The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful empires in the history of mankind. In fact, it may even be considered the most powerful empire to have ever existed. However, the mighty empire of Rome has fallen. There are many events which many scholars and historians believe have lead to the fall of this great empire.
One of the most obvious reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire is that it had "over-extended itself too far away from the base" (Malcolm). It had conquered much of Italy, and the size of the Roman Empire was several times the size of Rome itself. It was simply becoming too large for it's own good. Since it had become so enormous, it became difficult for the leaders of Rome to control such a vast empire, and it collapsed.
One of the main events which has had an effect on the fall of the Roman Empire is the decline of her military. The main reason for the decline of the military is the fact that they were under constant warfare. Also, the soldiers began to have less loyalty to the "power centers," which obviously had an effect on the military power, since it is very important for soldiers to be loyal to their army and those in charge of them. Also, the Roman people were just kinda getting lazy and were not enlisting to join the army as much, which led to the army being smaller. (Duh!).
Another factor which had a huge effect on the falling apart of the military was a lack of recruited soldiers from "Romanized" backgrounds. "It was this desire of the provincials to acquire Roman citizenship that accounts for the fact that during the first two centuries voluntary enlistments sufficed to keep the armed services up to establishment. Certainly the army would not have remained at full strength if it had depended on volunteers from those who already possessed the Roman citizenship. For these showed the remarkable disinclination to serve" (Salmon).
Rome was also having a decrease in population at this time.
