by William Remski

Created on: September 06, 2007

The Roman Empire lasted for a good number of years. Many people have written long books on what caused the Empire to finally collapse. There is a lot of information available in libraries about this subject. What caused the Roman Empire to finally collapse was division of power and outside pressure.

When Rome split into eastern and western empires during the reign of Constantine, there was no longer a unifying political force to keep the empire together. There were territorial battles fought between the forces of the split empire, and trade between the different regions of the empire declined. Adding to this was the attacks of the Goths, the Visigoths, and the Huns. Rome was invaded and sacked on several occasions. The Eastern Empire fared better with regard to invasions, but there was a constant state of warfare.

The rise of the European kings signaled the end of any real Roman Empire. The Germans, the Franks, and even the Vikings rose to power in northern and central Europe. Italy was divided into many feudal city states with no cohesion between the separate areas. There was much fighting and the lack of trade led to the dark ages. The Roman Empire gave way to a collection of warring states all fighting each other for dominance. The advances and technologies of the Roman Empire fell into decline. Writing and literature were preserved in monasteries, but the people reverted to illiterate serfdom in the feudal states that grew in the wake of the Empire.

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