The last emperor before the decline of Rome began was Marcus Aurelius. He was one of the three most successful emperors in Rome’s history. He was kind, benevolent, and humane. But during his reign the Pax Romana ended. The Pax Romana is the 200-year period of peace in Ancient Rome. It was said to be “the greatest gift Rome gave to the ancient world.” This was one of the first events that started the decline of the empire of Rome.

One of the most important reasons for the fall of Rome was the economy. There were many economic problems in Rome. I’ll first start with the prisoners of war or the lack there of. When Emperor Hadrian drew the boundaries and said Rome could grow no more in 121 AD, the empire lost one of the three largest sources of income, prisone

A disturbance in the social structure of Rome was another effecter for Rome’s. First problem was the decay of the upper class or the patricians. Problems in the upper class included lead poising from the lead pipes, inbreeding, and the patricians only looking for there own pleasure and not the good of the empire. They were the leaders of the country and with them only caring about themselves and not looking toward making Rome a better place they played a large role in the failure of Rome. “One of the primary catalysts to the deterioration of the economy was the lack of circulating currency in the Western Empire. Two reasons for the lack of funds are wholesale hoarding of bullion by Roman citizens, and the widespread looting of the Roman treasury by the "barbarians".” (3) The Patricians were considered to be the upper class of Roman society and they were as stated above keeping money for themselves creating problems for the economy in the entire Empire. The second class to add to the problems was the plebeians. The patricians weren’t the only people to blame. The plebs were considered to be the common people of Rome. “Some scholars believe they were persons considered to be of inferior birth who flocked to the city as employees, hangers-on, or clients of the patrician families and whose number was constantly increased by the subjugation of the surrounding cities and states.” (4) The plebs fought and struggled with the patricians for acceptance in society and eventually the patricians gave in and the plebs was granted entrance into all civil and religious offices. As time went on these once outcasts held a major role in the social structure of Rome. The plebs grew soft and unpatriotic. They, as a group used to be proud to be Roman. They considered it an honor to die for your country. But when the taxes rose the people didn’t have the same feelings for Rome as they did before. This also ties into the economic problems that Rome was facing. The reasons for the tax increases were Rome being cut out of the money it was earning. In the earlier years of the Roman Empire, Rome’ Army had the reputation for being fierce fighters and they never let an opponent go with out conquering them. They eventually came to the point where countries ju

Some topics in this essay:
Emperor Hadrian, Western Empire, Roman Empire, Pax Romana, Marcus Aurelias, Roman Empire”5, Christians Nero, Germany Persia, Ancient Rome, Soon Rome, roman empire, people rome, prisoners war, wealthy people, sources income, pax romana, upper class, largest sources income, rome taxes, fall rome, rome sell, roman empire lasted, social structure rome,