Transcript A Century in Crisis - Vancouver School Board

A Century in Crisis
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 End of Marcus Aurelius’ reign as emperor (A.D. 161180) brought about end of Pax Romana. Ruler’s after
Marcus Aurelius had no idea how to deal with the
giant empire and its problems.
Rome’s Economy
Weakens

 Hostile tribes and pirates disrupt trade.
Empire at limit of expansion and lacks new sources
of gold and silver.
 empire raised taxes as a result
 empire minted coins with less silver
inflation resulted
Rome’s Economy
Weakens

 Agriculture faced serious problems
 Harvests were increasingly meager because soil lost
fertility.
 Years of war destroyed farmland.
Serious food shortages, disease, and population
decline resulted.
Military and Political
Turmoil

Roman military in disarray
 less disciplined soldiers
 allegiance to commanders, not to Rome itself
 recruiting of mercenaries who were less loyal to
Rome
Less loyalty among average citizens
 Earlier Romans cared more about the Republic.
Later Romans lose their sense of patriotism.
Emperors Attempt
Reform
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 Diocletian Reforms the Empire
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Becomes emperor in 284.
Severely limits personal freedoms.
Doubles size of Roman army.
Controls inflation by price fixing.
Divides the empire
 Greek speaking East (takes for himself)
 Latin-speaking West (appoints a co-ruler)
 Kept overall control.
 Retired in A.D. 305, but civil war broke out.
 Four rivals competed for control, including the
commander Constantine
Emperors Attempt
Reform

 Constantine Moves the Capital
 A.D. 312 Constantine gains control of the western part
of the empire.
 A.D. 324 he secures the eastern empire and the system
of a single ruler.
 A.D. 330 Constantine moves the capital from Rome to
Byzantium on the Bosporus Strait between Europe and
Asia.
 The center of power shifts from Rome to the east.
The Western Empire
Crumbles

 Germanic Invasions
 A.D. 370 the Huns move into Europe causing the
Germanic peoples to flee into Roman territory.
 A.D. 410 Germans invade and overrun Rome itself and
plunder it for three days.
Attila the Hun
 In 444 the Huns unite under Attila and terrorize both
halves of the empire.
 In 452 the Huns advance against Rome, but fail in
conquering the city due to famine and disease.
 Attila dies in 453.
The Western Empire
Crumbles
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 An Empire No More
 14-year-old emperor Romulus Augustulus ousted by
German by German forces in 426.
 Roman power in the western half of the empire ceases to
exist.
 The eastern half of the empire comes to be called the
Byzantine Empire, and flourishes for 1,000 years.
 The Byzantine emperors ruled from Constantinople.
 The Byzantine emperors saw themselves as heirs to the
power of Augustus Caesar.