Many factors contributed to decline of the Western Roman empire. One of the major factors was German invaders. As troops were sent to the eastern half of the empire to aid in the constant war with Persia, German tribes and armies from the other side of the Rhine and Danube rivers invaded and conquered large parts of the western empire. As the Germans lived in this territory, German leaders worked their way up the chain of command to eventually lead the Western Roman empire. Too much money was being spent on the army and protecting Rome. Taxes were increased to compensate for the extra spending on the army. The increased taxes put a burden on the people of the western empire. The Huns were a another reason for the decline of the Western Roman empire. The Huns invaded the empire and fought their way to Rome. While the Huns were camped outside the city, the rulers from inside Rome bribed the Huns with large sums of money to leave the city alone. Surprisingly, they agreed. However, this left the government with no money which put more strain on the society. Some historians believe disease was another reason for the decline of the Western Roman Empire. Hans Zinsser wrote, "A concentration of large populations in cities, free communication with all other parts of the world..., constant and extensive military activity involving the mobilization of armies in camps, and the movement of large forces back and forth from all corners of the world these alone are conditions which inevitably determine the outbreak of epidemic disease. And against such outbreaks there was absolutely mo defense available at the time." All of these factors led to the decline of the Western Roman Empire and changed the way people lived there.
One way life was changed in Western Europe was the growth of Christianity. Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity a week before he died. Money that could have been spent on temples, shrines, gods, and goddesses was now given to Christians and used for Christian buildings. Another way life changed in Western Europe was the decline of the economy. Increased taxes put a burden on the people. Higher taxes were not enough to help the government so they devalued the currency. This caused inflation. The increased prices made it very hard for people to buy neccesary goods to survive. Also, for many years, Western Europe was ruled by a Roman, but over time, the leaders became German. As more and more land was conquered by the Germans, Roman culture was lost, and Latin, the language of the Romans, was lost. Another hardship on the people of Western Europe was the fact that when the Vandals conquered Carthage, a city in North Africa, they stopped supplying grain to the city of Rome. This caused a problem for the Romans because it was their main supply of food. People now struggle to find food. As they empire fell apart, the lives of the Romans deteriorated.
