The Reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire fell for many reasons, but among them, the most important was the internal corruption and disorder that arose. For a very long time, the Roman Empire was unified. In fact, it was unified for so long that the time is known as "Pax Romana", meaning, "Roman Peace". However, this unity did not last forever. The Roman's suffered from; a decline in morals and values, public health problems, political corruption, high unemployment rates, high inflation, inferior technologies, too much military spending, and civil wars.
The morals of the Roman emperors and people declined over time. Incredibly high crime and violence rates made the streets of Rome and many other large cities unsafe. Despite the name of the period, "Pax Romana", there were still over 32,000 prostitutes in Rome. Emperors such as Nero and Caligula wasted innumerable amount of money on copious parties where everyone drank too much and was ill. The Colosseum was another form of corruption of the people's morals. As gladiators murdered each other, violent cries came from the audience wanting for violence.
There were also many public health issues. The aqueducts, used to carry the water to the rich, which had previously been made of purifying material, where changed to lead, which was believed to be favorable during that time. This led to an incredible spike in the death rate among the rich. In addition, the constant interaction of blood and other bodily fluids in the Colosseum helped to rapidly spread any diseases that came up.
One of the largest strikes against the Roman Empire was the internal corruption of its leaders. The empire had no formal way of electing an emperor, so the choice was always open to debate between the old emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard, the emperor's private guards, and the army. Over time, the guards gained all the power to choose whomever they wanted.
