The Roman Empire: Will America Fall Too?
Madalyn
Rome was one of the greatest empires, and its downfall hit the rest of the ancient world hard. Most believe that it was only overthrown, but lots led up to the opportunity for another to be able to seize the massive Empire. Economic and slavery troubles, the overuse of money, decrease in the army size, and religion all had an impact. America could have some of the same problems. Will America be “overthrown” too?
The Economy: The Roman economy was an agrarian and slave based economy. It was complex, but not as complex as today’s. Taxes were harsh, and not all could pay for it by farming. Farmers also had the choice to donate food to the government. The given food would feed the legions or other citizens, but only gave the farmer popularity. They still had to pay for taxes, and many could not gain enough profit. Citizens became dependent on the free grain, or the imports from surrounding countries. This was also more than Rome could afford.
There had been a major trade of goods from all over Africa, Asia, and Europe. Rome would spend so much gold on exotic silks or spices, and eventually, didn’t have enough gold to make Denarii. The sheer size of the Empire also became a problem. It was incredibly hard to govern, and being so large may have helped gain more crops, but didn’t help when all of the people across Rome had to be fed on nothing. When agriculture began to decrease, this became a problem for Rome. Too much money was being spent trading, and eventually they had nothing to exchange for the mass amounts of expensive goods that they were taking in. To try and fix this problem, more coins were made with a cheaper silver, leading to inflation, and an even more difficult situation.
Slave Labor and Armies: Rome is most famously known for its armies. But when Roman life became more centered around education and family, the
loyalty to the Empire also weakened. “In a Roman mindset, it was necessary to belong.” The Romans entire economy was built on the back of slaves, and most of them were from the surrounding countries or empires. Rome also imported more things than what was being exported, and soon Rome’s supply of slaves and other war treasures began to run out. They would let in foreigners, but treat them with much cruelty. The barbarians who were forced to work or had their children forced to work ended up to hurt Rome during its decline. They were also struggling in their military area. Under the rule of emperors Diocletian and Constantine, the military was losing numbers. They started to hire foreign mercenaries to fight in their legions. The ranks soon swelled with Germanic Goths or other Barbarians. While they were powerful soldiers, they had little or no loyalty to the empire. The “Power-hungry officers often turned against their Roman employers.” Most of the barbarians who had attacked the western Empire and sacked Rome had served in the Legions and had earned military stripes. Eventually, there was no way to block the other barbarians were still surging in through the borders.
“In a Roman mindset, it was necessary to belong.”
Religion and Separation: Why did It Matter? Religion: Religion had become a large problem during the decline of the empire. The ancient Romans believed that the emperor had a divine status, and when Christianity was changed to the state religion in 380, it ended persecution, but also may have “eroded roman traditional values.” It shifted Rome’s glory on the state to one sole being. Popes and church elders took a larger role in the government, changing it from what it used to be. People no longer saw their emperor as a divine being, so over time, Romans lost the passion they used to have for their Empire. Before it was changed to the state religion, the authorities had been punishing anyone who didn’t perform Caesar worship, and their focus was mainly on the Jews. When Christians separated from the Jewish practice, the Romans were thrown completely into the unknown, and Christianity grew without much knowledge of the higher authorities. During the rule of Diocletian (and 5 others), it was noticed how many Christians held important and high roles in the government. In response, Diocletian visited the Oracle of Delphi, a god the romans believed to tell prophecies, and was told to stop the rising Christians. It transformed into a Christian slaughter, pushing the empire further into civil war. The Christian side won, in the name of their god. Christianity became the new religion.
This map displays how the Empire was divided.
Separation: The Roman Empire was very large, making it extremely difficult to govern. Emperor Constantius split the empire into two parts. The eastern part, centered in Nicomedia ruled by Maximian and Constantius the Pale, and the western part, ruled by Diocletian, was centered in Rome. Later, Constantius’ son, Constantine, defeated all challengers to the throne and became caesar of the of all of the Empire. To do that, he had to overthrow the king of the western side, which was Diocletian’s son Galerius, to be Caesar. On his mission to gain popularity throughout his kingdom, Constantine attacked the Franks, an ancient tribe who wanted parts of the Roman Empire, and killed two of their kings. His people saw a man who would act without mercy, but a man with compassion when he restored a church property that had earlier been destroyed. He slowly gained the trust of the men in his Empire, giving himself an army. Around that time, Constantius, died, causing there
to be a need for a new caesar. Galerius and Constantine both named themselves caesar, causing the two parts to grow further apart. Constantine also controlled six nations, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and parts of North Africa, all of which would come and take control of the west. Galerius soon unsuccessfully invaded the western part, which he ended up dying for, and the western part soon went to war with the Franks. Maxentius became the Emperor of the East, but had lost most of his popularity due to overtaxing his citizens and his empire began to crumble. Constantine watched as it fell then tried to take control of entire of the empire. He turned the empire Christian after battling for the east with Linicus. He soon became emperor of all of Rome and changed the capital from Rome to Constantinople, a city he named after himself.
Will the U.S. Collapse Too? Emperor Constantine had promised that Constantinople would be safe and fortified, which proved to be true, but then he left Italy, and therefore the city of Rome, vulnerable. Rome was the symbolic value for many in the East, and almost a thousand years later it was overwhelmed by the Ottoman Empire in the 1400’s. The Western Empire’s political structure had fallen in the fifth century. But is America like Rome? That answer is yes. The great Empire and the U.S have a lot in common that’s not very evident at a first glance. Both share the most global influence of their time periods. Rome was the largest empire of the ancient world, and for most of its time, was able to conquer any other empire willing to stand against it. Both saw a collapse in the middle class. While America’s on its way to seeing the middle class deteriorate with overseas labor and
other issues, Rome lost their middle class by slave labor and trading. Foreign wars were a problem for both empires. America has always been recovering from a war, in a war, or preparing for war. Things have changed over a thousand and five-hundred years, but with so much property, Rome was always being attacked. One of the largest parallels to the Empire is the passion and love for the country. Americans don’t have as much love as they did 100, 50, or even 25 years ago, and that became a large problem for Rome. So, will America collapse? The answer is maybe. You hold the future in your hands. Rome survived for half a millennium, and the U.S. is half of that. America still has awhile, at least, only if Donald Trump doesn’t become president.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Andrews, Evan. "8 Reasons Why Rome Fell." History.com. A&E Television Net works, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2016. Lewis, Michael. "Is America the New Rome? – Unit ed States vs. the Roman Empire." Money Crashers. Web. 03 Mar. 2016. "Roman Republic and Roman Empire: Rul ers." Infoplease. Infoplease. Web. 03 Mar. 2016. "The Fall of the Roman Empire." Ushistory.org. In dependence Hall Association, 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2016. The Roman Empire C. 400 C.e. Split of Roman Em pire. Historium. Web. 1 Mar. 2016. "The Roman Empire." The Roman Empire. Web. 03 Mar. 2016. Wasson, Donald L. "Constantine I." Ancient History Encyclopedia. 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.
This map shows how the empire was conquered and divided after the Fall.