The Roman Empire is undoubtedly one of the greatest empires in history. The British Empire has been described as an empire in which the sun never sets.
A2a: The Roman Empire easily became one of the greatest empires in history. The British Empire has been described as an empire in which the sun never sets. Why did both empires perish?
When historians say that an empire fell, they meant that the central state was no longer able to exercise broad power. This happened either because the state itself ceased to exist or because parts of the empire were out of its control.
When did the Roman Empire fall?
On September 4, 476, the (Western) Roman Empire came to an end, and the young emperor Romulus Augustulus was formally stripped of the Imperial Purple Robe by the Germanic leader Odoacer and prepared to retire near Naples.
Romulus Augustus resigned from the throne. Charlotte Mary Yonge' 1880 artist rendition of Romulus Augustus, who resigned as odoacer.
The ancient Romans adopted purple as a symbol of imperial authority and status. The senator's robe is purple.
The park's 1st-century statue of Emperor Tiberius in a robe is displayed.
In this particular version of the Fall of Rome, the coincidence of his name provides an ironic ending to Roman history. After all, Romulus was the founder of rome in the Eternal City, and Augustus was her first emperor. Now, with Romulus Augustus deposed, the lineage of the emperors came to an end.
Gibbon notes that "the border forces that had always been made up of weapons rather than fortifications were imperceptibly weakened; the most beautiful provinces were exposed to the greed or ambitions of the barbarians, who soon discovered the decline of the Roman Empire." ”
Keep in mind that many of the identified causes of falls are seen as important contributing factors, not the only ones. Most historians admit that, despite the problems Rome faced, the barbarian invasion was the real reason for Rome's fall in the West.
Other historians say that the Roman Empire did not actually end at all, claiming that its eastern half continued to exist in the form of the Byzantine Empire. Without discussing this controversy, I continue to search for the reasons for its decline, at least the Western Empire, its matrix.
At its peak, the empire that flourished from Rome stretched from the Iberian Peninsula to North Africa and Mesopotamia, making it one of the greatest powers in world history.
Why did Rome fall?
The decline of the Roman Empire is one of the most debated topics among historians. Its collapse was blamed on many different reasons.
For Gibbon, "in fact, history is nothing more than a register of human crimes, stupidity and misfortune." He writes that the Roman Empire succumbed to barbarian (Visigothic and Vandal) invasions, largely due to the gradual loss of civic virtues of its citizens.
Edward Gibbon (1776-1788), author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Civic virtue is less quantifiable, but equally important, it is the moral character of a people. It is a personal quality associated with the effective maintenance of civil and political order.
Gibbon was also a major proponent of how Christianity led to the decline of Rome. He basically discusses how Christianity can excessively pursue the beginning of happiness instead of living in the present moment.
Gibbon famously blamed Christianity for the disintegration of the Roman Empire: "Since happiness in the afterlife is the great goal of religion, we may hear, without surprise or scandal, the introduction of Christianity, or at least its abuse, having some effect on the Roman Empire." The decline and fall of the Roman Empire. The clergy succeeded in proclaiming the doctrines of patience and cowardice; the positive virtues of society were hindered; and the remains of the last military souls were buried in the cloisters..............."
Although Gibbon's view of the decline of civic virtue remains influential, the view of Christianity is often dismissed, especially since the Byzantine Empire was functionally the Christian Roman Empire of the East and had had a period of great success.
Gibbon was a historian of philosophy.
Other reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire
In short, there were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire, the most important of which was the invasion of barbarian tribes.
The Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River in the Middle East, exerting a detrimental effect on administrative and logistical problems.
The geographical growth of the Roman Empire brought about great administrative centralization, which weakened the sovereignty of small cities and localities. Small cities, however, are the places where civic virtues are most formed. Annexed by empires in the process of losing autonomy, small cities where republican virtues prevailed were suffocated, which in turn accelerated the decline of Rome.
Another of the most important causes of Rome's collapse was the division of the empire in half. The Western Empire was located in the city of Milan, and the Eastern Empire was located in Byzantium, later Constantinople.
The split made the empire easier to govern in the short term, but over time the two parts gradually separated. East and West have failed to cooperate adequately to deal with external threats, and the two have often been at loggerhead over resources and military assistance.
As the divide widened, the wealth of the predominantly Greek-speaking Eastern Empire grew, while the Latin-speaking Western Empire fell into an economic crisis. They also have religious differences. While both were Christians, the Western Empire was Roman Catholic and the Eastern Empire was Orthodox. This makes them even more divisive.
The political structure of the West would eventually disintegrate in the 5th century, but the Eastern Empire endured for thousands of years in some form before being overwhelmed by the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s.
Rome's collapse can also be attributed to its economic disaster. Ongoing wars and overruns depleted the empire's reserves, and oppressive taxes and inflation widened the gap between rich and poor. In order to avoid tax collectors, many rich people even fled to the countryside and set up independent territories.
At the same time, the empire was shaken by labor shortages. Rome's economy relied on slaves to cultivate fields and work as craftsmen, and its military might traditionally provided new influx jobs for conquered peoples. But when the expansion stopped in the second century, the supply of slaves and other war treasures in Rome began to dry up.
The most fatal cause is ineffective and inconsistent leadership. As a Roman emperor in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, he has always been like a criminal waiting for the death penalty. Civil war plunged the empire into chaos, with more than 20 people ascending the throne in just 75 years, often after their predecessors were murdered.
Corruption also spread to the Roman Senate, which, due to its own pervasive corruption and incompetence, failed to moderate the emperor's atrocities. As the situation deteriorated, civic pride waned, and many Roman citizens lost trust in their leadership.
The British Empire was the largest, richest and most powerful empire in the history of the world. It grew, declined, but still survived as "that ancient force."
The British Empire accounted for about 25% of the world's land area, encompassing large areas of North America, Australia, Africa and Asia, while a small part of South America was part of the Empire.
Commonwealth member orange is highlighted on the world map. Vector graphics.
Because of its size, it is known as the "Empire of the Sun Never Sets".
In the 16th century, Britain began to establish overseas colonies in the Americas, but it was not until the 18th century that expansion really accelerated.
British expansion, particularly in Asia, benefited from the construction of trading posts set up by the East India Company, a London trading company.
Why did it fall?
There is no unique answer to this question. If I had said that the last straw in the collapse of British imperial power might have been the devastating effects of the Second World War, I would not have blurted it out.
Its campaigns in Europe, Asia, and Africa effectively bankrupted Britain, and the debts it subsequently acquired seriously damaged its economic independence;
The empire's overextending, combined with growing instability in the various colonies, led to the rapid and decisive decline of many of Britain's key assets, some diplomatically and some violently.
Globally today, there are few remnants of British rule, mostly confined to small island territories such as Bermuda and the Falkland Islands. However, many countries still have Queen Elizabeth as head of state, including New Zealand, Australia and Canada – a hangover for the empire.
Nationalist movements in the Asian and African colonies fought to end British rule and gain independence. By the 1960s, much of Britain's territory had become an independent state.
When World War II broke out in 1939, many parts of the Empire contributed troops and resources to the war and adopted a growing number of independent views. World War I and World War II) weakened Britain and reduced interest in its empire. Although Britain became one of the victors in world war II, it was economically devastated by conflict.
After Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent civil disobedience movement, India gained independence in 1947 and the empire lost key control of it.
to end British rule in Malaya. Ghana was the first African colony to gain independence from British rule in 1957. Progress was also made in the Middle East, with more than 20 British territories soon freed by 1967. Finally, in 1997, Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China marked the "end of the empire" for China.