Transcript Fall of Empire

Chapter 15 section
4
Emperors
And
The Fall of the Empire
Emperors of Rome
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An emperor is an absolute ruler of an empire.
An empire is a group of states, regions, or
countries, under 1 person’s absolute rule
Rome had several emperors. Some were good
and some were terrible.
Some emperors gained the throne through
adoption
Others may have been put there by the
Praetorian Guard- the bodyguards that are to
protect the emperor
Augustus
27 B.C.- A.D. 14- Julius Caesar’s nephew
and heir
 1st emperor
 Pax Romana- reforms, created peace
 Reorganized the government
 Patron of the arts
 No son- step son becomes his heir
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Tiberius
A.D. 14- A.D. 37
 2nd emperor
 Continued Augustus’s reforms
 Reformed taxes, cut luxury expenses to
improve finances of the empire
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Caligula
A.D. 37-A.D. 41
 Adopted by Tiberius
 Repaired roads and built aqueducts
 Made his own horse the consul of Rome
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Claudius
A.D. 41-A.D. 54
 Extended Rome into England
 Extended citizenship to more people
 Married his own niece who had him
murdered so her son could be emperor
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Nero- last of Julius Caesar’s line
A.D. 54 to 68 A.D.
 Last emperor who was “related” to Julius
Caesar
 Murdered lots of family members
 Persecuted the Christians
 Rebuilt Rome after the fire in A.D. 64
 He committed suicide
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Flavius Vespasians
A.D. 69- A.D. 79
 He established a new line of emperors
 Started the construction of the Coliseum
 Destroyed Jerusalem during a revolt
 He was followed by his son Titus (A.D. 79A.D. 81)
 Mt. Vesuvius erupts in August of A.D. 79
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Domitian
A.D. 81- A.D. 96
 Coliseum was completed under his reign
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Trajan
A.D. 98- A.D. 117
 1st non Italian to lead the empire
 Adopted by Nerva
 Aggressive foreign policy (Romanian,
Armenia, and Mesopotamia)
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Hadrian
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A.D. 117- A.D. 138
Built new towns
Public works projects
Reformed slavery system- illegal for a master to
put his own slave to death
Built a wall as northern boundary- est. manmade
and /or natural boundaries in Empire
Marcus Aurelius
A.D. 161 – A.D. 180
 One of the greatest emperors- the last of
“good” emperors
 Very kind and very fair
 Military leader
 Loved philosophy and wrote a book
 Last emperor of the Pax Romana
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Commodos
A.D. 180- A.D. 192
 Marcus Aurelius was his father
 He was very cruel and undid all the
reforms his father did.
 His guards killed him.
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Diocletian
A.D. 284- A.D. 305
 Rule by Divine right
 Economic reforms
 Divided empire (Eastern Roman Empire
and Western Roman Empire) to make it
easier to rule
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Constantine I
A.D. 312- A.D. 337
 1st Roman emperor to convert to
Christianity
 Moved capital to Constantinople
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Fall of the Empire
4 main reasons the Empire fell:
 Political
 Economic
 Social
 Foreign Invasions
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Conditions get worse
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Out of control spending
Greedy emperors
Inflation / High taxes
Lack of consistent leadership and selection of emperors
Fighting among Roman legions over support of
Emperors
No new territories coming in to empire with wealth
Money not worth much- causing citizens to have to go
back to a barter economy
Growing crime rates and poverty
Attempts to save the Empire
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DiocletianSon of freedmen
Fortify frontiers
Reorganized government
Set maximum prices for wages and goods
All workers keep same jobs until they die
Rule by Divine Right
Divide Empire into 2 to make it easier to rule
Attempts to save the Empire
Constantine I Workers had to follow their father’s trade
 Sons of farmers had to work their father’s
land
 Sons of ex-soldiers had to serve in army
 Moved capital out of Rome and created a
permanent split in the Empires
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Political
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Government not able to rule a vast empire- the
government was set up to run a small city-state rather
than an area as large as the Roman Empire
Lacked a fixed succession to the throne
The divided empire lacked effective leadership- the best
leaders were in the Eastern Empire
The Western Empire was in a state of decline and decay
Selection over emperors- either civil wars, auction throne
to highest bidder
Establish Rule by Divine Right
Economic
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Rome needed money- the government had heavy expenses
Levied heavy taxes on the people
Emperors tried to fix prices to control businesses
Crime increases
Roads and bridges in disrepair
Trade and manufacturing disappear- towns lose population
Agriculture suffers- much land used as latifundias
Inflation- money value is worthless
Went to a system of barter- trade items for items instead of using
money
Social
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Lack of loyal soldiers- no match for the well
trained/ loyal German tribes
Mixture of cultures, religions, national groups
Loss of patriotism and loyalty to Rome herself
Christianity-new religion that taught against
worshipping the emperor
Slave revolts
Decline in health- epidemics break out
Foreign Invasions
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Invaders able to break through the borders of Rome
(The Huns, the Germanic Tribes)
Invention of the stirrup
Rome was captured in A.D, 410 by the Visigoths
Germanic tribes claimed large portions of Western
Empire
Eastern half of empire was stronger and more
prosperous and able to resist outsiders
Barbarians able to defeat the Roman army
The Roman Senate declared the people were on their
own and they could no longer save them
After the fall ….
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The Western Empire will go through 1000 year
period called the “Middle Ages” where classical
things such as art, architecture, philosophy,
science, math, literature, and politics will be
“forgotten” until the Renaissance.
The Church will play a big role in the political
structure of many of the countries in Europe.
Western Europe will experience the Dark Ages.
The Eastern half of the empire will thrive
and go on to great things and keep the
classical knowledge alive and safe.
 It will be known as the Byzantine Empire
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