing unique. He not only used his first-hand research, but also used multiple Roman historians and present thinkers to justify his reasoning. He didn’t just talk about the decline of Rome, but also about what made it great and such a superior empire, which helped me to understand why it declined and fell. Murphy also quoted many Roman texts and actual Romans like Plenty the Elder and Cicero in this book to make it seem true and authentic. It was very apparent that Cullen Murphy had done extensive research and studies on the topic because it was clear that he was very knowledgeable on the subject. Overall, this was a first-rate book on why Rome fell and an extraordinary piece of historical review.
Murphy, Cullen. Are We Rome?. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. 1-262. Print.
This was by far one of the best books I have ever read because of the subjects it covered and the writing style. The idea of the book was simply brilliant in itself, the comparison of Rome’s fall to possibly America’s fate. This comparison helped me to understand the book more because it put some Roman ideas in comparison with American so I understood it. Murphy also referred to many Latin terms used during the Roman times which helped bring the book to life. The ideas of this book and the subject matters made this an exceptional book.
Cullen Murphy did many different things to make his writing unique. He not only used his first-hand research, but also used multiple Roman historians and present thinkers to justify his reasoning. He didn’t just talk about the decline of Rome, but also about what made it great and such a superior empire, which helped me to understand why it declined and fell. Murphy also quoted many Roman texts and actual Romans like Plenty the Elder and Cicero in this book to make it seem true and authentic. It was very apparent that Cullen Murphy had done extensive research and studies on the topic because it was clear that he was very knowledgeable on the subject. Overall, this was a first-rate book on why Rome fell and an extraordinary piece of historical review.
Murphy, Cullen. Are We Rome?. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. 1-262. Print.
Fall of Rome vs. Failure of American Politics
The video “Fall of Rome vs. Failure of American Politics” gives two major reasons for the end of the empire. The first reason is Christianity. The video claims that as Christianity began to expand it was given more focus by the Roman elite causing them to either convert or persecute them. One scholar quotes, “Christianity actually saved the Roman Empire during the 3rd century” (Fall of Rome). This caused the focus of government to shift from politics and foreign invaders to Christianity within the empire. For many Romans Christianity was a new way of thinking, but for others it was seen as going against the Roman values. The second reason outlined in the video was the barbarians lead by Alaric. The barbarians wished to assimilate into the empire, but when their leader Alaric was rejected they turned against them. Alaric would soon conquer and burn the city of Rome ending the Western Empire. These two reasons of Christianity and barbarism are the main ideas given for the fall of Rome in the video.
I thought this was a very informative movie and it gave good reasons for the fall of Rome. The video featured many scenes as the narrator discussed various topics. It also had many scholars from different universities talking about the fall of Rome. It was a little confusing at the start when it talked about Christianity, but the main idea was made clearer later on. The video also showed many pictures to help you understand what they were talking about. This video was very informative and easy to understand why they thought Rome fell.
"Fall of Rome vs. Failure of American Politics." Youtube. Web. 15 Apr 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTGNgS1toEU.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTGNgS1toEU
I thought this was a very informative movie and it gave good reasons for the fall of Rome. The video featured many scenes as the narrator discussed various topics. It also had many scholars from different universities talking about the fall of Rome. It was a little confusing at the start when it talked about Christianity, but the main idea was made clearer later on. The video also showed many pictures to help you understand what they were talking about. This video was very informative and easy to understand why they thought Rome fell.
"Fall of Rome vs. Failure of American Politics." Youtube. Web. 15 Apr 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTGNgS1toEU.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTGNgS1toEU
The Fall of Rome: The End of the Roman Empire
The article “The Fall of Rome: The End of the Roman Empire” by Stefano Sandano provides several reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Sandano says one reason the empire fell was because it became too vast to govern. He explains, “Managing the Roman Empire was an enormous, exhausting task that demanded constant attention and hard work.” (Sandano). Another reason for the empire’s fall was because of Christianity. As many Romans converted to that religion, they began to drift away from problems in the empire. One of his explanations was because there is said to have been a bad case of the bubonic plague around the time of the 5th century when the empire fell. Sandano also credits the fall to slavery because it didn’t allow the Romans to become technologically advanced because they relied so heavily on it. Stefano Sandano relates the fall of Rome primarily to its size, Christianity, plague and slavery in his article on the fall of Rome.
I thought Sandano wrote an excellent article on the fall of Rome. It was well displayed on the site with maps and much more. The article was very clear and easy to understand; it gave straight forward answers to why the empire fell. I thought he presented some very true explanations for to back up his reasoning. Overall, I believe Stefano Sandano wrote a great article on why the Roman Empire fell.
Sandano, Stefano. "The Fall of Rome: The end of the Roman Empire." Romanquide.com n. pag. Web. 15 Apr 2010.
I thought Sandano wrote an excellent article on the fall of Rome. It was well displayed on the site with maps and much more. The article was very clear and easy to understand; it gave straight forward answers to why the empire fell. I thought he presented some very true explanations for to back up his reasoning. Overall, I believe Stefano Sandano wrote a great article on why the Roman Empire fell.
Sandano, Stefano. "The Fall of Rome: The end of the Roman Empire." Romanquide.com n. pag. Web. 15 Apr 2010.
General Observations on the fall of the Roman Empire
The essay “General Observations on the fall of the Roman Empire in the West” by Edward Gibbon gives three main reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Gibbon says the first reason the empire fell was because the Romans didn’t understand their many enemies. He claims, “The northern countries of Europe and Asia were filled with innumerable tribes of hunters and shepherds, poor, voracious, and turbulent; bold in arms” describing the barbarians outside the empire (Gibbon). The second reason the empire fell was because it was too big and was only governed by an elite few. As the empire increased in size, people far away from the central governments of the empire failed to have a voice and therefore caused great turmoil. The last reason Gibbon says the empire fell was because a lack of traditional Roman military skills. The empire was built on educated soldiers full of courage and discipline, but those characteristics were lost with time. Also, enemies of the empire gained new technologies in warfare while Romans stuck strictly to their old fashion tactics. These are the three reasons Edward Gibbon gives us for the fall of the Roman Empire.
Gibbon gives three very good reasons for the fall of the empire in his essay. The three reasons are described in great detail with many examples and are given in a clear and precise manner. The essay as a whole is confusing and a little too detailed to understand sometimes though. I thought the essay was very informative and had many good historical examples to back up the main point of the essay. Overall, I believe Gibbon wrote an excellent essay on the fall of the Roman Empire.
Gibbon, Edward. "General Observations on the fall of the Roman Empire in the West." Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (2000): n. pag. Web. 7 Apr 2010.
Gibbon gives three very good reasons for the fall of the empire in his essay. The three reasons are described in great detail with many examples and are given in a clear and precise manner. The essay as a whole is confusing and a little too detailed to understand sometimes though. I thought the essay was very informative and had many good historical examples to back up the main point of the essay. Overall, I believe Gibbon wrote an excellent essay on the fall of the Roman Empire.
Gibbon, Edward. "General Observations on the fall of the Roman Empire in the West." Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (2000): n. pag. Web. 7 Apr 2010.
Ancient Rome Rise and Fall
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The video “Critical moment 6/6 Ancient Rome the Rise and fall of an Empire” was a YouTube video on a part of the fall of the empire. It contains scenes of emperors being overthrown by the Senate along with attempted negotiations between the emperor, Amorous, and the leader of the Goths, Alaric. At the end of the video it shows an attempt by the emperor to negotiate a treaty with the Goths. This shows how much influence the Goths now had on the empire during 400 AD. The barbaric tribes are displayed taking over the Roman government and therefore taking control of the city. A soldier quotes in the video, “Alaric cannot be trusted” indicating the lack of trust between the barbarians and Romans. This video gave good information about the early 400’s and the barbarism that took place.
I thought this was a very good video about one part of the fall of Rome. It contained good actors with a proper narrator to make the story seem realistic. It also included background music to help set the tone for the different scenes. However, I did think the story line was a little confusing and hard to understand during some parts. Overall, I thought this video contained good information along with proper displays on the fall of the Roman Empire.
"Critical moment 6/6 Ancient Rome The Rise and Fall of an Empire.." The Fall of Rome. Web. 7 Apr 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_J19buRqZE&feature=related.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_J19buRqZE&feature=related
I thought this was a very good video about one part of the fall of Rome. It contained good actors with a proper narrator to make the story seem realistic. It also included background music to help set the tone for the different scenes. However, I did think the story line was a little confusing and hard to understand during some parts. Overall, I thought this video contained good information along with proper displays on the fall of the Roman Empire.
"Critical moment 6/6 Ancient Rome The Rise and Fall of an Empire.." The Fall of Rome. Web. 7 Apr 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_J19buRqZE&feature=related.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_J19buRqZE&feature=related
