One problem with Rome was that Emperors had all the authority. There were many Emperors who were well liked and others who were not. If things weren't going good the Emperor would automatically be blamed and the dissatisfaction of the citizens would increase greatly. The people of Rome trusted not in their Emperor but in their religous faith. In the Roman society large populations of slaves did most of the work and because of the end of conquest, the arrivals of great amounts of riches and slaves stopped. Rome's income began to decline slowly. The economy of Rome struggled while Emperors didn't know what to do. As taxes grew higher the emperors tried balacning the economy by making prices of items equal. Merchants grew angry because they had to sell small things for very high prices. Although the economy was not the only problem in Rome. Disease spread throughout the highly populated Roman Empire. Since everyone was in close contact with eachother the plague could spread easily. The disease was not curable or preventable which made things even worse. The plague not only killed about 1/6 of the Roman population but also reduced trade and production. The economy wasn't the only thing weakening. Rome's army had too little soldiers to protect its borders. Germanic tribes realized this and took advantage of it. With the economy, disease, and a weak army, Rome would fall.
