What was the primary cause of the fall of the Western Roman Empire? 🔊
The primary cause of the fall of the Western Roman Empire was a combination of internal weaknesses and external pressures. Internally, political corruption, economic decline, and military overreach eroded the Empire’s stability. Civil wars and power struggles weakened the central authority, while heavy taxation and reliance on slave labor stunted economic innovation. Externally, invasions by various barbarian tribes, including the Visigoths and Vandals, fractured the Empire's borders. By 476 AD, when Romulus Augustulus was deposed by Odoacer, the Empire's structural failures coupled with relentless external attacks marked the definitive end of Roman imperial rule in the West.
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