Rise And Fall Of Roman Empire

712 Words3 Pages
The Roman Empire was known for many things. Its government, its leaders, and even certain achievements in history. People read about the Rise of the Roman Empire...but what about the fall? Many things in Roman History ultimately led to the fall of the Roman Empire. The population was decreasing. Plagues swept through the Roman citizens and birth rates were at all time lows. They welcomed barbarians who fed them food polluted with lead. Roman wealth in the West was deteriorating and the barbarians who kept camp outside the empire were often just as wealthy as the empire as a whole. Rome was being populated more and more by the barbarians than Roman citizens. This led to the military practically being led and populated by barbarians. The Roman legion was losing dominance because of the military advances of the cavalry. The Romans were also losing the value of their money. Coins worth one dollar were being spent as if they were worth 2 or three. Roman coins consisted mostly of four type of precious metal. Aureus were made from gold, Denarius were made from silver, sestertius and dupondius were made from bronze, and as was made from copper. As time went by the Roman coinage was losing value. They were still being accepted as a form of payment until the middle of the third century B.C to third century A.D. The coins kept being replaced and denominated until they were basically worth nothing. The Aerarium, or the state treasury, was overlooked by the Quaestors, then the Praetors, and then the Prefects. Eventually the Emperor took over and made his own treasury. It was known as the Fiscus. The Aerarium was still around but was used for tribute. Other Imperial territories put their money in the fiscus. The Roman trade is what was driving the economy. The Romans knew of two type of business man. The negotiators, part bankers because they lent on interest, and the
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