Purchase Solution

Roman Empire

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

If many factors are implicated in the decline of the Roman Empire, including overuse of resources, political infighting, and lack of morality, how does this hold any lessons for modern society? and could the same thing happen to us in modern times?
This question is considered.

Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary

This posting lists reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire and also modern correlations.

Solution Preview

The first thing you should remember about "empires" is that they always fall. Alexander the Great saw his empire divided after his death, the Roman empire fell apart, Napoleon lost, the British Empire disintegrated. All empires fall. So, without even looking at the reasons for the fall of a particular empire, the fact that it fell at all is a significant lesson to remember.

Some consider the United States to be an empire. Ask yourself whether this is the case. What does it mean to be an empire? Usually, an empire exists when a government or nation directly controls the political, economic, and strategic resources of other nations. Rome clearly was an empire, controlling vast resources throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The United States doesn't particularly fit this description. At most, the U.S. directly controls Puerto Rico and Guam. Even in Iraq and Afghanistan, where there is a significant military presence, U.S. forces are in the position of "assisting" the local government.

Why then, do some consider the U.S. to be an empire? Well, if you look at the political influence the United States has, and if you look at the tremendous economic power held by the U.S., there are certainly ways to control other nations which do not involve direct military control. A dominant position in the United Nations, for example, could be seen as ...

Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
America Fighting for Good - World War II : 1940 - 1945

The quiz will test your knowledge of America and its role in World War II - how it avoided the war, got involved and emerged as a world power and forever losing its isolationist policy.

America Joins the World 1900-1939

This quiz will test your knowledge on America's emergence into the world beginning from the 20th century until the start of WWII

US World History Test I

Discusses the events that happen during the 15th through the 19th Century.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Basic quiz about the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

German Wars of Unification

A short quiz to determine the student's knowledge of events and figures associated with the mid 19th Century German Wars of Unification

View More Free Quizzes
Related BrainMass Solutions

  • The Western and Eastern Roman Empire

    The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 286; the other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire.

  • Roman Empire

    This enabled the Roman Empire to not only conquer their territories but also sustain and maintain them for centuries under the Roman Empire. The expert discusses the Roman empire and its affects on different cultures.

  • Foreigners

    How did Romans relate to Non-Roman people located within and outside the Roman Empire? Roman Empire, political system established by Rome that lasted for nearly five centuries.

  • Roman History

    79690 How Roman History Developed Please explain to our study group how the Roman Empire developed from an empire controlled by Rome to an empire in which Rome was simply the biggest city? Please see response attached. 1.

  • The fall of the Roman Empire and "Roman Peace"

    79801 The fall of the Roman Empire and "Roman Peace" Just so our Study Buddy Group has these two definitions set clearly in our heads...we need a simple understanding of two concepts: (a) What does it mean to say the Roman Empire "FELL"?

  • The Fall of the Western Roman Empire

    Unable to fight the constant incursions from the Huns, the Western Roman Empire crumbled in 476. What contributed to the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire?

  • the idea of the Roman Empire as 'a geographical unit'.

    This job presents the idea of the Roman Empire as 'a geographical unit'.

  • Roman Civilization

    In 395, the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman empire had divided. By the third century, the Roman empire was being attacked by the Visigoths in 410, the Vandals in 455, and in 476 (Cairns, 1987).

  • Roman Empire Longevity

    The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1. W. Strahan and T. Cadell. 3. Turnbull, P. (n.d.). Roman Empire.

  • Fall of the Roman Empire

    502560 Fall of the Roman Empire What contributed to the western half of the fall of the Roman Empire? Here, you mean the Roman empire of the west. In the east, it did not fall until 1453.

View More Related Solutions