From mk42+@andrew.cmu.edu Sat May 8 18:02:22 1999 Date: Sat, 22 Apr 1995 11:55:52 -0400 From: "Mandy E. Kinne" Newsgroups: alt.gothic Subject: Re: A Social Issue... Excerpts from netnews.alt.gothic: 21-Apr-95 Re: A Social Issue... by Petro@MCS.COM > Ummm.. What happened to the Roman Empire? > > What were the major factors involved in it's fall, besides the > lead pipes? We can start with the corruption of the highest social/economic classes. Then we can move to the atrocious last couple of emporers that they had (esp Honorius who was emporer during the sack of rome and appeared to be slightly retarded). Then we can go to the poor military decisions concerning dealings with the Goths (Alaric should have been offed from the begining and they should never have aquiesed to their demands for tribute) and the fact that the good military commanders were always being held back from their jobs while the bad ones tried to get te good ones out of the way. After that we can take a look at changing climates, poor city planning, reliance on imported grain, and various other problems. Ya gotta remember... Rome was sacked in 410 and the capital at the time was in Ravenna. Their policies of state supported charities began a few centuries before that. Also, you have to remember that while Rome was sacked in 410 (AD) the Roman Empire as a political entity carried on for a number of centuries after that (the eastern roman empire even longer still). An execllent, and brief, overview of the Sack of Rome can be found in Otto Friedrich's 'The End of The World' (Fromm, 1986 in the History section) which includes chapters on the Plague, the Inquisition, Auschwitz and a very funny/scary chapter on revolutionaries andf the secret police in Czarist Russia. Chris Mr Monkey Boy to you, buddy!