From the third century AD, the Roman Empire began its phase of decline and decay, which eventually resulted in the fragmentation of its western part. Added to the economic and political crises was the arrival of the Germans, leading to the end of the western part of the empire and the occupation of its territory by these peoples.
The reasons for the Roman crisis
Until part of the 2nd century AD, the Roman Empire experienced a period of relative peace and great prosperity, which became known as Roman Peace . The end of this period was marked by the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, thus initiating the Roman decadence, which extended to the fragmentation of the western part of the empire in 476.
The decline of the Roman Empire was primarily related to the crisis of the slave system , which began in the transition from the 2nd to the 3rd century AD. This system was an essential part of the Roman economy, which relied on the renewal of the empire's slave population through the wars of conquest and expansion, typical of Roman history.
However, these wars of conquest hadn't taken place since the 2nd century AD, with the last major Roman victory against the Dacians in 106 AD, during the Battle of Sarmizegetusa
strong> . After this possession of part of Dacia, the Romans did not carry out new conquests and, with that, the acquisition of new slaves was interrupted.With the decrease in the number of slaves and as there was no natural renewal of this population, the availability of this labor in the empire began to decrease. Thus, this process affected the Roman economy and caused its productivity to decrease, causing, consequently, an increase in the cost of living throughout the empire.
In addition to the crisis of the slave system and the economy, the political crisis also contributed to the weakening of the empire. This period in Roman history, between the 3rd and 5th century, was marked by an intense dispute for power, with conspiracies being carried out against the emperors, which generated an instability that weakened the Roman administration.
This political crisis was mainly related to the strengthening of the figure of the emperor with the professionalization of the Roman army. As the continuity of power in Rome did not necessarily happen through heredity, but through influence, the generals often conspired to secure a position of power.
Finally, the growth of Christianity was another relevant factor for the worsening of this crisis, since the advance of this religion caused the weakening of the figure of the emperor, since the Christians did not accept to offer him religious worship, as was the custom at the time. Furthermore, Christians were against slavery, and the growth of this religion contributed to further weakening an already weakened institution.
Germanic migrations
All these factors were magnified by the action of the Germanic peoples which, especially from the 2nd century AD, constantly attacked the frontiers of the Roman Empire. The Germans, who constituted a variety of peoples, inhabited the regions of northern Europe (mainly in what is now Germany) and had long been fighting the Romans.
The Germanic peoples were called “barbarians” by the Romans, a term with a pejorative connotation that refers to the fact that these peoples did not have the same practices and culture as the Romans. From the 2nd century AD onwards, Germanic migrations intensified and, with the weakening of Roman power, the borders of the empire became more fragile.
The increase in migrations of Germanic peoples, according to historians, happened for the following reasons:
- Growth population :Population growth led the Germans to look for better land to support the size of their populations.
- Cooling from weather :Historians say that during this period, the climate in northern Europe underwent a cooling that reduced the amount of agricultural land available.
- Escape :the arrival of stronger and more powerful peoples – such as the Huns – led different Germanic peoples to migrate to escape this domain.
As the Roman army weakened, mainly due to the economic crisis, the intensity of Germanic attacks increased. Thus, gradually, different Germanic peoples began to invade and plunder Roman lands. Historian Jacques Le Goff refers to some of these invasions that took place in Roman territories during this period:
Vandals, Alans and Suebi ravage the Iberian Peninsula. The brief installation of the Vandals in southern Spain, however, baptizes Andalusia. As early as 429, the Vandals, the only barbarians to have a fleet, went to North Africa and conquered the Roman province of Africa, that is, Tunisia and Eastern Algeria. The Visigoths, after the death of Alaric, retreated from Italy to Gaul in 412 and then, in 414, to Spain, from where they retreated in 418 to settle in Aquitaine […]. To the north, Scandinavian, Anglo, Jute and Saxon barbarians, after a series of incursions into Brittany (Great Britain), ended up occupying it between 441 and 443. A part of the defeated Britons crossed the sea and settled in Armorica. , which becomes Brittany [northern France]|1| .
This highlighted passage therefore addressed the time when these lands, which were originally dominated by the Romans, began to be attacked and occupied by the Germanic peoples. This process, as mentioned, happened due to the weakening of the Roman army, a direct consequence of the economic crisis. The excerpt also deals with a small portion of a wide variety of peoples who attacked Roman lands.
The trajectory of the Western Roman Empire (the empire had been divided into western and eastern parts since 395) came to an end when the city of Rome was attacked in 476 by the Heruli, and Emperor Romulus Augustus was removed from the position of emperor. The western part of the Roman Empire gave rise to the Germanic kingdoms.
Consequences
The arrival of the Germanic peoples ended up intensifying the crisis of the Roman Empire, as the grain producing centers, for example, were attacked, which led to the abandonment of these places or their looting. In addition, the violence brought about by the Germanic attacks affected the existing trade routes in the empire. The combination of these two factors – reduction in agricultural production and the end of trade routes – led to shortage of cities.
With the cities depleted, the hunger for these places spread, and serious diseases like the plague became common. In addition, Roman cities became targets, as they accumulated great wealth that attracted attacks from Germans interested in looting. Therefore, the arrival of these peoples caused a population reduction and a ruralization in Western Europe.
|1| LE GOFF, Jacques. The Civilization of the Medieval West. Petrópolis:Vozes, 2016, p. 27.
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