Your answers would be:
A). Incompetent rulers placed huge tax burdens on the Roman citizens.
B). The soldiers hired on the frontiers were not willing to go defend other parts of the empire.
C). Soldiers in the outer parts of the Roman Empire often supported local commanders instead of the emperor.
The statements that correctly describes the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire is that incompetent rulers placed huge tax burdens on the Roman citizens, the soldiers hired on the frontiers were not willing to go defend other parts of the empire., and Soldiers in the outer parts of the Roman Empire often supported local commanders instead of the emperor.
The Fall of the Roman Empire:
The fall of the Roman Empire occurred around 476 C.E. (Common Era).
Explanation:
The reason why the answer choices "A). Incompetent rulers placed huge tax burdens on the Roman citizens." "B). The soldiers hired on the frontiers were not willing to go defend other parts of the empire," and "C). Soldiers in the outer parts of the Roman Empire often supported local commanders instead of the emperor" is the correct answer because they described what actually happened during the beginning of the fall of Rome.
Why answer choice "A" is correct:
The first statement "Incompetent rulers placed huge tax burdens on the Roman citizens" is one of the correct answer because rulers that did not have the rightful skill to lead a new empire tried to make the Roman citizens pay high in taxes. That the word "Incompetent" means is a person that lacks skill to be successful in something, and this was what most of the new rulers was like because they never had any experience being a ruler. They wanted the Roman citizens to pay a lot in taxes because they wanted to get money, possibly for their own use or trying to help build their new economy. This is the reason why this answer choice is correct.
Why answer choice "B" is correct:
The second statement "The soldiers hired on the frontiers were not willing to go defend other parts of the empire." is another correct answer because the soldier's didn't want to defend an empire that is dying. They didn't want to defend the empire because they knew that they would be wasting their time in doing so, and could possibly get killed for an empire that is already falling apart. They pretty much didn't want to waste their time and lives to defend an empire that is falling. For example, this is like trying to defend a kingdom with no walls, it's pointless. This is the reason why this answer choice is correct.
Why answer choice "C" is correct:
The third statement "Soldiers in the outer parts of the Roman Empire often supported local commanders instead of the emperor" is another correct answer because the soldiers stopped trusting the emperor. The reason why they stopped trusting the emperor is because the emperor was the one that is causing the fall of the Roman Empire, and since the economy is falling, the emperor lost all of its trust from the people. Soldiers tend to start believing in local commanders around the currently falling Roman Empire because they believed the local commanders knew how to better take control of an army, and manage the economy. This is the reason why this answer choice is correct.
Why the other answer choice is incorrect:
The reason why answer choice "D). Regardless of the strength of the emperors, the Roman army was unable to hold back barbarian invasions from the south and west" is incorrect because:
The former Roman soldiers that were soldiers for the Roman Empire were following the lead of local commanders, in which they were able to control their own land, and keep the barbarians away. They had a lot of man power in the little empires that were being formed around Rome.This is the reason why this answer choice would be eliminated.
-Julie
