Rome's Decline and Disintegration

Friday, May 14, 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.