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753 BCE
Political Instability Government corruptions
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Period: 753 BCE to 476
Political Instability and Government Corruption
There would be times were as many as 20 men would rule in only a 75 year time span.The political rot also extended to the Roman senate and they didn't help temper the the Roman Emperors. This caused the citizens to loose trust in their leaders. -
324 BCE
The Rise of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire started in the eastern half of the empire. The Byzantine went for wealth and strength in expansion. Since the eastern half was so strong it led to the barbarian mainly attacking the western half. This caused the two halves of the empire to drift apart. -
Period: 284 BCE to 476
The Rise of the Eastern Empire
Emperor Diocletian was the one to divide the empire into two halves to make it easier to govern. The Eastern Empire grew stronger in military and military wealth. This caused a lot of dispute between the two halves of the Empire. -
280 BCE
Invasion of Barbarian Tribes
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Period: 280 BCE to 476
The Invasion of Barbarian Tribes
The barbarians began by attacking the Western Empire. Rome had already been fighting with the Germanic tribes for centuries. They were the ones to take the city of Rome and kick any type of Roman leadership from Italy. -
264 BCE
The Mob and Cost of Gladiator Games
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Period: 264 BCE to 476
The Mob and Cost of Gladiator Games
Since the civilians had nothing to do they would causes riots and civil unrest in the streets. That's when they started having the gladiator games that would cost way to much and they would get mad as the emperors would curve the matches to their favor. -
Period: 260 BCE to 476
Military Spending
Most of the Romans income would go to the armies and making sure they had supplies.This caused much frustration between the citizens who were then less likely to help the empire at all. -
Period: 180 BCE to 476
The Weakening of Roman Legions
The Romans started having trouble recruiting soldiers. They had to start hiring mercenaries and Germanic soldiers who had very little loyalty to the Empire. Even though they were very well soldiers they would often abandon and attack the Romans. -
Period: 150 BCE to 476
Disease
Disease was always a problem around Rome after it started to expand and take over different places. It led to the decline in population and because of the diseases Antonine and Cyprian it rose the death penalty extremely high. -
140 BCE
Lead Poising
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31 BCE
War between Antony and Octavian
This was after Julius Caesar was killed, instability and civil war broke out across Rome. This also led to the Romans declaring war on Egypt and the death of Marc Antony. After this war the Roman Empire lost many supplies and wealth. -
Period: 11 BCE to 476
Lead Poising
Lead poising became a huge problem within the Roman Empire. They would use it constantly in various things including, lining their water pipes and cooking pots. Lead poising mostly effected the rich and caused them memory loss and cognitive ability making it harder for them to rule -
1 CE
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard was an elite group who were suppose to be body guards to the Roman Emperor. The guards however would often kill the emperor if they didn't like then and let someone else they liked have the throne. This caused corruption and favoritism in the ruling class and at one point they even auctioned off the throne to the highest bidder. They became one of the most powerful group in Rome. -
27
Overreliance on Slave Labor
They depended on slaves to work the fields and as craftsman. Since the expansion grounded in the middle of the second century they had a lot less slaves to work. Since they had less slave to do work they started losing their grip on Europe. -
70
Unemployment of Working Class
The Romans started using slaves a lot more leaving the Plebeians out of jobs. This cause most Romans to subsided life and give up their standard of living. The gap between the two caused much conflict. -
Period: 76 to 476
Inferior Technology
The scientific achievements of Rome were only limited to engineering and public transportation. They relied so much on animal and human labor that it made it hard for them to advance into anything else. It made it hard for them to give food and expand anymore. -
160
Environmental Problems
The Romans had over farming of most of their land. This made it a lot harder to grow substantial food sources and starvation among the abundant amount of citizens living in Rome. -
Period: 300 to 476
Barbarian Knowledge of War Tactics
Rome had trouble getting soldiers so they had to start hiring barbarians and mercenaries. They people had little loyalty to the Roman Empire and they would often rebel against them. Since they also knew the battle tactics of the army it was easy for them to win in many battles. -
301
The Arrival of Huns and Barbarians
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Period: 301 to 410
The Arrival of the Huns and Barbarian Tribes
Since the Huns were invading Europe it pushed the Germanic tribes toward the Roman Empire border. The Romans let some tribes in, but they treated them horribly causing more disputes and rebellions from them. They would go on to kill Emperor Valen and take over Rome. -
Period: 400 to 530
Military Overspreading and Over Expansion
At its peak the Roman empire expanded form the Atlantic and to the Euphrates River. This made it hard for the empire to get information, military supplies, and troops around. Most funds were given to the military and it lead to the civil infrastructure falling. -
Period: 410 to 476
Economics
Rome had a problem with overtaxing their citizens and Roman citizens had a problem with wholesale hoarding. The barbarians also would loot the cities taking some of Rome income with them. They suffered from massive trade defects too. -
500
Urban Decay
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Period: 500 to 476
Urban Decay
The Plebeians lived in cramped, smelly, six story buildings called islands. The prices would go up the higher the floor you were on. There were over 44.000 of these building but if you couldn't pay then you would be kicked out onto the streets. Which were full of crime and violence. This lead to the urban decay.
