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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TheRed, post: 2780881, member: 87080&quot;]As an economist, and one that deals with prices and inflation on a daily basis, I think that the economic health of the empire is all to often overlooked.&nbsp; In my the economic collapse of the Roman Empire was the greatest factor in the fall of the Roman empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>Debasement of coinage due to military wages arising from constant civil war, and the ensuing inflation and economic instability killed off the Western Roman Empire in my opinion.&nbsp; In the time of Augustus the silver denarius contained 95 percent silver.&nbsp; During the Severan emperors, and especially that of my bête noir Caracalla, the silver content dropped to 50 percent.&nbsp; At the introduction of the antoninianus it was already debased, with a silver value of 1.5 denarii despite a face value of 2.&nbsp; With the instability brought on by the barracks emperors of the 3rd century, the currency of Rome was quickly debased to token coinage with almost no silver content.</p><p><br /></p><p>The impact on the economy was devastating.&nbsp; Inflation was rampant, as much as 1000 percent during the crisis of the 3rd century and into the 4th century.&nbsp; Diocletian issued his Eddict on Maximum Prices which established price ceilings for hundreds of goods and services as well as enacted the death penalty for hoarders and speculators.&nbsp; Taxes, the lifeblood of the state, devolved from payment in coinage to payment in service or in kind for the common person, a repudiation of government issued coins.&nbsp; Under the ever rising tax burden and crippling inflation, people left the land, their jobs, and even their cities, in an attempt to find better economic opportunities.&nbsp; Tax evasion was common.</p><p><br /></p><p>The breakdown of the economy was so sever that people were compelled by law to remain in their official occupation.&nbsp; Children were bound to their father&#039;s profession.&nbsp; The peasants were bound to the soil.&nbsp; Goods vanished from the economy and a black market flourished while corruption became rampant.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>This is my long winded way of saying that the Roman economy collapsed.&nbsp; The trade, banking, and industry that prevailed during the first two centuries was largely destroyed by inflation, taxation, and corruption.&nbsp; In its wake was left a fragile Empire that lacked the economic resources to withstand the Germanic incursions of the 4th and 5th centuries.</p><p><br /></p><p>P.S. I apologize for the length.&nbsp; Economists aren&#039;t usually good writers.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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