Modern historians explain the collapse of the western Roman empire in the fourth and fifth centuries in one of two ways. One group follows an institutional approach, which finds the reasons in the long-term and looks closely at internal structures. A second group has adopted a political approach and looks at short term causes of collapse.

The long-term approach is the more traditional of the two. This argument suggests that Diocletian (284-305) and Constantine I (305-337) sowed the seeds of collapse. These emperors split the army into border and mobile components. The border troops became soldier-farmers and declined rapidly in efficiency, though they were still paid. Diocletian and Constantine also allowed many barbarians into the army, which had the result of decreasing its fighting efficiency. These historians argue that the weakness of the border troops meant that emperors needed more mobile troops, so they expanded the army. This in turn increased the number of recruits needed, while a simultaneous reluctance of landowners to lose scarce workers led to the recruitment of the militarily inferior barbarians.

External problems exacerbated the internal crises of t

This second group of historians places the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire at various dates between 395 and 461 and their interpretations focus on the financial problems faced by the Empire. In the 395 division of the Empire, the West received fewer of the wealthy provinces. This in turn decreased the taxes collected. These commentators do not argue that the army was ineffective. Instead, they argue that paying for enough troops to fight was the problem. As well as facing diminishing resources, the West also had longer borders to defend. For these historians, western collapse was inevitable after 395, although the debate about when it could no longer be reversed is still important.

Huntington, Ellsworth. "Climatic Change and Agricultural Exhastion as Elements in the Fall of Rome." Quarterly Journal of Economics. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1917.

Salmon, Edward T. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. Third Series, Section II, 52 (1958), 43-57.

This is the traditional interpretation, with a stress on institutional weakness and the barbarian invasions. In various forms it has been followed by Theodore Mommsen, J.B. Bury, Andre Piganiol and Ramsay MacMullen. But others interpret the military events of this period differently, especially A.H.M. Jones, but also Averil Cameron and Hugh Elton. These historians stress that the Eastern empire did not fall when the West collapsed. Because of this, they doubt that internal institutional factors were the primary cause of the collapse. They are also unhappy with the idea of a two-century period of decline that lasted from Diocletian to the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476.

Grant, Michael. The Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1990.

Ferrill, Arther. The Fall of the Roman Empire. London: Thames and Hudson, 1986.

In this interpretation, the defeat of the eastern field army and Valens' death in Gothic hands at Adrianople in 378 is not a critical event. Although some historians stress this loss as the beginning of the end, since this allowed a group of barbarians into the Empire who were not expelled, others disagree. They point out that the Romans made no changes to the structure of their army after this battle. Far more important was the division of the empire in 395 between Arcadius and Honorius, the two sons of Theodosius, which robbed the Empire of strategic depth, with few transfers of money or troops between the two parts. The Vandals' invasion of Africa in 429, mostly completed by 439, had severe financial and strategic consequences. The loss of Africa not only removed the wealthiest provinces from western control but also exposed the Mediterranean (especially Italy and Greece) to pirate raids. A third critical event was the murder of Majorian (457-461) in 461, denying him the ch!

This is the traditional interpretation, with a stress on institutional weakness and the barbarian invasions. In various forms it has been followed by Theodore Mommsen, J.B. Bury, Andre Piganiol and Ramsay MacMullen. But others interpret the military events of this period differently, especially A.H.M. Jones, but also Averil Cameron and Hugh Elton. These historians stress that the Eastern empire did not fall when the West collapsed. Because of this, they do

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