University History Essay: Internal and External Factors, Roman Decline

This essay analyzes the decline of the Roman Empire, examining both internal and external factors that contributed to its fall. The essay highlights the significance of barbarian invasions, particularly the Goths, and their impact on the empire's borders and stability. It also explores the internal problems, such as financial troubles stemming from overspending and warfare, along with the widening gap between the rich and the poor due to tyrannical taxation and inflation. Furthermore, the essay addresses the external challenges, including the empire's decaying cities, inadequate defenses, and poor leadership, which were exploited by barbarian tribes. The interconnectedness of these internal and external issues is emphasized, culminating in the ultimate decline of the Roman Empire. The essay references key historical texts to support its arguments.

Running head: WESTERN CIVILIZATION/ ROMAN EMPIRE DECLINE IN THE WEST HISTORY
WESTERN CIVILIZATION/ ROMAN EMPIRE DECLINE IN THE WEST HISTORY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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WESTERN CIVILIZATION/ ROMAN EMPIRE DECLINE IN THE WEST HISTORY
The roman empire is considered to be the post republic period of that of the ancient Rome.
However, it is to be noted that as a state, it included various large territorial holdings across the
Mediterrean sea in the Europe , West Asia and North Africa and were ruled by the emperors
(Southern, 2015). The essay will be focusing on the decline of the Roman empire as well as on
the internal and the external problems that were being faced.
One of the main reason behind the fall of the roman empire is that of the invasion of the
barbarian tribes. Rome has intertwined with that of the tribes of the Germans for centuries but
during the time of the period of the 300’s the barbarian group of the Goths have intruded beyond
the borders of the empire (Mitchell, 2014). Despite tremendous efforts, the king Alaric sacked
the city of the Rome successfully.
The internal problem that was being faced by the roman empire is that the empire was
suffering from financial troubles and was dependent on the labor of the slaves. The consistent
number of the wars and over spending has meaningfully lessened the funds of the state. On the
other hand, the tyrannical taxation and the inflation have broadened the gap between the poor
and that of the rich. this is considered to be the internal problem of the empire.
The external problem that the empire faced is the barbarians took hold of the advantage
of the difficulties which were already a disadvantage for the empire. These tends to include the
decaying city, no revenue, poor leadership, over population of the empire and most significantly
the inadequate form of defense.
Both the internal and the external problems are connected as it finally led to the fall of the
roman empire.

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WESTERN CIVILIZATION/ ROMAN EMPIRE DECLINE IN THE WEST HISTORY
References
Southern, P. (2015). The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. Routledge.
Mitchell, S. (2014). A history of the later Roman Empire, AD 284-641. John Wiley & Sons.