10E3 History: Petulla Schule Schloss Salem 09.03.

2018

To what extent did the Barbarian Invasions of the

Western Empire cause the Collapse of Rome?
Maximilian Raitz v. Frentz

Arguably one of the greatest world superpowers in history, the Western Roman Empire met

its demise in 476 AD (Wikipedia). Historians find great difficulty in pinpointing the exact or

most conspicuous vindication to the downfall and collapse of Rome; however, there are

several prominent arguments, one of them being the Barbarian invasions of the empire. This

essay aims to discuss the most pronounced justifications that led to its demise. Although there

is great dispute on the matter, most historians can agree that the invasions of the Barbarian

tribes across the empire immensely impacted the fate of Rome.

To understand the extent of impact caused by the Barbarians, it is essential to understand all

other factors that might have contributed to all the instability in the realm at the time. In the

late 3rd century, Rome was very politically vulnerable due to the power vacuum of the Eastern

Empire (Gill). In 293, Emperor Diocletian separated Rome from Byzantium under the

perception that it would be easier to govern (Andrews). This may have been a short term gain

but over time, but could have been one of Rome’s worst aberrations. Instead of a working,

healthy alliance between the two realms, they grew further apart and eventually working

against each other. There were often quarrels between the East and the West over trivialities

such as resources and military aid and over time, not only did relations weaken but the

sovereignties grew very culturally distant (Andrews). As time progressed, the Eastern (Greek

speaking) Empire thrived economically whereas the (Latin Speaking) Western Empire fell to

economic crisis which this essay will also discuss later on (Andrews). Overall, the splitting of

Rome caused only negative effects to its population and government. It is understandable that
10E3 History: Petulla Schule Schloss Salem 09.03.2018

several historians blame the Fall of Rome on this argument which is almost or just as valid as

the invasions that took place approximately two centuries later.

Furthermore, the Roman Empire experienced a case of “Imperial Overstretch” which led to a

financial crisis (influenced by many other factors as well) as mentioned before. The

“overstretch” caused an overspending toward the military mostly. Not only was it expensive

to maintain but was logistically impossible to do so without wasting money. The Roman

roads were not efficient enough to communicate as efficiently as required. The military

spending did not slow down because of the internal pressure (Barbarians) which will also be

discussed later on. With such high military spending, infrastructure advancements slowed

which was another huge burden on the Romans because of the inability to defend the frontier.

To counter the internal struggle, another misstep followed. Raising taxes seemed to be the

perfect way of funding all the internal and external wars. Inflation started to hit Rome as well

which stretched the social hierarchy, making the poor poorer. The Empire relied on slaves to

do the agricultural work but when the expansion stopped, it stunted the economy because of

the lacking workforce. In short, the expansion of Rome brought along a financial crisis which

lasted centuries and brought the civilisation crumbling down along with its economy.

(Andrews)

Governing a large empire such as Rome was troublesome enough but after the Pax-Romana,

the aristocracy gained an extensive amount of power, creating great instability in the Roman

government. The emperor’s job became so dangerous in the third century that Rome saw two

dozen rulers come and go in the span of seventy-five years. The Empire was governed by

political intrigue and fear. The senate became “corrupt and incompetent” and quite quickly,

the social contract between citizen and state collapsed. This is significant because a nation
10E3 History: Petulla Schule Schloss Salem 09.03.2018

that cannot even govern itself nor keep it population remotely satisfied would never be able to

resist any external pressure. (Andrews)

As Rome became more culturally disparate, Christianity was slowly accepted. In 313 AD,

Christianity was legalised and became the official religion of Rome less than seventy years

later, in 380 AD (Demise of Ancient Rome). Rome might have been tolerant towards

Christianity at this point but the traditional Roman values rotted away (Gill). The idea of the

government that Rome once brought on this world was forgotten and the emperor was

regarded with “divine status” (Andrews). This was not seen as a damaging aspect to the

civilisation but more recently, historians argue that the stripping of Roman virtue led to

economic and administrate problems (Andrews).

The arguments put forward this essay show the internal instability of Rome. All of these

aspects put together made it extremely convenient for the Barbarian tribes to occupy their

own territory within the realm. Hypothetically, if it were not for the instability, Rome might

have been able to control the over-powerful tribes and if it were not for the Barbarians, Rome

might have overcome its “Dark Age”. The following arguments aim to justify the invasions as

the rationale for the fall of Rome.

Rome was constantly at threat by the Barbarians within its domain but only suffered from

them in the 4th and 5th centuries (Demise of Ancient Rome). There were five major tribes that

resided in Rome. These were the Huns, Franks, Vandals, Saxons, and the Visioths (Emperor

Valens & the Barbarians). The large scale Barbarian invasions began in 376 AD when the

Goths killed around ten per cent of the Roman garrison in the Danube provinces at Battle of
 10E3 History: Petulla Schule Schloss Salem 09.03.2018

Adrianople (Wikipedia). In 406 AD, the Romans moved out of Britannia and left it for the

Saxons to annex (Barbarian Invasions…). Over the next century, Rome lost all of its

territories. The Huns came from the east, the Jutes from the north, the Vandals in the South,

and the Franks in Gallia. By 410 AD, Alaric, King of the Visigoths besieged Rome and

sacked it (Wikipedia). The Western Empire was overwhelmed by barbarians that they could

not subjugate.

In conclusion, it was the Barbarians and the invasions they led that caused fall of Rome in 476

AD. This was made entirely possible by all of the political and social instability. If it were not

for the instability cause by all the mentioned factors, Rome would most likely still not had

been able to defeat the tens of thousands of savages that laid waste to their civilisation.

However, if the Barbarians were all culturally integrated with the Roman subjects, Rome

might have surpassed its Darkest Age. So ultimately, the Barbarians are almost completely

reliable for the collapse of one of the greatest empires ever to exist on

Earth.

Works Cited

Andrews, Evan. “8 Reasons Why Rome Fell.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Jan.
2014, www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell.

“Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire.” Mr. Giotto's Online Textbook,

www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1492781.

“Demise of Ancient Rome.” Legends and Chronicles., www.legendsandchronicles.com/ancient-

civilizations/ancient-rome/demise-of-ancient-rome/.

“Emperor Valens & the Barbarians.” Ancient Rome for Kids, rome.mrdonn.org/barbarians.html.

“Fall of the Western Roman Empire.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Mar. 2018,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire.

Gill, N. S. “Fall of Rome .” ThoughtCo, 5 June 2017, www.thoughtco.com/reasons-for-the-fall-of-

rome-118350.
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