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6) The Roman Empire was always in danger of fall.  [[Spartacus]] and his army of freed slaves came close to overcoming Rome as did [[Hannibal]].  Eventually luck ran out for Rome.  

6) The Roman Empire was always in danger of fall.  [[Spartacus]] and his army of freed slaves came close to overcoming Rome as did [[Hannibal]].  Eventually luck ran out for Rome.  

      

      

From a societal standpoint it has been posited that immorality so weakened the spirit of the Empire that it was unable to stand firm against the Barbarians. Certainly poets such as [[Catullus]] and [[Juvenal]] describe many unnatural practices that may well have contributed to the final collapse hundreds of years later.  The great British historian [[Edward Gibbon]], who wrote the influential ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' was an advocate of this view.  Modern historians seek answers in other areas.

From a societal standpoint it has been posited that immorality so weakened the spirit of the Empire that it was unable to stand firm against the Barbarians. Certainly poets such as [[Catullus]] and [[Juvenal]] describe many unnatural practices but that happened in the glory days, and did not carry over to the centuries of decline.

 

Heather (2007) argues that the later empire was not failing, but remained wealthy and strong. The problem was that external enemies built up stronge, better organized armies, so that the fall was inevitable and was caused by external forces that Rome could not stop.  Heather, an expert on the Gauls, emphasizes their strengths.

 

Goldsworthy (2009) sees steady decline and rejects Heather's arguments that the later empire was prosperous or strong. The Persians and various barbarian tribes were not especially stronger, either in numbers or organization, than Rome. Instead Rome's greatest enemy was itself. The constant civil wars fought after Marcus Aurelius destabilized Roman society and weakened the borders, allowing otherwise weak enemies to exploit Roman instability.  Goldsworthy notes that senators were excluded from military command in ordder to strengthen the emperor, but this weakened the army. Tensions between the civil bureaucracy and the army, and the use of smaller and smaller units to prevent any opponent getting a power base reduced the empire's ability to quickly counter any foreign invasion. An increasing number of foreigners were allowed to occupy the land, thus depriving the West of needed tax revenue, which in turn weakened the army and bureaucracy, and so encouraging more infiltration and forced settlement and thus into a downward spiral.<ref> See Adrian Goldsworthy, ''How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower'' (2009)</ref>

 

== The actual "Fall" ==

== The actual "Fall" ==

This twilight period was finally cut short by the reconquest campaign planned by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Justinian|Justinian I]], led by the general [[Belisarius]].  In a bloody war, both sides reduced the Italian countryside to nothing, with the Byzantines finally inheriting a ravaged husk.<ref>Procopius, ''the Gothic Wars''</ref>  Many Romans - Eastern and Western - blamed Justinian for this devastation.<ref>Procopius, ''the Secret Histories''</ref>

This twilight period was finally cut short by the reconquest campaign planned by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Justinian|Justinian I]], led by the general [[Belisarius]].  In a bloody war, both sides reduced the Italian countryside to nothing, with the Byzantines finally inheriting a ravaged husk.<ref>Procopius, ''the Gothic Wars''</ref>  Many Romans - Eastern and Western - blamed Justinian for this devastation.<ref>Procopius, ''the Secret Histories''</ref>

== See also ==

== See also ==