The 210 Theories Behind the Fall of Rome, Ranked: Part 1

The first part of a brief summary of the many extant scholastic theories on why Rome declined and fell, as catalogued by Alexander Demandt, ranked.

The causes for the Decline and Fall are still a hotly debated topic in the classics. Certain ideas have flourished based on the political zeitgeist of the era, while others have been completely debunked by new discoveries in archeology or the sciences. Even today, asking ten different scholars will result in ten different answers. It is difficult for th…