The Fall of Rome

Many factors are thought to have led up to the fall of the Roman Empire. Many people have different views of what caused the Roman Empire to fall in 400AD.


A few of these were sickness from the plague, the fact that Rome was ruled with an authoritarian rule was a reason it had fallen. However, according to Edward Gibbon the Christians were the cause for the fall of one of the greatest empires in history. I would semi agree with Gibbon's belief.


The reason I only partly believe Gibbon is because there were many other things that weakened the Roman Empire. there were many natural disasters in Rome, like flooding famine and plague (Zoch 277). These things could have been factors of the decline of the Roman Empire. The Roman authority was loosing respect among the people.


If the Roman people were loosing respect for the authority and didn't obey or hold it with high standards , then you could guess what will happen next. The empire would fall because the people of Rome would reject the law and eventually revolt. The Christians were seen as a problem to the Romans because, they thought that the Christians were the source of all the "natural" disasters were the Christians' fault. Also, the Christians were required to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods, and, although this made some reject the faith by doing this, others suffered for their beliefs.


There are many factors that led to the Fall of the Roman Empire, and according to Edward Gibbon the Christians were the cause for the fall the Roman Empire. Even though Rome was defeated, it took captive parts of our world in our language (Bingham 42).

Bingham, Jane. Ancient Civilizations: Ancient Rome. World Almanac Library, 2006.

Zoch, A. Paul. Ancient Rome: An Introductory History. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman. 1998.