If you were to stop a Roman around the year 117 A.D. and ask about the future of the empire, he/she would probably boast that they were the greatest empire in the history of the world, and the Roman Empire would last forever. In 117 it would be hard to see it any other way. The Romans were on top of the world. Yet starting around the 200s, serious infighting began hurting their power from within. By the end of the 300s, they had spread themselves too thin, spent too much money, leaders were corrupt, and they began to lose battles to traditionally lesser foes. By the end of the 400s, Rome was no more.