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There are many reasons for the decline of Roman power. There isn't one aspect that predominates. A combination of circumstances led to the downfall of a once mighty ancient power. We will discuss some of these below.

One of the main problems Rome faced was how to deal with the succession of power. Emperors, the senate, the Praetorian Guard and army were the main ones involved with the decision process. In early Rome, the senate chose. As time went on the emperor named his successor. The Praetorian Guard then took over, naming their emperor, and he in turn would reward them, further increasing their power. Finally the army revolted, and started to sell this government seat to the highest bidder. The interruption and lack of leadership placed Rome in chaos

Another reason had to do with a lack of morality on one hand and the acceptance of Christianity on the other. Rome always had loose morals, but they really declined with time. Gladiator fights, political corruption, prostitution and crime drained a lot of Rome's resources. Then when Christianity was accepted, Romans became pacifists and didn't vigorously pursue border encroachments, like they did in the past.

Disease was another problem. The noble class preferred lead as their main plumbing source. Lead poisoning was a main cause of the death among the rich. Citizens on the whole, were poor, and lived in poor, dirty conditions. This promoted disease and the resulting urban decay and overpopulation increased disease rates dramatically, killing millions. With fewer Romans around to defend her, Rome was at the mercy of its barbaric neighbors.

Other contributors of course are the splitting of the empire into an eastern and western component, inflation, the devaluing of gold, a lack of ingenuity and technological development, excessive costs to maintain its army and unemployment. Western Rome fell around 410 AD and its eastern half in 479 AD. Rome lasted for over 1000 years and was historically one of the most efficient, advanced civilizations of its time.

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