How and Why Rome Collapced

People speculate a lot about how and why Roman Empire collapsed. A lot of it is far from truth as there are a lot of misconceptions about how Rome even functioned to begin with.

The idea that flourishing and prosperous civilization, that looked the same as during Augustus Golden Age, was conquered and pillaged by barbarians, who brought about dark age could not be further from truth.

In reality a Rome divided itself by zero long before its official end date. By the 5th century Rome was a completely dysfunctional society, that simply fell apart on its own. Similar how the USSR or Afghan government recently collapsed.

What really happened

It was not that people of Rome could not defend themselves from barbarians, it was that they were not even willing to. By the 5th century people were so fed up with abuses of power, perpetrated by the emperors, privileged classes and they own military, that they could not be bothered to protect these parasites from the barbarians. They simply stood idly and watched barbarians killing the rich and stealing their stuff. Some likely even joined the barbarians in looting.

Same how Pashtuns joined the Taliban against the abusive former Northern Alliance rulers. 

Sure, Rome relied on barbarian mercenaries, but that alone would not have exposed it to collapse.

On fundamental lever it was emperors who neglected their own informal social contract obligation to the people. As emperors ignored the people, people in turn left the emperors to their fate and did nothing to fend them and system that works only for them from barbarians.

All that sounds very close to social issues we face in post Financial Crisis of 2008 world. Because of that this article should be regarded as a warning to the elites of our times. 

However how did it come to that. Why did it happen. To tell that we need to get much further back in history of Rome.

Republican Rome

After a brief period of monarchy, Rome expelled its Kings and become a republic. Republican Rome was the one that actually build its empire and turned small city on Tiber River into a huge center of a global superpower.

Rome could achieve that only because it was a republic. Roman republic provided a political system that could reward its citizens enough to work for expanding Roman influence and conquer the world.

During the republic times Roman institutions could reward its citizens for participating and contributing to society.

Republic also provided for a more equal society. People trusted a system, in which they had a say and stake. A system that did not fail to reward them for their efforts and participation.

It was this Republican Rome and Republican system that allowed Rome to reach its zenith.

It the end of Republic era Rome already controlled all the key provinces, that made it into an example of the civilization so many people look fondly at even nowadays.

Then things changed.

Early Empire - Principate

After a brief period when Julius Ceasar attempted to rule like a dictator or a king, Rome entered so called principate period.

Ceasar was killed by Senators precisely because he ignored republican ethos and tried to rule as a dictator. Society did not take it kindly and killed him for that.

While killing Ceasar did not restored the Republic future Emperors understood that they had to make compromises with society in order to keep their lives and their power.

Thus, principate period begun. 

Augustus fleshed out its principles, that were mostly followed by his successors all the way to the Crisis of the 3rd century.

Rather than ruling as King or Emperor and universally acknowledged by the rest of the society as such, Augustus opted for more clandestine approach: he opted to respect Roman Republican institutions publicly, while discreetly controlling them de facto.

Augustus created a system of systematically rigging all Roman elections so that his loyalists would occupy all the public offices of Rome, giving him de facto full control over the government. For broader unaware of reality public, Rome continued to function as a Republic. Only those inside the system knew how things really worked, but they were a minority.

Boarder publics were unaware of the real power, Roman Emperors wielded. In public eyes Emperors were nothing more than a charitable citizen who liked to sponsor various public feasts and gladiator games on coliseum.

They did not use term Emperor to refer to them either. This term was invented by historians in order to describe the power and importance, these people had. Term Emperor or Imperator comes from the word 'imperium' which means power or authority. It was originally used the describe and enumerate the powers, different public offices had attached to them. Thus, Emperor simply means a man with power. It can more accurately be translated as a Strongman rather than a regnal title, more prestigious than a King, it came to mean much later.

During principate period Emperors used their vast wealth to placate public with feasts and entertainment (famous or infamous 'Bread and Circuses' approach). Public was too distracted to see their Republican institutions being gutted and being turned into nothing but a facade for tyranny. By the time of the Crisis of the 3rd century, there was nothing left that could actually function as a Republic again. 

Overall quality of life was not too bad, especially during the Augustus rule. Level of wealth and quality of life was probably highest during the early Emperors of the Principate period.

While this period indeed saw some expansion of Roman borders, these were only minor token conquests and did not add much to Rome power and glory.

Crisis of the 3rd Century

Then came Crisis of the 3rd Century. A succession despite between different generals escalated into a civil war.

This suddenly exposed to the citizens of Rome the reality of what they country has become. A military dictatorship.

Suddenly military leaders with nothing more than troops behind their back became openly control life in Rome.

After the initial shock, citizens of Rome done what they have done to Ceasar, assassinated several of these Emperors. This time it was not Senators but an actual angry mob of citizens of Rome. Inhabitants of the city were accustomed to republican form of government; they would not accept Rome turning into a dictatorship. 

Early Emperors always meticulously respected the Republic at least on the surface to not offend republican ethos of Romans and live in the city itself. 

As Principate collapsed, City of Rome suddenly became unsafe for the emperors. All future Emperors avoiding showing up in the city of Rome itself.

However, that did not bring the Republic back. This time it did not even brought the appearance of the Republic back.

New Emperors simply governed from outside of City of Rome itself. They were so called barracks Emperors. They were too afraid to show themselves in the city of Rome itself as angry mob would have killed them. However, by that time they could reasonably control the rest of the Empire from outside of the city of Rome itself.

In Roman Republic republican institutions only extended to people in the City of Rome itself. The so-called Empire (areas north of Rubicon and generally outside Italy itself) was always governed as military dictatorship. Romans were always stingy with their citizenship rights and did not extend it to conquered people.

Eventually Constantine would simply build a new capital for the Empire, that became known Constantinople. Emperors would govern from Constantinople even when Empire was unified. When Empire was divided, Western Emperors would govern from Meliorarum (Milan) or Ravenna.

The Decline

Crisis of the 3rd Century did not bring the Republic back. In fact, Rome simply existed on its own, surrounded by the Empire, ruled from Constantinople or Milan.

Because of that the Empire lived in a constant low intensity civil war. Death of the Emperor will always trigger a succession between his key subordinate generals. Sometimes one of them will emerge victorious and rule over unified Empire for his lifetime. Sometimes each of these generals will simply hold out to their part of the Empire and Empire will remain divided for prolonged periods of time.

Not always it will be divided in two, but over time division in two simply became most stable reality. Emperors of the West had not power to conquer East. Emperors of the East had not desire to conquer West as that is too far away from their power base in Constantinople.

A much better positioned and very well defendable Constantinople allowed Empire in the East to survive until Middle Ages.

Much more vulnerable Milan and Ravenna could not last that long.

The Fall

Since collapse of principate eliminated all forms legitimizing power, popular generals would often try to claim power by force alone. That allowed them to rule the Empire minus Rome, but that eventually destroyed all that made the Rome what it is and allowed them to conquer the Empire.

Early Emperors such as Ceasar would share the spoils with his soldiers and even broader Roman society. That allowed them to buy and keep loyalty of both army and the city. Later Emperor was either unwilling or unable to do the same. Without getting anything out of it, Romans got increasingly disillusioned and indifferent to the fate of the country.

Because of that Emperors had to rely more and more on the barbarian mercenaries to prop their power. However eventually these barbarians simply replaced Emperors and started rule directly.

Italy became divided into small city states and barbarian squabbled for control over the western provinces of former Rome.

Odoacer, that 'destroyed' Western Roman Empire and ruled Italy, did so from Ravenna, just like the emperors before him. Lombards too had they had their capital in the north, in Pavia close to Milan. Neither of them ruled city of Rome itself.

As first they acknowledge Emperor in Constantinople, but over time started to ignore him as well.

Justinian temporarily reconquered city of Rome itself in 6th century but lost it shortly after. From there on Papal States of the Catholic Church ruled over the City of Rome and surrounding areas. City state republics once again became a norm for Italy. 

Extra: Italian City States

During Roman times Italian City States also function autonomously but had military agreements with Rome. They were basically their own nations under protectorate of Rome. They run their domestic affairs independently during the whole Roman era, but paid Rome for security.

After Rome fell, they had to pay someone else to provide them with security. Some had to create their own militaries.