Essay on The Fall of the Western Empire in the Fifth Century

In the year 330 Constantine founded a new imperial city in the east, which became known as Constantinople. Accompanying Diocletians system of tetrarchy, the creation of this new city affirmed the separation of the Roman Empire into the east and the west. The Eastern Roman Empire held a series of advantages over the west both socially and economically. The Western Roman Empire was the weaker empire and a bad leadership and government along with attacks from barbarians led to the demise of the Western Roman Empire. However the Roman Empire was severely weakened by the fourth century and the government was less capable of withstanding the barbarian attacks. There are many reasons for the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the†¦show more content†¦His murder in AD 192 was followed by a civil war by rivals to the throne. A series of rulers under what was known as `The Severan Dynasty ensued. Lucian Septimius Severus who became emperor in AD 193 severely weakened the imperial defenses when he disbanded the Praetorian Guard and replaced them with his own troops. While Rome remained a large empire there was a complete lack of constitution. After Septimus Severus all power derived from the army, which led to corruption in a quest for power. Between 235 and 284 there was a series of insane emperors who were frequently assassinated. Farmers who could not afford to pay the high taxes of the government fled their land. Barbarians occupied this abandoned land. Anarchy and the decaying of trade routes resulted in the decline of commerce. There was a devaluation of the currency, which reduced the state to a barter economy. The burdens of taxation and poverty crushed both the rural and urban masses resulting in widespread revolts. During the third century there was a series of renegade armies, rebellions and foreign invasions. This chaos brought the social and economic system to the point of collapse. Extraordinary leadership came from Diocletian who ruled from 284-305. He implemented a series of reforms such as his `Edict on Prices. He created what was known as a tetrarchy. This divided the empire, which eventually led to the collapse of theShow MoreRelatedThe History of the Byzantine Empire Essay897 Words   |  4 Pages As the Roman Empire expanded to help govern it better it brought out the Western (old) Romans in Western Europe and the Eastern (new) Romans in Eastern Europe. Many in the west saw the east as Greeks, but the Eastern Romans saw themselves as the Roman Empire with its capital in Constantinople. Early on Emperor Constantine sought to keep the two united but as the fifth and sixth centuries rolled around they each had gone their separate ways. 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