The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Paper Summary:

Based on the work of two eminent historians, this essay clearly defines the multiple causes for the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD.

From the Paper:

"Many scholars disagree on the exact length of this historical event, but Grant believes that A.D. 365 is when the downward process began. Until that date, he writes, Rome was still seemingly invincible and immensely powerful, having put the turmoil of the third century behind it. Grant concludes that the ultimate blame for the fall rests with the Romans themselves, not with the barbarians who surrounded the Empire. He identifies internal economic, religious, institutional, ideological, and military forces that weakened Roman society. These forces, or more precisely, the conflicts between the groups representative of each force, led to thirteen defects that displayed one unifying thread: disunity. Grant places no formal weighting on individual causes; he recognizes that multiple causes provide the best explanation for historical events. According to Grant, these thirteen defects tore the Romans apart and limited their capacity to meet external aggression. These flaws within Roman society finally became so irreconcilably violent that the entire foundation of Roman society was shaken. In the end, resistance to external threats was virtually impossible, and the damage proved fatal. Rome fell, not by attack from the outside, but from appalling internal splits within the Empire."

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