Many lives were lost in external conflicts as well as internal civil wars. Small pox and lead poisoning in the aqueducts further decimated the population. " To worsen matters, plague from China spread through the empire." (Sherman & Salisbury, 153) Just as in China, the disease caused intense suffering and depleted the already dwindling Roman population. " Medical knowledge was helpless in the face of pandemics like the mid-third-century plague, and Roman families could no longer populate the empire."
This can be argued was to do with this battle because Valen lost two thirds of his army. It also showed that the Roman legions were no match for the heavy cavalry which many empires started to recruit. This then led to the Middle Ages and knights. The weakness of the Roman legionaries was showed again in 410 in the sacking of Rome. This was seen as another step towards the fall of the Roman Empire because this defeat was inevitable after the defeat
It has been stated that the very success of the Roman Republic in war and imperial expansions led to its defeat. While this statement makes several valid points, it is likely that numerous other facets functioned in the fall of the Republic---especially that of Senatorial corruption and its ensuing lack of popularity. Gradually and with little warning, the surface of Roman life as a Republic began to transform at a rate that threatened the very fabric of the governing body. With the commencement of the second Punic war, a great disproportion of wealth grew evident. Whereas prior most plebeians were farmers or laborers who owned small but significant portions of property or earned adequate payment for their toils, upon the second Punic War, Hannibal destroyed this land, leaving plebeians homeless with little source of income.
Western Roman Empire & Han Dynasty in China Throughout the period of the collapses of both the Western Roman Empire and China during the Han Dynasty had similar and different internal and external factors that influenced their falls including disease and terrible leadership internally, and external invasions by semi- nomadic groups. Insofar, what mainly triggered the fall of the Western Roman Empire were several invasions by the Goths, Vandals, and Huns, which differed from the main cause of Han China’s fall which was of internal power struggles and several rebellions. Furthermore, the fall of Rome was similar to that of Han China because it was provoked by a series of events, not just one. Since Rome and China were so large they can take advantage of the fertile soil and deliver to all parts of the empire. This diffusion of goods throughout an empire also spread diseases.
The Roman Empire began to slowly decline in the 3rd century AD, one of the main causes of Rome's early decline was a series of plagues, most notably the Plague of Cyprian, which decimated the population of the Empire, making it harder for Roman Emperors to levy armies and raise taxes. Diocletian became Emperor in 284 AD, he saw the vast empire as ungovernable and split it in half, creating two equal emperors to rule each. Under various subsequent rulers, the Eastern and Western Roman Empire were reunited into a single entity. Theodosius I was the last Roman Emperor who ruled over a unified Roman Empire, upon his death in 395 AD, the Roman Empire was permanently divided, the Eastern Roman Empire would be governed from Constantinople, whilst the Western Roman Empire was governed intermittently between Rome, Mediolanum (Milan) , and Ravenna. (See map 1) In the 4th and 5th Centuries AD, nomadic peoples from Central Asia began to migrate out from their homeland and cause considerable havoc all over the Eurasian Continent.
Meanwhile, in China they were suffering from similar political issues. In China their bureaucracy was corrupt. The central government had been completely diminished. China was mired with civil war and intrigue. Bureaucrats were becoming more corrupt, and local landlords ended
The British government retaliated with much force, resulting in Chinese defeat, which then forth became the Treaty of Nanking. The Treaty of Nanking is labeled as one of the “Unequal Treaties” for many reasons. When Britain implemented the Treaty of Nanking, much of the life that China knew would soon be no more, the island of Hong Kong was forced over to British ownership and control, rights were taken away, tariffs implemented, and the destruction of Opium by Lin caused a six million dollar “refund” to England. Since China was a closed nation, with an old-fashioned way of life and military technology, this caused a great disadvantage for them, trying to fight against what British was doing to their country. China had no say or control to what Britain was doing to them, and no way of fighting back or retaliating.
If this was not the case, when the Germans attacked there could have been a much better chance of defeating them. The low level of morale was mostly due to Stalin’s purges of the 1930s which led to a huge loss of talent from the Red Army as well as its organisation and structure. Leadership of the army was specifically targeted resulting in the murder or removal of three to five marshals, 13 of 15 army commanders, eight of nine admirals, 50 of 57 army corps commanders, 154 out of 186 division commanders, 16 of 16 army commissars, and 25 of 28 army corps commanders. In total, 30,000 members of the armed Red Army forces were executed. This was a heavy blow for the Russians when the Germans attacked, leaving them without leadership or well-planned strategies.
The Plague greatly affected the medieval world. It killed 25 million people, including a third of Europe's population. One of the economic effects caused by the Plague was inflation. Trade was dangerous and local goods weren't being produced as much because the number of workers decreased greatly. The prices went through the roof.
Emperor Constantine had divided the empire into two halves. He declared Constantinople the new capital of Roman society, claiming rule over all Eastern provinces. The Western Roman Empire’s economy went into decline, and lost its power over towns in the East, causing a great reduction in profits from the treasury and weakening them dramatically in warfare. Due to the large decline, the western halves’ strength had been dwindled. The Roman Empire's collapse was the geographical extent of its own expansion.