During the fourth century AD
The Roman kingdom was divided into two parts: the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. The term "fall of the Roman Empire" only refers to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, not the Eastern Roman Empire. The territory of the Western Roman Empire was lost.
Monetary inflation and the Eastern Roman Empire
Despite the fact that the Roman Empire experienced monetary inflation from the third to the fourth centuries, the Eastern Empire never fell. Despite the fact that the vast majority of Romans were peasants, they were self-sufficient. Inflation only affected a small portion of the population, most likely the craftsmen, according to modern scholars. As a result, the effect of the increase did not extend across the entire empire (Peden).
Impact of inflation on rural settings
Since the majority of the people lived in rural settings and engaged in farming activities, the inflationary crisis had no significant impact on them. The economic problems that the Roman Empire faced could not make it fall. According to moderate views, what buried the Western Roman Empire was the inflation from the government. The middle class and the poor were overtaxed by the government top officials. All the same, the Eastern Roman Empire did not fall at all but instead remained stable, and that is why the point remains that Roman Empire did not collapse (Peden).
Influential theory and archaeological evidence
An influential theory states that Roman Empire never fell, but instead it was transformed into something which cannot be recognized. Despite the number of crisis described in different textual sources, such as by John of Ephesus who describes that about 70,000 corpses were buried in large pits have not found such graves. Archaeologists in Galanta and neighborhoods of Istanbul have not seen such graves. In fact, there is no pit which has been found to contain 70,000 skeletons. There is no doubt that Justinian plague claimed a significant number of victims all over Mediterranean. The question concerning the whereabouts of this corpses remains unanswered. McCormick points out that some cities that have been excavated do not offer sufficient proof that Roman Empire never fell. Jerusalem, which is one of the major cities in Rome, of the 6th century after excavation done, it was found that only three pits had over a hundred skeletons. These few bodies cannot account for the entire Roman population destroyed by the Justinian Plague. While cities are keeping history regarding the rich and powerful, the Rome existence still overwhelms archaeologists (Wazer).
Importation of slaves and the growth of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire has a history of war, and the kingdom was formed as slaves were imported. The importation of slaves led to extending the Roman name even beyond the original people. The entry of the slaves into the Roman Empire made it grow and become strong. Afterwards, the Romans freed the slaves and even giving their descendants Roman citizenship. The liberty brought about foreign-born freemen into the Roman citizenship. The emerging of such people spread and Roman Empire grew up in number regardless of the so-called fall of the Roman Empire. The prominence of freemen did not only influence politically but also a religious aspect.
Influence of merchants and immigrants
At the center of the Mediterranean world was a cosmopolitan city attracting a large number of people from different parts of the empire. The slaves were not the only foreigners in the realm. Research conducted by Prof. Tenny Frank of Johns Hopkins University shows that majority of these merchants were from the eastern part of the empire. The study also noted that many of the names that were left in inscriptions in Rome were not from Latin. For them to get a clear understanding, Tenny and his colleagues studied some tombs and monuments. After investigating 13,900 legends, he found that 83 percent of the names were from foreign derivation and majority being from Greek. The progression of this empire therefore appears to be the source of modern-day Rome, hence proving that the empire never fell, but survived throughout history to its current status as the capital of Italy.
Ancient Rome's influence on modern society
Mary Beard, a famous classicist, argues that there is nothing like the fall of the Roman Empire. She states that Ancient Roman still influences the kind of life we live today. The Roman Catholic Church itself arose from the empire. It was initiated to ensure that the state succeeded. The religion and belief systems are undoubtedly as significant as it was in historical times. These beliefs still exist today not only in Rome but across the world, and that is why she argues that the Roman Empire still exists. Additionally, the Roman Empire had a tremendous influence on Christianity. Christians became unquestionably the founding rock and mostly in the eastern part of the empire. The culture and religion that Christianity brought about mark the modernity way. The Christians who are in the present days prove that the Roman Empire never fell, but instead, it exists (Malley).
Conclusion
During the Roman Empire, there was a mass of human migration. Although some people currently tend to think that the people were not moving, it is essential to understand that this is not a new phenomenon. Over 2,000 years back, people used to move from one part of the Mediterranean to another. As such, the Roman Empire never fell and instead, its people dispersed to various parts of the region. However, the remaining few still maintained the culture, traditions, and beliefs which still exist today.
Works Cited
O’Malley, J.P. “There is no such things as the fall of Roman Empire.” 28 December 2015. New Humanist. https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4979/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire. Accessed 10 December 2017..
Peden, Joseph R. “Inflation and the Fall of the Roman Empire.” Cato Journal 14.2 (2011): 287 – 303.
Wazer, Caroline. “The Plague that might have Btrought Down the Roman Empire.” 16 March 2016. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/03/plagues-roman-empire/473862/. Accessed 10 December 2017.
