Why did the Roman Empire fall?
- Military decay
- Christianity
- Lead
The Roman Empire fell for many reasons including military decay, the rise of Islam, and barbarian invasion. Military problems included out of date weaponry and they didn't receive as much training as they needed. One reason why people avoided the army service was because Roman citizenship was now offered freely, where in prior times military service was a path to citizenship. This lead to less manpower available for Rome. So they had to admit barbarians into the army. The Romans gave the barbarians weapons so they could fight with them not against them, but they were scared that the barbarians would turn on them. By the 4th century AD, the Roman military had become noticeably weaker, especially to those barbarians who had for years been penetrating Rome's borders.
When the Roman Empire first came to be there was no Christianity, but by the second empire when Jesus was executed for treasonous behavior, then there was Christianity. Over time, church leaders became influential and took power away from the emperor. They were threatening to hold the Emperor to do penance Bishop Ambrose required. Since Roman civic and religious life were the same, priestesses controlled the fortune of Rome, prophetic books told leaders what they needed to win wars. Christian religious beliefs and allegiances conflicted with the working of empire.
The presence of lead in the drinking water leached in from the water pipes, glazes on containers that came in contact with food and beverages, and food preparation techniques could have contributed to heavy metal poisoning. It was only absorbed through your pores. So when people would put it on your face, it would take a while to realize what you had. Lead, associated with contraception, was recognized as a deadly poison.
Comments