The Roman Empire seemed unbeatable at its peak - one of the largest empires the world has ever seen. It fended off all of its military foes. It built a complex administrative state that ruled regions from Egypt, to Spain, to England, and as far east as modern-day Iraq.
At its height, it seemed like it would rule forever. And today, it’s a distant memory. Why did the Roman Empire ultimately fall?
Did it meet an enemy too powerful to fend off? Was it undone by internal conflict? Or did it simply stretch itself too thin?
The answer isn’t any one of those - and the empire’s downfall happened over hundreds of years. To find the truth of the Roman Empire’s fall, we have to go back to how it became an empire in the first place - because initially, it was a Republic with far less territory. The Republic had taken over from the previously flawed monarchy, but the people seemed to be calling out for a more unified government.
One man was more than willing to answer that call - Julius Caesar, the man appointed perpetual dictator of Rome in the mid-first century BCE. He started consolidating power, becoming a popular and effective ruler who won many military campaigns - and many of his rivals realized he had no intention of giving up his newfound power. The elites of Rome assassinated him, setting off one of the biggest political crises in Roman history.
Civil wars kicked off as many people sought to claim power - and in the end the wars saw Octavian, the adopted son of Caesar, take power. He continued his father’s legacy, conquering nearby territories including Egypt - ending that country’s Hellenistic era. Soon, he was more powerful than his father ever was, and the Roman senate responded accordingly.
They granted him the title of Augustus, allowed him to rule in perpetuity, and soon no one would dare challenge his power. The plotters who feared Caesar’s role as dictator had accidentally crafted the rise of Rome’s first Emperor. And he wouldn’t be the last.
From then, Rome would not only become another monarchy ruled by a series of hereditary leaders both good and bad, but it would develop a hunger for conquest that would envelop a large part of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. While Italy would continue to serve as the center of the empire, the other territories would be organized into provinces - each administered by a local governor with drastically different approaches to leadership. The empire would soon be so large that it would be impossible for one leader to maintain full control over every territory, which meant the provinces would still maintain some level of autonomy - as long as they paid their taxes and didn’t cause any problems that would arouse the ire of the Emperor.
And the system seemed to be working - the empire was stable enough that the next two centuries became largely known as “Pax Romana”. But under the surface, trouble was brewing. During the first century CE, religious conflict started brewing under the surface.
The Roman Empire largely worshipped the traditional pantheon - led by Jupiter and heavily tied to the Greek pantheon led by Zeus. This polytheistic faith was characterized by ornate temples dedicated to the individual Gods and a wild lore that made the Gods seem rather petty and human. Jupiter’s dalliances with human women, and gods taking revenge for the most petty grievances, were both common staples of the faith in those days - and then came Christianity.
Spinning out of the teachings of the Jewish Rabbi known as Jesus and his eventual crucifixion by the Roman authorities, this new Abrahamic faith was based of the often-persecuted faith of Judaism - and largely received the same treatment in the early days. While some of the more dramatic stories like early Christians being fed to lions have no historical backing, the Roman Empire saw new faiths as a threat to the establishment. But religions aren’t easy to kill.
The conflict stayed under the radar and Christianity was mostly a small faith during those early years, and a wise emperor would have likely focused on maintaining the empire’s stability rather than persecuting heathens. But when you have a monarchy, you’re often relying on the whims of birth order and genetics - and in the year 177, Rome’s luck ran out. The new Emperor, Commodus, would soon become infamous for this exact reason.
The youngest Emperor ever at the age of fifteen, his rule was dictated by his emotions which led to recklessness. A teenager making bad decisions when given too much power? Perish the thought!
As her was inheriting the Empire built by many of his predecessors, it was hard for him to screw up the larger things - but back in Rome, he wasted no time throwing things into chaos. He was known for his fickle and dictatorial leadership style, as well as his love of the gladiator matches in the Colosseum. He would even participate in duels himself - which largely meant anyone who faced off against him would probably be expected to die quietly.
He built a cult of personality around himself, and his reign was so chaotic that he would eventually be immortalized by Joaquin Phoenix as a villain in the Oscar-winning movie Gladiator. And his reign ended as it began - with chaos. Commodus was assassinated by a wrestler in the Roman baths after fifteen years in charge, and things would only get more chaotic from there.
The Roman Senate declared him a public enemy and tore down his statues, and he was succeeded by a new Emperor - in what would become known as the Year of the Five Emperors. It was 193 CE, and civil war ensued. The next emperor would be assassinated only three months after taking office, his successor would essentially pay off the guards to let him become Emperor, and he would be ousted and executed only weeks later.
The chaos would only die down when two emperors, Septimus Severus and Clodius Albinus, ruled simultaneously despite both considering the other to be a threat. Rome’s political climate was in complete chaos. And soon, people outside would start noticing.
Many of the provinces of Rome had been semi-autonomous for a long time and had developed their own cultures. So as the Roman state spiraled into chaos, they started to wonder - why not just make it official? As the Romans struggled through a series of weak, crazy, and inconsequential Emperors - often in quick succession - territories started to break away at an increasing rate.
First came the self-declared Gallic Empire, which took most of the territory of modern-day France and England with it. Then came the Palmyrene Empire, which was led by Queen Zenobia and took over much of Egypt and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean - including the many key sites in the Holy Land. It was the biggest crisis in Rome’s history - but it would bring many changes with it.
A series of three Emperors in the third century would bring this crisis to the end - but the Roman Empire that emerged from it would not be the same. First was Aurelian, who only reigned for five years but had a huge impact. At the time, the diminished Roman military was under attack by Barbarian tribes and internal strife, and it seemed like the Empire’s days might be nearing an end.
But Aurelian had risen through the ranks of the military and knew its workings well, and under his reign he fended off the attacking tribes and conquered both the Palmyrene Empire and the Gallic Empire. He surrounded Rome with mighty walls, abandoned provinces that were too much trouble to keep, and improved Rome’s economy. Under his short tenure, Rome started to look more like it did at its peak.
His successors would build on his work. Diocletian would reign for twenty years and was also a military veteran, but most of the military work had been completed already. He would focus his efforts on improving the empire’s stability, which included creating a system of regional courts that would give the empire more control over its far-flung provinces.
While the empire had reclaimed the territory lost to the breakaway provinces, Diocletian started expanding once again - and by the end of his twenty years, he became the first Roman emperor to abdicate his position voluntarily, retiring to his palace. But his successor might have had an even bigger impact. The thirty-one year run of Constantine the Great would be among the most successful in the empire’s history.
He introduced a new currency, expanded the empire’s territory, and reorganized the army to be more effective. But his most significant change was his conversion to Christianity - reportedly spurred on by him seeing a cross in the sky. As the Roman Emperor converted, so did many of the citizens of Rome, igniting Christianity’s rise to becoming a world power religion.
At the end of his reign, the empire’s territory was near its peak, expanding as far east as Byzantium. After his death, Constantine left the empire to his sons, starting a new dynasty which would rule over Rome. The Roman Empire looked as healthy as ever, and many people assumed that this was the beginning of a new golden age.
So how could things go so very wrong? The year was 337 CE when Constantine passed away, and while Constantine’s reign had been full of successes, there was trouble lurking under the surface. His embrace of Christianity had given the Church massive power in Rome, and although many supported him in this decision, there were some who didn’t wish for the empire to fall under the grasps of Christianity.
Enemies of the state were executed, and their estates were given to those he favored. The military was paid well, but soon the soldiers seemed to be engaging in blatant corruption. But the empire was still the greatest power in the world, and it was hard to imagine anyone challenging it.
But empire’s aren’t immune from internal strife. In the aftermath of the death of Constantine, the throne of the empire was once again open for contest, and this era led to many conflicts over who would take control. His sons initially ruled jointly, but chaos would follow and Rome would be plunged into civil war.
Many territories were taken over by local leaders, with territories going back and forth at the whims of military victories. Despite this, the core of the empire was unchallenged, and by 379 a new emperor named Theodosius had risen. A proven general, he would become one of Rome’s greatest military leaders and would put an end to this era of strife.
But far greater threats were brewing beyond the borders of Rome. As far-reaching as Rome’s borders were at the time, it was hard to believe that a nomadic people from a continent away would throw the whole thing into chaos. But the Huns were no ordinary nomads.
Fierce warriors, they had been making inroads into Asia and Eastern Europe - and where they went, people fled. Their mass takeover of territory led the local Gothic tribes to flee towards the Roman Empire. Suddenly, the Romans had a huge influx of barbarian warriors fleeing across their border - and Rome’s lack of management in their border states came back to haunt them.
A well-organized government may have been able to resettle these new residents and incorporate them into the Roman state - even using their warrior smarts to reinvigorate the military. Unfortunately, the corrupt local officials instead chose to exploit them, assuming they weren’t a threat. They would be proven very wrong.
Now the Romans had a large number of outside warriors within their borders. These guests had seen Roman hospitality was lacking, and they quickly took up arms. They were joined by other tribesmen heading over the border, and what started as a refugee crisis quickly turned into a guerilla war.
While Rome had a superior military force, it was also spread out and concentrated in the cities, and the forces that were sent to confront the Goths found the invaders fought much harder than expected. The elites felt very little of this crisis - they were kept safe in their walled cities - but across the massive expanses of the Roman countryside, the Goths quickly gained territory and claimed the land of former Roman subjects across the Balkans. And Theodosius may have neglected this problem a bit too much.
The Emperor may have restored Rome’s military in some ways, but the coffers were still looking kind of bare after decades of patronage under his predecessors. He raised taxes to confront the barbarians - and was met with rebellions from the people he ruled over. He also cracked down on other faiths, doubling down on Constantine’s embrace of Christianity, and even persecuted believers of other variants of Christianity.
Soon he was facing new rebellions in the west seeking to end his rule, with rebel leader Magnus Maximus declaring himself emperor in 383 and taking over the territory of Gaul. This led to significant losses in territory and troops until Maximus made a failed attempt at defeating Rome itself and was ultimately defeated in 388. Rome once again became the greatest power on the planet.
But soon this would all change. By 395 CE, Theodosius I would die, leaving behind him a weakened army and no clear successor. His two sons would each claim the empire, but neither was a capable leader - leaving their ministers to essentially take charge of the situation.
Rather than go to another brutal civil war only a decade after the last, the two halves of the empire essentially went their own separate ways - one emperor, Arcadius, took the eastern Roman Empire, which would become known as the Byzantine Empire in the future, while the other son, Honorius, would take the western part including Rome itself. It was the biggest loss of territory for Rome yet - and this time, there would be no going back. The Byzantine Empire would endure, lasting for another thousand years with a power base in the city of Constantinople - but it would never reach the world-defining power of the Roman Empire.
As for Rome, it still ruled much of Europe - but its days were drawing short. Without the massive territory now owned by the Byzantines, administering the empire was much more manageable - but it also meant the massive barbarian invasions were harder to control. The leader of the Huns, Attila, was one of the most feared military leaders of all time - and now he placed his full attention on taking Rome.
It would be a death of a thousand cuts for the Roman Empire. Over the next eighty years, the Roman Empire dealt with brutal attacks from the Huns on their fringes and the Gothic population throughout the empire. The Roman military was a shadow of what it used to be, and it frequently found itself in retreat.
The territory of the empire shrunk piece by piece, and Rome started to look less like a powerful empire and more like a city in decline. Some leaders would manage to restore the military’s strength, but none would get it back to the level where it could reclaim significant amounts of territory. The empire would limp along until 476, where one ambitious king decided it was time to strike the final blow.
His name was Odoacer - and the mostly-forgotten figure may have been one of the most important people in history. The last Emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, had a mighty name but was only a sixteen year old boy when Odoacer invaded. The barbarian king, surprisingly, dealt kindly with the young king as he sacked Rome - accepting his surrender and allowing the boy to remain alive.
He sent him away to live with relatives, even granting him a pension, before declaring himself the ruler of Italy. Probably the most dramatic firing from a first job a teenager had ever experienced! But now, the Roman Empire was over - or was it?
That depends on how you define it, because Odoacer now ruled what was left of it - but he was considered a foreign occupier. The Roman Senate didn’t consider him a legitimate Roman ruler and instead transferred the seal of Rome to the eastern empire. And so the greatest empire in history passed into legend.
Or did it? The Roman empire as a government was no more, but its greatest institution still remained - the Roman Catholic Church. It was still in its infancy, less than five hundred years old, but its faith had spread very quickly and would soon grow its roots in most of Europe.
As the Church spread, so did its power - and for the best part of the next thousand years, it would be the de facto government in much of Europe. Even kings would answer to it, and few would challenge the Pope’s power until Henry VIII would start his own religion when the Church wouldn’t let him get divorced. So, while the Roman Empire did not control Europe anymore, the Church’s legacy far outlive it.
But why did the empire actually fall? There is no one reason why the Roman Empire crumbled, but many factors played a role - few bigger than the collapse of its military. Rome’s army was once the most powerful in the world, and it attracted the best with good pay.
But as the empire’s coffers declined, it soon struggled to recruit new troops effectively. This led to Emperors filing out the ranks with foreign mercenaries, who neither had the skills nor the loyalty of previous armies. Many even came from the invading armies they were fighting, and the effectiveness of their fighting forces suffered.
They tried to make up for the personnel problem - but that just made things worse. Many emperors consistently overspent on the military, but that didn’t make it any easier to manage. The huge territory they had to govern made it near impossible to communicate effectively, and with no e-mail or teams groups to share important memos, it was often a matter of weeks or months before key changes in policy were communicated.
As the empire got larger and larger, this became a bigger problem - and soon the empire was more focused on protecting its key cities than effectively managing its whole territory. But inside Rome itself, things weren’t doing much better. One of the biggest problems with Rome in its last days was the lack of strong leadership - right up to the top.
Being Roman Emperor was not a great job. Given that it was an appointed position that came with near-unlimited power, a lot of people wanted it - and that meant that getting the job came with massive risks. At one point between the second and third centuries, over twenty men held the title in less than 75 years - and the most common way to be fired from this job was with a knife between your ribs.
Turns out Julius Caesar was a trendsetter. When an Emperor did manage to hold onto power for years, there was a good chance they would essentially turn the empire into their own personal patronage mill, appointing their allies to powerful positions. And the Emperor’s bodyguards, the Praetorian Guard, would often take matters into their own hands and assassinate emperors when they became more trouble than they were worth.
With a government like this, is it any wonder that the empire began crumbling? All of these factors came together, spelling the end of the Roman Empire. For centuries, the Roman Empire had been unchallenged on a military level.
Their expeditions would face little to no opposition, and their army could largely sweep into a territory and take it over as they pleased. Conquering new territories often meant having to build new infrastructure that would increase quality of life in the region in some way as well as enforcing the rule of the Roman Empire on its newly acquired citizens. So the army wound up being more of an enforcement arm of the Roman government, and it was no longer prepared to deal with major military conflict.
So when outsiders such as the Goths came calling after being pushed out of their territory by the Huns, the Roman military wasn’t forimdable enough to maintain its borders. And it all came down to one fatal mistake. If the military was well-prepared for this invasion, the odds are they could have defeated the Goth armies and defended their territory.
They were better trained and had superior weaponry than the Goths. But once the Goths had managed to enter the fringes of the empire, it was going to be much harder to displace them without a major military operation. The Romans ultimately chose the worst option of all - they didn’t aggressively repel the Goth invaders and defend their borders, but they also didn’t welcome them into the empire and take advantage of this new manpower like they could have.
Instead, they exploited them and hired them while never letting them develop any loyalty to the empire. This led to constant civil wars and small military skirmishes, growing tension, and a slow but sure loss of territory. And it all could have been avoided if the Empire coordinate a better response to the Goths seeking refuge within the borders of the Roman Empire.
Want to learn more about the end of empires? Watch “Real Reason Ancient Egyptians Went Extinct”, or check out this video instead.
