Reasons for the Decline of the Roman Empire

Reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire.

"The warlike states of antiquity, Greece, Macedonia, and Rome, educated a race of soldiers; exercised their bodies, disciplined their courage, multiplied their forces by regular evolutions, and converted the iron which they possessed into strong and serviceable weapons. But this superiority insensibly declined with their laws and manners; and the feeble policy of Constantine and his successors armed and instructed, for the ruin of the empire, the rude valour of the Barbarian mercenaries."

- Gibbon

It's not entirely arbitrary that Medieval / Renaissance History at About.com begins and Ancient / Classical History ends in A.D. 476. Edward Gibbon's 476 date for the fall of Rome is conventionally acceptable because that's when the Germanic Odoacer deposed the last emperor ruling from Rome. There are, however, other reasonable dates for the Fall of the Roman Empire. Some say Rome fell when it was split in two. Many say the Fall was an ongoing process lasting more than a century. Since Rome still exists it could even be argued it never fell. A related question, one subject to even more discussion is:

Why did Rome Fall?

There are some adherents to single factors, but more people think Rome fell because of a combination of such factors as Christianity, decadence, lead, monetary, and military problems. Even the rise of Islam is proposed by some who think the Fall of Rome happened at Constantinople.

Since not all viewpoints are available on the Internet, this list of theories about the Fall of Rome is limited:

Decay

Financial Problems

The Dole and Barbarians

Economic, Military, Gradual

Christianity

Vandals and Religious Controversy

Division of the Empire

Lead

Hoarding and Deficit