Transcript The Decline of the Roman Empire

The Decline of
the Roman
Empire
The Empire’s Problems:
Political Instability
• The death of Marcus Aurelius in 180
AD brought an end to the Pax Romana
–Between 192-284 army legions installed
28 emperors only to kill most of them off
–Army’s were busier fighting each other
than defending the empire’s borders
Economic Decline
• Political instability led to economic
decline
–Warfare disrupted trade and destroyed
farmland causing food shortages that
made food prices very high
–Government printed more coins to make it
easier to pay its soldiers, but by making
more money (and the new money
contained less precious metals) it caused
inflation (rise in prices)
Moral Decay
• People lost their faith in Rome and in
the family
Unsuccessful Reforms
• During the 200-300s Diocletian and
Constantine tried to stop the empire’s
decline
–Reforms preserved the eastern empires
government for over 1000 years, but was
not as successful in the west
Diocletian
• Came to power in 284
• To hold back invasions he raised the
number of legions in the army
• He divided the empire into two
regions—eastern and western because
he realized the empire was too big for
one person to have control
• He issued the Edict of Prices which
froze wages and set maximum prices on
goods
–His reforms were unsuccessful
Constantine
• In 330 AD Constantine moved the
capital of the Roman Empire to a Greek
town called Byzantium, built a great
capital and renamed the city
Constantinople
• Allowed Christianity (and all other
religions) to be practiced in the Roman
Empire
Barbarian Invasions
• Germanic tribes entered the Roman
Empire for many reasons
–Migration to warmer climates and better
grazing land
–Some wanted Rome’s wealth
–Most came because they were fleeing the
Huns, fierce nomadic invaders from
central Asia
• Each warrior group consisted of
warriors, their families and a chief—the
chief governed the group and led
warriors into battle
–Many bands unified only by language
–Visogoths, one Germanic tribe, attacked
Rome and captured the city, but retreated
after their leader died
–The Huns, a group of nomads from
central Asia led by Attila, conquered
much of Europe—eventually retreated
after Attila died
End of Western Empire
• Rome ceased to have an emperor
in 476