Transcript The Decline of Rome - Christian Brothers High School

5.5

After the 200 years of peace known as the Pax
Romana, Rome was caught in political and
economic turmoil.
 High taxes and government corruption angered the
lower classes.
 Emperors fought amongst themselves and also against
generals for power.

IN 284 A.D. the Emperor Diocletian attempted
to reestablish order in the Roman Empire.
 He divided the empire into 2 parts. The Western
province was given to Maximian to rule as co-emperor.
The richer eastern portion was governed by Diocletian.
 Inflation, the rapid rise of prices, was slowed by
assigning fixed prices to certain goods and services.

Constantine
 Continued with Diocletian’s reforms while making
some changes of his own.
 Made Christianity the official religion of the empire and
moved the empire’s capital to Constantinople.

Nomads from Asia called Huns drove
Germanic tribes into Roman territory.
 Attila the Hun was called the “Scourge of God” by
Christians because they saw him as punishment from
God for their sins.
 Weakened by internal and external problems, the
Roman Empire gave away some of their lands to
invaders.
 Roman legions were weak, undisciplined, and sparse.
The Roman government hired foreign soldiers,
mercenaries, to supplement their diminished army.

The Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D.
 Germanic invaders from the north captured Rome and
drove out the emperor