s established in order to increase the thinning population (Boak 24). Roman emperors did not take proper action to stop the declining events. Even if counteractions were taken, it was too late for the empire to stop the downward trend.The corruption of Romes leaders is also directly linked to the destruction of the military. The Romans were doing an excellent job at controlling their military, until corruption started rotting the militarys core. Ideally the soldier and the citizen should be one. The feeling of the soldier that he was not accepted by the state was a major problem, but during the second century Rome fixed the situation (Haywood 25). The common man could now enlist in the Imperial army and were allowed to serve up to twenty years. Non-citizens could also receive Roman citizenship through this method. Military service was very important for Romanization. The soldier would learn foreign languages such as Latin, Punic, Celtic, or Illyrian. He would also learn discipline by any means necessary. The opportunity to participate in the Imperial army was a great service that was sought after by many. This willingness to recruit was a great strength of the Republic (Haywood 25). Although recruitment was very high for several years, people began to loose pride and avoid the military. Previously stated, the large lands of agriculture required large numbers of men to work the fields. This is when the declining birth rate takes toll on the empire. Rome required food to eat, but they needed men to fight and work. Landowners would pay the government in order to have their workers exempt from military service. Toward the end of the period there was an official rate of exemption that was set at a high price because landowners were trying to exempt so many workers (Haywood 105). Once again, the greedy landowners put themselves before the good of the state that led to the internal breakdown of the military. Without men to...
