With the growth of the lands controlled by Rome, its fragmentation into provinces also increased. After the land reforms of the Gracchi brothers, subsistence farming began to develop in Rome, which led to a reduction in the share of the processing industry, and prices for the transportation of goods increased. The decline of the economy caused a wave of anger in the country. There was a demographic crisis in the empire – the death rate increased, and the birth rate decreased. The policy of allowing barbarians to settle in the border territories of the empire allowed to improve the situation in the country, provided that they took an oath to defend their new homeland.
With the addition of barbarians to the empire’s population, their number in military service is also growing. The indigenous Romans no longer had any interest in the army service, where they went to get land and wealth – they already had it all. Barbarians began to occupy leadership positions, first in the army and then in politics. Social apathy was increasingly observed among the indigenous Romans (Bailliot 177). There has been a destruction of spirituality and patriotism in society. After the battle in the Balkans, the constantly increasing attacks of the barbarians could no longer be stopped (Harries 203). Internecine wars and the struggle for the throne weakened the country even more.
In conclusion, all this forced the dying emperor Theodosius to permanently divide the empire into Western Roman and Eastern Roman, handing over the reins to his sons Honorius and Arcadius, respectively. This is the end of the history of the unified Roman Empire. The fates of the two sister empires will be different, and the Western Roman Empire will fall as a logical conclusion to the fall of a single empire. The eastern half in the status of Byzantium will last for more than ten centuries.
Works Cited
Bailliot, Magali. “Rome and the Roman Empire.” Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic. Brill, 2019, pp. 175-197.
Harries, Brian J. “The Fall of Mediterranean Rome in Titus Andronicus.” Mediterranean Studies, 2018, pp. 194-212.