There are numerous factors that contributed to the fall of the roman empire. Ultimately though it was the decisions of a few weak emperors that put the Roman empire in a state that was impossible to recover from. There are generally five emperors who are credited with helping bring down Rome and these emperors include; Caligula, Elagabalus, Commodus, Nero and Domitian. Caligula, who reigned from 37 to 41 heavily damaged Roman infrastructure depleted the Roman treasury with his lavish spending, and was hated by many due to his bizarre treatment of others. Elagabalus, although emperor, failed to impose any positive contributions to society, as he instead was fantasized with sexual practices and mystic religions,  which ultimately caused unrest and confusion in the empire when he ruled during 218 to 224. The third emperor, Commodus, ruled from 180 to 192 and was hated among Roman civilians for his harsh treatment of citizens, and his failure to recognize the needs of society. Next up is Nero, who ruled from 54 to 68, who was believed to have started a fire in Rome in order to develop a different layout for the city. Nero as well as the other emperors on the list grew unpopular to the majority of society as he was ruthless to associates and  he failed protect the empire from invaders. Lastly, there was Domitian, who ruled from 81 to 96 , whose paranoia of being dethroned and ultimately killed got the better of him as he lost the support of his allies which led to stagnation within the empire.