cle that was no small part in the fall of the Roman Empire (Guittard, 220). The earliest Romans used a barter system. Goods were traded for goods. At its peak, the Romans developed a system where they were using cash. This system did not sustain because at the end of its reign, Rome had reverted back to the barter system. This revertion caused huge problems for the Empire, making it nearly impossible to collect the much needed taxes. Paying the barbarians in grain was not an option because it was something they had access to. Simply put, the barbarians wanted cash and Rome had none to pay them with. Eventually, the vastness of this Empire became too great for one single government to control. In 284 AD, a famous Roman military commander, Diocletian, had risen to power and taken the role of Emperor. After experiencing problems controlling such a vast Empire, Diocletian decided to break apart the Empire into Eastern and Western regions and assigned one Emperor to each Empire (Vickers, 145). As the Eastern Empire grew successful, the Western Empire deteriorated and collapsed. There were many factors to the downfall of the Western Empire, but the most important factor was a very weak economy. These economic problems spread like wildfire and eventually led to more problems and turmoil within the Western Empire. The Empire in the West tried many ways to combat their rapidly declining economy. In order to make up for lost money the state passed heavy taxes across the land. As the high taxes were being collected, those who were being taxed were so overwhelmed by the burdens of taxation and suffered through hard times to make ends meet. Along with the heavy taxation, the government also passed harsh and unjust penalties in hopes of collecting taxes faster. This act only put more strain on the citizens of the West, especially to the lower class and poor, simply due to the fact that they were poor and could not give enough money to the Empire....
