The major factors that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire are economics, their military, disease, and Germanic tribes invading Rome. The Roman government taxed their citizens heavily on practically everything. This lead to huge monetary losses for everyone whether they were rich and poor. Many families were forced to leave the country. Those who didn’t pay were put in jail. The prisons were overcrowded and many prisoners killed themselves as an easy way out of the paying. The Roman military at the start of the fifth century was over 200,000 soldiers strong and was ready to fight for the cause. The destruction of that military was a huge disaster to Roman Empire. Disease also ravaged through Rome and wiped out many Romans. In the 600s, medicine was almost nonexistent and people frequently died from common colds and infections. Invading Germanic tribes also played a part in the fall. They invaded and settled in the Roman Empire and made many citizens move. Rome became a barbaric place to live and no one enjoyed it.
Both Michael Rostovtzeff and Edward Gibbon agree that Christianity is another possible cause of the fall. The “virtues of society were discouraged” and military spirits were faltered because of it. Christianity also forced people to donate to charity, even poor people. Government was also getting distracted by the new religion, and lower classes were developing “new mentality.”
One likely factor is the economic problems that occurred towards the end of the empire. Running the empire was costing more and more. The government, trying to help this, raised taxes and “devaluated the currency”, says Henry J. Haskell. Prices on most things increased, and people felt as though they were losing control. Diocletian took rule and installed a price limit. This was meant to prevent prices from increasing. However, this did not work as well as he had hoped. Shops closed, and the amount of merchandise decreased. Food riots broke out. Lastly, the government was spending a lot of money on unnecessary things, which created another decrease in money for the empire. When you put together all of these problems in one smaller area, you get an empire that’s hanging by a thread and be destroyed easily by any other small problem that may arrive.