The decline of the Roman Empire in the West that began in the 5th century had multiple interconnected factors. In general, Rome has faced multiple internal and external problems that led to the split of an amazingly coherent and stable state into smaller political segments (Brooks, 2019). First of all, the Roman Empire was impacted by its overexpansion – the government of its vast territories was accompanied by multiple logistical and administrative issues. A lack of quick and efficient communication between the parts of the Empire led to corruption and political instability that weakened the country.
As a result, the Roman Empire could not sustain the invasions of barbarian tribes that, in turn, became more well-organized and powerful due to the prolonged periods of trade and cooperation with the country’s borders. Due to tribes’ attacks, Rome started to lose its western territories (Brooks, 2019). This situation caused the shrinkage of tax revenues, incorrect distribution of taxes, and military overspending. While the east was supported in defending Roman sovereignty, western Roman armies were vulnerable and underfunded. Both external and internal challenges of the Roman Empire created a vicious circle of lost revenue, poor military performance, and lost land (Brooks, 2019). With already lost unity and coherence, the Roman legions were unable to protect their land from invaders.
In addition, the development of the Eastern Empire contributed to the decline of the Western Empire as well. Divided for the facilitation of government, empires were supposed to support each other. However, the economic and military rise of Constantinople led to the crisis in Rome. Moreover, the Eastern Empire failed to protect the Western one and even contributed to its fall by accepting Germanic kings who pledged formal allegiance to Constantinople in return for “acknowledgment of the legitimacy of their rule” (Brooks, 2019, p. 210). Thus, the prosperity and security of the east led to more internal issues in the west that, in turn, impacted its ability to confront external attacks.
Reference
Brooks, C. (2019). Western civilization: A concise history – volume 1. Portland Community College.