3. The early Romans who built the empire stood united. By the
end, Rome had two capitals, Rome and Constantinople, each
with its own emperor. Familiarize
The later Romans only sought power for themselves. Almost
every military commander had his eye on the throne and was
ready to overthrow the emperor and take power for himself.
The armies spent a lot of time fighting each other for power in
Rome, rather than fighting the
enemy.
4. Rome had always had its fair share of bad emperors.
Caligula, Nero and Commodus are such examples. But there
always followed capable emperors to correct their errors. At
Rome's end, however, there were few good rulers. The lack of
good leadership inspired others to work for themselves and
by the end the power structure of Rome was riddled with
corruption and greed.
5. The Roman Empire had become extremely wealthy and the
very rich lived in great luxury. They had become too civilised
and enjoyed the privileges of power and money.
Rome had lost its edge and tough outlook. Its armies enjoyed
life too much and were no match for the uncivilised
barbarians from the north.
6. At one point Rome was incredibly wealthy, but
after years of inflation, hoarding and living
beyond its means, the economy teetered on
the brink of collapse. Rome was unable to
afford to keep a massive and well-equipped
army in the field.
7. In ancient European history huge migrations took place as
hundreds of thousands of people set out to find new
homelands.
One of these mass migrations took place whilst the empire
was still strong. The enemies of Rome now lived within the
empire and its armies, while capable of defeating other
armies, could not destroy a whole people. The Romans
were overwhelmed in a human deluge.
8. Once upon a time the Visigoths were friends of Rome,
and were allowed to settle on the northern border when
at war with the Huns.
That soon changed. It didn't take long until bad living
conditions, poverty and starvation led the Visigoths to
revolt. In the following war, the Romans no longer had a
protective river from behind which to defend themselves.
9. Deadly diseases brought in from the east swept across
Europe, killing vast numbers among the population of the
empire.
This weakened the empire and its ability to put an
invincible army into the field of battle. It also weakened
the resolve of the people.
