Staying Alive is Not Enough -6-

gerardM a écrit:

gerardM a écrit:

There is no one single reason, but was instead a series of problems that grew too large to solve.  
One problem was that the empire grew too large to govern.  The Romans tried to solve this by dividing the empire into the Eastern and Western Roman Empire.   
Another problem was that the Roman men no longer wanted to serve in the army. The pay was not great. Sometimes the legion was not paid at all. Most men did not want to be away from their families and farms for long periods of time.  The Romans tried to solve this by hiring barbarians to fight for them.  
There were other problems. Civil wars broke out in Rome between different factions.  The rich grew disinterested in helping Rome and only wanted more for themselves and their families.  The population of Rome shrank.  Trade decreased while taxes and prices increased.  The poor were overtaxed.  The use of slaves put people out of work. The roads fell into disrepair.