Transcript The Fall of the Roman Empire

Ch. 9 Section 2
Why did the Roman Empire come to an end?
The fall of Rome was a result of many
factors:
• Poor Leadership
• Corrupt government
• Wealthy quit paying taxes
• Economy weakened
• Law and order broke down
List the reasons on the front of your foldable
Attempts were made to make things better.
Diocletian:
1. He divided the empire into four parts.
2. Named officials to rule the four parts of the empire, but he kept
authority over all.
3. Set prices of goods and wages to control inflation.
4. Ordered all workers to remain at their jobs for life to make sure
enough goods were produced.
Constantine:
1. He required sons to follow their fathers' trades.
2. He moved the capital to Byzantium in the east and
renamed it Constantinople in the east.
• 1. Poor leadership
• 2. Talented people refused to serve in
government.
• 3. Army leaders fought each other for the
throne.
• 4. Many officials took bribes.
• 5. Law and order broke down.
• 6. Rome was unstable because it had 22
emperors in 50 years.
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1. Many people were enslaved
2. Few people attended schools.
3. A plague spread and killed one in every
ten persons.
4. Crime and poverty spread.
5. Law and order broke down.
6. Roman soldiers and invaders seized crops
and destroyed fields causing famine.
• 1. Few Romans honored the ideals of duty,
courage, and honesty.
• 2. Roman soldiers and Germanic tribes
swept into the empire and raided Roman
farms and towns.
• 3. Germanic soldiers were enlisted into
Rome’s army but were not loyal to Rome.
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1. Many wealthy citizens stopped paying taxes.
2. Artisans produced less.
3. Farmers grew less food.
4. Inflation rose and the prices of everything
increased.
• 5. People began to barter or trade one good for
another instead of using money.
• 6. Businesses closed, jobs were lost, and income
fell.
What event marks the fall of the Roman Empire?
• In A.D. 476 a Germanic general named
Odoacer took control, overthrowing the western
emperor, a fourteen year old boy named
Romulus Augustulus.
• After Romulus Augustulus, no emperor ever
again ruled from Rome.
Culture:
- The Roman language of Latin is the root of many world
languages today.
Government:
- Roman laws are the basis of many the modern democratic
republic governments.
- Roman ideas about the rights of citizens.
Religion:
- The Roman role in spreading Christianity.
Architecture:
- Roman Architectural designs and their use of concrete.