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Rome had battled with the Germanic tribes for centuries, but…
Rome had battled with the Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths began to push into the empire. In 410, King Alaric of the Goths successfully sacked the city of Rome. The Empire spent the next several decades under constant threat. Many regions were devastated and important cities were pillaged or destroyed. Rome was raided again in 455, this time by the Vandals. Finally, in 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and removed the 16-year old emperor from power. From then on, no Roman emperor ever again ruled from Italy. Even as Rome was under attack from outside forces, it was also crumbling from within. Constant wars and overspending had drained the imperial treasury, and high taxes and inflation widened the gap between rich and poor. The city was overcrowded and unemployment was high. Frequent epidemics swept through the empire, killing thousands daily. Cities saw their populations slashed, which drained the ranks of available military. To avoid taxes, many wealthy Romans moved to the country and set up independent estates. When the empire stopped expanding in the second century, Rome’s supply of enslaved people and other war treasures began to dry up. Rome’s economy depended on enslaved people to work in the fields and as craftsmen. This caused a labor shortage that disrupted agriculture and created more stress on the weakened economy. A further blow came in the fifth century, when the Vandals claimed North Africa and began disrupting the empire’s trade by prowling the Mediterranean as pirates. Together these issues combined to intensify financial stress during the Roman empire’s last days. QUESTIONS: What were the problems in the Roman empire that led to crisis in the 3rd century? How does this reading help explain the fall of the Roman Empire? Your answer must be in your own words and must be supported by specific information from the reading. Your answer must be a minimum of 75 words.
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