General Observations on the fall of the Roman Empire

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

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.