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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andre" data-source="post: 1904316" data-attributes="member: 25930">One could argue that it was conquered, in a sense. Though cultural historians (Edward Gibbon, Michael Grant) have tended to focus on Christianity as a major cause of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, military historians have tended to give greater weight to the epidemics that swept through the Empire. In AD 165 a plague was brought to the Empire by soldiers who had been campaigning in Mesopotamia. Though uncertain, it's possible this was smallpox or a particularly virulent form of measles. The plague lasted for 15 years, then broke out occasionally thereafter. A hundred years later another series of plagues swept through the Empire. These outbreaks dramatically affected the Empire's ability to defend itself from barbarian tribes, many of which were being driven into the Empire by Asiatic tribes who were also pushing west. Try Plagues and Peoples by William H. McNeill. The book specifically covers the impact of disease in the history of societies. It's been a few years since I last read it, but I highly recommend it if you're interested in the subject.</blockquote>