Fall of Rome

The issue is really why the Roman Empire disintegrated. Why was Rome's central authority unable to hold the western half of its empire -- the half that disintegrated -- together?

There are those who attempt to cover all bases, and they include the claim that immorality contributed to the empire's the decline and its fall -- a little like seeing 9/11 as God's punishment. Some people believe that eat-drink-and- be-merry is a path to perdition and think of Rome as an example.

The immorality of empire is another matter. The Roman Empire had a morality problem from the beginning in the eyes of those of us who see immorality in violent conquest. But this doesn't describe the forces at play in breaking up empire.

There was also the corruption and various oppressions issuing from government and by the rich against the common people. This too might be considered immorality, and this can be connected with the empire's inability to defend itself. This was, indeed, part of the picture. One can ask whether the empire could have been saved had Rome revolutionized itself politically. It is not a good question. Revolutions don't come from the powers that be; they come from below. A new political strategy that included arming the empire's conquered peoples and those peoples fighting for and defending the empire's central authority was not likely and was not to be.

The Roman Empire disintegrated because it was an empire -- a political entity created by conquest. Empires are not nations. They are not united by a spirit of nationalism or a patriotism to defend themselves as a people. Rome's emperors feared arming their conquered and hostile subjects. Many within the empire lacked the sense that "Roman" rule was worth protecting. The empire's military security was not communities of men ready for mobilization at command from central authority. Instead, people from outside the empire were able to march into the empire with only feeble opposition.

The Roman Empire disintegrated because it failed to defend itself militarily. It failed to defend itself militarily because of its corrupt and authoritarian nature and because it was an empire.