The Fall of Rome

Another man by the name of Procopius uses the metaphor of a plague, “For much as men differ with regard to places in which they live, or in the law of their daily life, or in natural bent, or in the active pursuits, or in whatever else man differs from man, in the case of this disease alone the difference availed naught. And it attacked some in the summer season, others in the winter, and still others at other times in the year. Now let each one express his own judgment concerning the matter, both sophist and astrologer, but as for me, I shall proceed to tell where this disease originated and the manner in which it destroyed men.” This quote uses the metaphor of a plague or disease to explain that no matter what your social standing everyone can be affected by greed, which is what this plague is, it is a famine of greed that is overshadowing the very roots and basis of Rome (nice idea). In terms of an actual plague going around Rome, (which too is very possible because so many people were unhealthy and living on the streets in very overly-populated cities), this could cause people to die which would weaken the economic power of the Empire. Also this might affect the people’s attitudes towards the Emperor and the government because they might think (need to put this in a formal statement not question), ” This would breed distrust towards the government.

A series of events in the military was the major cause for the fall of Rome. Two other reasons contributed to the collapse as well. The second being government corruption. The final reason being widespread social discontent. The Roman Empire fell in 476 CE. This did not happen suddenly it took place over hundreds of years of seemingly insignificant events which added up and brought about the collapse of the empire. There was mutiny and a lack of loyalty in the military. The increasing greed and disregard for what was best for Rome contributed to major social discontent. We have benefited from the Romans’ intelligence and we can learn a lot from the fall of this great empire.