Fall of Rome DBQ

Ancient Rome: DBQ ESSAY: Causes of the fall of the Roman Empire

Name: _______________________________

Task: What caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire?

In the third century AD Rome faced many problems. In addition to internal decay, the invasion by the Germanic tribes

seemed to sound the death knell for the Western Roman Empire. Historians have examined both the internal conditions that weakened the expansive empire and the external force of the barbarian invasions and have presented a variety of explanations for the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Document 1

This excerpt is from a textbook, The Course of Civilization by Strayer, Gatzke & Harbison (1961)

The basic trouble was that very few inhabitants of the empire believed that the old civilization was worth saving…. the overwhelming majority of the population had been systematically excluded from political responsibilities. They could not organize to protect themselves; they could not serve in the army . . . Their economic plight was hopeless.

Most of them were serfs bound to the soil, and the small urban groups saw their cities slipping into uninterrupted

decline.

What were the basic problems facing the Western Roman Empire according to the authors?

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Document 2

Excerpt from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.

The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness (large size)…The introduction …

of Christianity, had some influence on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. The clergy successfully preached the

doctrine of patience; the active virtues of society were discouraged; and the last remains of military spirit were buried in the cloister; a large portion of public & private wealth was consecrated to the …demands of charity and devotion …

2. According to the excerpt from Gibbon, what were two causes for the of Rome? Explain both.

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Document 3

This excerpt is from Uses of the Past by Herbert J. Muller.

First the economic factor …While the empire was expanding, its prosperity was fed byplundered wealth and by new markets in the semibarbaric provinces. When the empire ceased to expand, however, economic progress soon ceased…. The abundance of slaves led to growth of the latifundia, the great estates that … came to dominate agriculture and ruin the free coloni (farmers) who drifted to the cities, to add to the unemployment there. The abundance of slaves kept wages

low.

3a. What economic issues does Muller identify as causes for decline? Explain.

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3b. How was slavery a cause for the decline of the Roman Empire?

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Document 4

This excerpt, fromThe New deal in Old Rome by Henry Haskell, blames the decline on the heavy taxation required to support the government expenses.

…Part of the money went into … the maintenance of the army and of the vast bureaucracy required by a centralized government…the expense led to strangling taxation… The heart was taken out of enterprising men…tenants fled from their farms and businessmen and workmen from their occupations.

Private enterprise was crushed & the state was forced to take over many kinds ofbusinesses to keep the machine running. People learned to expect something for nothing. The old Roman virtues of selfreliance & initiative were lost in that

part of the population on relief (welfare)…The central government undertook such farreaching responsibility in affairs that the fiber of the citizens weakened.

4a. Why did the Roman government have large expenses?

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4b. What was the effect of high taxation on the people?

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4c. What effect did the establishment of a government welfare system have on the people?

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Document 5

This excerpt, from Romans without Laurels by Indro Montanelli, blames the fall on “internal decay,” specifically that

of the military.

Rome, like all great empires, was not overthrown by external enemies but undermined by internal decay. . . .The military crisis was the result of …proud old aristocracy’s…shortage of children. Consequently foreigners poured into the…Roman army [was] composed entirely of Germans

5. What does this author identify as the cause of problems in the military?

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6a. According to the map, what was the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire?

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6b. Was this a unified attack? Explain

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Task: What caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire?

Essay: What were the causes of the Roman Empire? Be sure to supplement your essay with outside information.

Organize your thoughts into paragraphs

You must have an opening paragraph which includes an introduction to the task as well as your thesis statement
Body of your paper – includes the major reasons, citation of sources and outside information
Conclusion: Revisit the thesis statement and draw parallels to other periods in history or contemporary problems today

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Check list:

Topic sentence in each paragraph
Last sentence in each paragraph should serve as a transition between paragraphs
Be sure to include point of view of the source of a document. This bias may be related to nationality, politics, religion, racial, cultural gender, etc
Group the documents according to categories – If you believe the Fall of the Roman Empire was due to military weakness be sure to include all the documents associated with this issue.
Be sure to use as many of the documents as you can