The Romans have been in power for the better part of a thousand years, and even strong empires can't hold other empires back for much longer than that. The other empires included the Germanic tribes that constantly invaded slowly destroying the will and the resources of the almighty roman soldiers. The use and abuse of materials occurred because of the vastness of the empire. All of these things lead to a time period where no government was present until the rise of Feudalism.
Feudalism is used to describe the governmental structure of the later Middle Ages.Feudalism is primarily a method of government, not an economic or social system, though it obviously modifies and is modified by the social and economic environment? (Coulborn 4). The structure of feudalism is a form of hierarchy. In this hierarchy, there are lords of areas who are sovereign. A lord possesses a certain amount of land such as a castle. A person who wish's to become a citizen of the lord must become a vassal. A vassal is someone who?renders [himself] to the service of the lord? (Stephenson 18). A vassal pledges himself to the lord for everything, including a war if once occurs. The vassal then has fiefs that serve as his servants. The fiefs receive protection of the vassal in exchange for living near or around him. The government of the area consists of several lords, completing the form of government known as an aristocracy. The lack of a leader of these lords lead to a weakened central government that had little or no authority over anyone of the lords. The Lord created and enforced laws, collected taxes, and dominated the people of the region with his Vassals who soon became known as Knights. These knights were noblemen who held and commanded a high respect from the people of the area. These knights provided protection and were the infantry in many of the wars during that time. With this lack of a central authority, the lords could do what the pleased whenever they wanted.