Rome had a Praetorian Guard, a group elite soldiers being the bodyguard of the emperor, and its power led to political corruption to the extent that this group could decide on whether an emperor should be disposed of and who should become the new emperor.
The Roman Empire grew at a fast pace. The rapid growth in the lands conquered by the Empire necessitated the need to defend its borders and territories. The people of the conquered areas, referred to as Barbarians (the Visogoths, Huns and the Vandals)
who hated Rome, were taxed heavily, and became rebellious.
Rome, in forming it's empire, found itself in almost constant wars which caused, of course, heavy military spending"and the Army found itself over-stretched, needing more and more soldiers..so the Barbarians, as well as other foreign mercenaries were allowed to join their Army.
Eventually the economy began failing and inflation was high. The government was threatened by bankruptcy due to defense spending. The majority of the people failed to share in the prosperity of Rome. The amount of gold sent to the orient to pay for luxury items led to a shortage of gold to make Roman coins. The currency became so devalued that the system of bartering returned.
And guess what else".large unemployment occurred and the government had to subsidize the working class"thousands chose to live on the subsidies, sacrificing their standard of living for an idle life. The massive divide between the rich and poor increased.
Having massive unemployment resulted in civil unrest and rioting"so the emperors decided to provide more 'entertainment'..in Rome's case, that meant even more spectacular gladiator games"the cost of which eventually rose to one-third of the total income of the Empire.
With the decline in ethics and values, life became cheap. Ideals, values, customs, traditions, and institutions of Rome, declined. Disregard for human and animal life resulted in a perverted view of what was good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable.
Not only in the time of the Empire were there foreign wars, civil wars, street fights, and revolt, but natural disasters like plagues, famines and earthquakes. The people looked for someone to blame and different religions to turn to.
Ironically, the Barbarians, with their knowledge of the Roman style or warfare and military tactics, eventually turned against the Empire which led to the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 A.D and by the Vandals in 455 A.D. heralding the disintegration of the Roman Authority and the Fall of the Empire.
That's it in a nutshell. Food for thought.
A quote I remember :
"Those who do not know history are bound to repeat it"
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