Transcript The Rise of the City-States

The Decline & Fall
OF
The Roman Empire
I. Emperor Diocletian
A. Came to power in
284 CE
B. Reign was called
the “New Empire”
because he made
many new reforms.
II. The Reign of Diocletian
A. Instructed farmers and merchants how much they could
charge for goods (Edict on Prices)
B. Increased size of army and government
C. Divided empire into administrative parts: east and west.
1. Each side had own government and was ruled by its
own emperor.
2. The two emperors ruled jointly and issued laws
together.
a. Diocletian ruled the eastern half and
made himself the senior ruler.
3. Divided empire was expensive - Diocletian created
new tax system to pay for it.
III. Emperor Constantine
A. Came to power in
312 CE and ruled both
halves of the empire.
B. Under Constantine,
Christianity became
the main religion in
the Roman Empire.
IV. ConstantIne’s ReIgn
A. In 313 CE, Emperor Constantine gave
Christians the freedom to practice their religion
openly.
B. Built new capital at Byzantium and renamed
it Constantinople
1. It is located between Greece and Asia,
reachable by land and sea, good defense
2. Dedicated in 330 CE; became “New Rome”
V. After Constantine
A. Nephew, Julian, becomes emperor in
361 CE
B. Christianity becomes official religion
of the Roman Empire by 400 CE
C. By 400 CE, empire permanently splits
The Fall of The
Roman Empire
WARM UP
The chart below shows major events occurring
during the Decline of Rome. Write the name of the
person which matches each description on the line.
Marcus Aurelius
Diocletian
Constantine
_____________
_____________
_____________
Dies ending the
Pax Romana
Persecutes
Christians and
attempts reform.
Divides the
empire.
Builds new
capital at
Constantinople.
I. Barbarian Invasions
A. Since the time of Pax Romana, the empire had been
fighting off attacks from barbarians.
1. Barbarian = people from beyond the Roman frontier
B. The huge size of the empire made it difficult to defend.
By the 300s, Germanic tribes were pressing hard on the
western borders of the empire.
1. These tribes were trying to escape attack on their own
territories.
2. They were attracted by wealthy cities and fertile
farmlands of the empire.
C. Some emperors tried to appease the barbarians giving them
land to settle
1. Many were recruited into the army.
a. However, these soldiers had little loyalty to Rome.
Barbarian Invasions
I. Barbarian Invasions
D. In 378 CE, the Visigoths, who settled in the eastern part of
the empire, revolted.
1. They killed Emperor Valens, the leader of the eastern
empire, and defeated his army.
2. The Visigoths marched into Rome in 410 CE.
E. In the early 400s CE the barbarians destroyed Britain, Gaul,
Spain, and North Africa.
F. 476 CE is considered the fall of Rome – the Germanic chief
Odoacer forced the last emperor out the western part of the
empire.
G. Constantinople withstood barbarian attacks and remained
intact for another 1,000 years.