210 Reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire
Source: A. Demandt, Der
Fall Roms (1984) 695
See also: Karl Galinsky in Classical and
Modern Interactions (1992) 53-73.
Abolition of gods
Abolition of rights
Absence of character
Absolutism
Agrarian question
Agrarian slavery
Anarchy
Anti-Germanism
Apathy
Aristocracy
Asceticism
Attack of the Germans
Attack of the Huns
Attack of riding nomads
Backwardness in science
Bankruptcy
Barbarization
Bastardization
Blockage of land by large landholders
Blood poisoning
Bolshevization
Bread and circuses
Bureaucracy
Byzantinism
Capillarite sociale
Capitalism
Capitals, change of
Caste system
Celibacy
Centralization
Childlessness
Christianity
Citizenship, granting of
Civil war
Climatic deterioration
Communism
Complacency
Concatenation of misfortunes
Conservatism
Corruption
Cosmopolitanism
Crisis of legitimacy
Culinary excess
Cultural neurosis
Decentralization
Decline of Nordic character
Decline of the cities
Decline of the Italian population
Deforestation
Degeneration
Degeneration of the intellect
Demoralization
Depletion of mineral resources
Despotism
Destruction of environment
Destruction of peasantry
Destruction of political process
Destruction of Roman influence
Devastation
Differences in wealth
Disarmament
Disillusion with stated
Division of empire
Division of labor
Earthquakes
Egoism
Egoism of the state
Emancipation of slaves
Enervation
Epidemics
Equal rights, granting of
Eradication of the best
Escapism
Ethnic dissolution
Excessive aging of population
Excessive civilization
Excessive culture
Excessive foreign infiltration
Excessive freedom
Excessive urbanization
Expansion
Exploitation
Fear of life
Female emancipation
Feudalization
Fiscalism
Gladiatorial system
Gluttony
Gout
Hedonism
Hellenization
Heresy
Homosexuality
Hothouse culture
Hubris
Hypothermia
Immoderate greatness
Imperialism
Impotence
Impoverishment
Imprudent policy toward buffer states
Inadequate educational system
Indifference
Individualism
Indoctrination
Inertia
Inflation
Intellectualism
Integration, weakness of
Irrationality
Jewish influence
Lack of leadership
Lack of male dignity
Lack of military recruits
Lack of orderly imperial succession
Lack of qualified workers
Lack of rainfall
Lack of religiousness
Lack of seriousness
Large landed properties
Lead poisoning
Lethargy
Leveling, cultural
Leveling, social
Loss of army discipline
Loss of authority
Loss of energy
Loss of instincts
Loss of population
Luxury
Malaria
Marriages if convenience
Mercenary system
Mercury damage
Militarism
Monetary economy
Monetary greed
Money, shortage of
Moral decline
Moral idealism
Moral materialism
Mystery religions
Nationalism of Rome's subjects
Negative selection
Orientalization
Outflow of gold
Over refinement
Pacifism
Paralysis of will
Paralyzation
Parasitism
Particularism
Pauperism
Plagues
Pleasure seeking
Plutocracy
Polytheism
Population pressure
Precociousness
Professional army
Proletarization
Prosperity
Prostitution
Psychoses
Public baths
Racial degeneration
Racial discrimination
Racial suicide
Rationalism
Refusal of military service
Religious struggles and schisms
Rentier mentality
Resignation
Restriction to profession
Restriction to the land
Rhetoric
Rise of uneducated masses
Romantic attitudes to peace
Ruin of middle class
Rule of the world
Semieducation
Sensuality
Servility
Sexuality
Shamelessness
Shifting of trade routes
Slavery
Slavic attacks
Socialism (of the state)
Soil erosion
Soil exhaustion
Spiritual barbarism
Stagnation
Stoicism
Stress
Structural weakness
Superstition
Taxation, pressure of
Terrorism
Tiredness of life
Totalitarianism
Treason
Tristesse
Two-front war
Underdevelopment
Useless eaters
Usurpation of all powers by the state
Vain gloriousness
Villa economy
Vulgarization