Why did the Roman Empire fall?
1- Many people believe that Rome began to fall because of the split between the eastern and western empire. Also because they were each run by two different emperors. When there are two different emperors, it can be very difficult to agree on the same situations for Rome. The western half remained in central Italy. A Western Roman Empire existed intermittently in several periods between the 3rd and 5th centuries.Theodosius divided the empire upon his death. There was also an economic slowdown in the west. The Byzantine Empire arose. The city survived many assaults, but fell only once until the end. They briefly ceased to exist and collapsed into several minor states.
2- Christianity? When Constantine established religious toleration in the Roman Empire, he took upon himself the title of Pontiff. Even though he was not necessarily Christian himself, he gave Christians privileges and oversaw major Christian disputes. Although the path from pagan to Christian Rome had a few more hurdles, it was from the time of Constantine that Roman Christianity is dated. Over time, Church leaders became influential and took away power from the emperor. Christian beliefs conflicted with the working of empire. Not everyone agreed with the way that he did things, which caused some conflict.
3- Rome's wealth went mostly to the land, but this gave way to wealth through taxation. During the expansion of Rome around the Mediterranean, tax-farming went hand in hand with provincial government since the provinces were taxed even when Romans proper were not. Tax farmers would bid for the chance to tax the province and would pay in advance. If they failed, they lost, with no recourse to Rome, but they generally made a profit at the hand of the peasants. Once the wealthy and powerful were no longer either rich or powerful, the poor had to pay the bills of the state. These bills included the payment of the imperial guard and the military troops at the empire's borders.
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