Why did the Roman Empire fail?

the tragedy of Julius Caesar!

Which one of them? They divided up into two empires, West and East Rome, or the Byzantine Empire, which fell in the middle ages to the turkish.

I mean like ALL of rome all of them combined

I actually think wikipedia would be better, no offense.

thats what i was just on
but it was like kinda confusing
all i really learned was that
people were given too much control
also that money was really tight
and christianity was in conflict

Well, of course it’s confusing. Any time an empire fails, it’s complicated. I know the Western Roman Empire began to decline economically in the 400s and it had a wider border to defend. Resources were limited and the government just became weaker, making it more susceptible to invasions and they were invaded multiple times by Germanic peoples. Eventually, in 476, Odoacer deposed the last Roman emperor and the empire ended.

And yeah, Wikipedia is a good resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire – the “Overview” section covers it well.

So basically because of its geographical placement? and the resources available there were dwindling
and because the boundary was WAY to big

Pretty much. Also I just think the Germanic people and the other tribes were sick of being controlled by the Romans and saw this as an opportunity to take over, which they did.

True thanks man you really helped :D

No problem. :)

I happen to be really interested in the history of the First Millennium AD (the years 1–999 AD). Because we never learned it in school!

It was for a few reasons:
The empire controlled way too much, and they could not defend everything and keep the soldiers paid properly (yes, the soldiers did get paid, a motivated soldier is a better soldier, plus they are far away from home).
The Germanic tribes to the north got stronger and stronger, and unified to attack Raetia (which is now switzerland, which is north of Italy so they could attack the various capitals that were changing often).
The generals of the Romans Empire were always in dispute and turned against each other.
In North Africa there were a few rebellions.

Wow, i’m reading this, and the roman empire is beginning to sound like the American Empire, maybe we could learn something from this whole “falling” thing.

(fyi, not a history buff, and this is not a jab at the current administration)

See @quasi
the US was based off the Roman Empire, except the US is trying to control everthing so we don’t end up like the Roman Empire.

@rhector63, makes sense.. maybe we’re making many of the same mistakes?

@rhector63 the US was based off the Roman Empire

What in the world do you base that on?

Exactly, just that the roman Emppire got too big for its britches.

@oratio
WH class

@oratio
ha sorry US history class

@rhector63 Then I suggest you don’t legalize weed.~

The US was not based on the Roman empire, but, the US has grown into a power that makes one able to compare them. The Roman empire was driven by similar greed, but the US presence and influence in the world is extremely complex compared to the Romans, with quite different methods.

America is not Rome. Admire Rome for the right reasons. America is better than that.

true @oratio

Same reason people get into aurguments on fluther. Because everybody thinks there way is better and there can never be a middle ground. :)-