Chapter 29 Empire Sunset - The Fall of the Western Roman Empire

In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the Roman Empire reached its peak and even turned the Mediterranean Sea into the inland sea of ​​the empire.However, in the 3rd century AD, Rome entered into a period of comprehensive political, economic, military, spiritual and cultural crisis. The once invincible Roman Empire was precarious and declining.In fact, the hidden danger of decline was buried in the glorious era of the Roman Empire. In order to maintain its rule, the empire maintained a huge bureaucracy and supported hundreds of thousands of troops, which made the people's burden very heavy.The officers allowed the army to rob.Officials fight for power and profit, and corruption is common.The slave owners were extravagant and lived a life of licentiousness.In order to show off the peaceful and prosperous age, the imperial government increased festival and entertainment days year by year. In the 1st century AD, there were 66 days in a year, and in the 2nd century AD, it reached 123 days, which was more than one-third of the whole year. There will also be a grand recreational activity.As a result of the prevalence of extravagance, the Roman free civilians, as small and medium-sized producers, did not produce, and lived on state and social charity.Only the slaves in the farm and the conquered peoples in various places remained to create social wealth.Since the first century AD, the Roman Empire stopped its large-scale external expansion, and the activities of captive population also subsided.In this way, the source of slaves is gradually exhausted, and the price will inevitably rise.In the 3rd century AD, a strong slave sold for 300 to 500 silver coins.Slave owners increased their exploitation of slaves in order to obtain compensation.The cruel oppression aroused strong resistance from the slaves. They sabotaged work, destroyed tools, fled, and even staged open uprisings.The slave owners had to divide the manor land into small pieces and lease them to the slave farmers for farming.Slave peasants existed as early as the end of the Roman Republic, but originally referred to free tenants. Apart from paying a certain amount of land rent, they were economically independent and legally free.In this way, the economic foundation of slavery on which Roman society depended was severely damaged.The Roman Empire gradually fell into economic crisis.The decline of agriculture made the development of urban industry and commerce lack of raw material support, and gradually declined, leading to the exhaustion of national finances.In order to solve the huge expenditure, the government had to increase taxes and issue bad money, which led to inflation and soaring prices.

In the face of the economic crisis, the Roman central government not only had no countermeasures, but on the contrary, the political situation became more and more turbulent because of the intensified internal power struggle.The generals with heavy troops in their hands are domineering and domineering, and the emperor's abolition and establishment are basically in their hands.In the fifty years after 235 AD, there were as many as ten emperor changes. The instability of the supreme leadership gave some remote areas the opportunity to break away from the control of the Roman Empire.When the empire fell into long-term chaos, many so-called "barbarians" living in the northern border of the empire were attacked by the Huns and entered the Roman Empire one after another. "Barbarians" mainly refer to the various tribes of the Germanic peoples, including the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals and Burgundians, etc.It was difficult for the Romans to resist the inward migration of the Germans, so they had to adopt a strategy of barbarism to control the barbarians: allowing some barbarians to immigrate to the territory, allowing them to resist the entry of other barbarians; or recruiting them as soldiers to deal with internal and external troubles. The number of barbarians is increasing.

When Diocletian ascended the throne in 284 AD, he made some reforms and rectifications to the bureaucracy and the army, slightly stabilizing the chaotic situation of the empire.After Diocletian abdicated, he was succeeded by Constantine. In 330 AD, Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium (later renamed Constantinople), known as "New Rome".In 395 AD, Emperor Theodosius died.In his will, he divided the territory of the empire into eastern and western parts, and let his two sons rule the eastern and western empires respectively.The Eastern Roman Empire encompassed a vast area from the Black Sea to the Adriatic Sea, including the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and parts of Transcaucasia.The capital was Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey).This country was later called the Byzantine Empire, and it existed until 1453 AD.The territory of the Western Roman Empire is larger than that of the Eastern Roman Empire, including what is now Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, Austria, Hungary, the northwest of Yugoslavia, the entire western part of the Mediterranean, and the territories of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya. north.The capital is still in Rome.After the formation of the two empires, each experienced a different historical fate.Due to the relative stability of the eastern region, Byzantium entered the Middle Ages with a new social form and existed for more than 1,000 years.However, the Western Roman Empire was impacted by the Germans, lingering on for decades, and soon perished.

In 408 A.D., a group of Goths, led by their leader Allaris, invaded northern Italy and marched towards Rome.Soon, the Goths occupied the Roman port of Ostia, cutting off Rome's food sources.The city of Rome had a large population, and immediately fell into a famine, and then a plague broke out, causing many deaths.The Roman Senate had no choice but to send someone to ask for peace with Alaris, donating 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 bolts of silk, 3,000 sheets of leather, and 3,000 pounds of oriental pepper. They also submitted some nobles as hostages in exchange for the Goths' relief. , was allowed to buy grain at the port.Peace is short lived.In 410 A.D., Aralle decided to enter the city of Rome and announced to the soldiers that they could rob for three days if they invaded Rome.On a summer night full of thunder and lightning, the Roman slaves in the city opened the gates for the besiegers, and Rome, known as the "Eternal City", fell.Three days and three nights of looting and fires in all directions turned the majestic palaces and magnificent palaces into scorched earth.The Goths attacked Rome because they were greedy for Rome's wealth.They did not intend to occupy the city for a long time, and of course they were not mentally prepared to manage the entire empire.On the sixth day after entering the city, they abandoned Rome and advanced to southern Italy, intending to cross the sea to expedition to Sicily and then to Africa.However, Arale suddenly died of illness, and the plan to make the Goths travel far away was not realized.Later, they established the Visigothic Kingdom in the southwest of the Western Roman Empire - today's northern Spain.

After that, in the vast territory of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths, Vandals, Franks, Burgundians, and Anglo-Saxons successively established small "barbarian" kingdoms.The territory of the empire is like a mulberry leaf that has been gnawed by silkworms. It has eaten up all sides and is riddled with holes in the middle.Those "barbarian" small countries were the predecessors of some European countries today.