Transcript Slide 1

Bell Ringer
Chapter 9
Section 2
The Fall of Rome
I. The Decline of Rome (pgs. 318 – 321)
A. In A.D. 180, the last of the “good emperors”, Marcus
Aurelius, died leaving his son Commodus (kah*muh*duhs)
emperor.
B. Commodus was cruel and spent much
of his time fighting as a gladiator.
C. In A.D. 192 the emperor’s bodyguard killed him.
D. After Commodus,
emperors called the
Severans ruled
Rome.
Thumbs Down!!??!!
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8NbnPU
No Shouting Answer Question
 What
did Commodus spend much
of his time as ruler doing?
 How did Commodus Die?
Political and Social Problems
E. The last Severan ruler died in A.D. 235
F. Rome’s government became weak and for the next 50
years, Rome had 22 different emperors.
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Rome’s many problems included:
* Romans no longer honored the old ideals of duty, courage,
and honesty.
* Officials stole money
* Wealthy people stopped paying taxes
*Fewer people attended school
*Large number of empire’s people were now enslaved
No Shouting Answer
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Rome had a lot of rulers following the rule
of the Severan leadership. How many
exactly?
22
Economic and Military Problems
G. During the A.D. 200’s, Rome’s economy began to fail.
H. A plague, or disease that spreads widely, broke out and
killed one out of every ten people in the empire.
I. Rome suffered from inflation, or rapidly increasing
prices.
J. Government tried to get more money by putting less
gold in its coins, but that made the coins lose value.
K. People began to barter, or exchange goods, without
using money.
No shouting Answer Question
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What caused the money to lose value at
this time in Italy?
L. Germanic tribes from northern Europe began invading
Roman farms and towns.
M. Persian armies also pushed into Rome’s territories.
N. Rome began using Germanic warriors in their army
because they could not afford to pay soldiers, but they
were not loyal to Rome.
What Were Diocletian’s Reforms?
O. In A.D. 284, a general named Diocletian
(dy*uh*klee*shuhn) became emperor.
*He introduced many reforms, or political changes.
* divided Rome into four parts
* set the prices of goods and workers’ wages
* Ordered workers to remain at the same jobs until they
died
P. The people ignored the new
rules and Diocletian did not
have enough power to make
them obey.
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_w-hw
No Shouting Answer
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What are reforms? What is an example of
a reform in today’s society?
Who Was Constantine?
Q. Constantine (kahn*stuhn*teen) became emperor in A.D.
312.
R. He issued several orders to aid the Roman economy.
Ordered the sons of workers to follow their fathers’
trades.
Moved capital city from Rome to Byzantium
(buh*zan*tee*uhm).
S. City became known as
Constantinople (kahn*stan*tuhn*oh*puhl)
(Istanbul today).
Study Questions
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This emperor moved the capital city from
Rome to Constantinople.
A type of disease that spreads widely,
and killed one out of every ten people in
the Roman empire.
This is the last of the good emperors.
The capital of Italy following Rome.
The term for rapidly increasing prices.
Bell Ringer

Grab Vocab from stool. I will give you 10
minutes to study if you are quiet,
otherwise we will begin with notes.
II. Rome Falls
A. In A.D. 395, the Roman
Empire was split into two separate empires.
 Theodosius- peacemaker
B. The Western Roman
Empire had Rome as
its capital.
C. The Eastern Roman
Empire had
Constantinople as
its capital.
No Shouting Answer
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The capital of the Eastern Empire?
The capital of the Western Empire?
Rome Is Invaded
D. As Rome declined, it could no longer hold back the
Germanic tribes.
* Ostrogoths
* Visigoths
* Franks
* Vandals
* Angles
* Saxons
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These groups were looking for warmer climates, better
grazing land for their cattle, and fleeing the Huns,
fierce warriors from Mongolia in Asia.
E. In A.D. 378, the Visigoths defeated Roman legions at the
Battle of Adrianople (ay*dree*uh*noh*puhl).
F. In A.D. 410, the Visigoth leader Alaric (a*luh*rihk) and
his soldiers captured Rome itself.
G. It was the first time Rome had been conquered in 800
years.
In A.D. 455, the Vandals entered Rome and spent 12 days
stripping buildings of valuables and burning them.
H. From these attacks came the English word vandalism,
which means “the willful destruction of property.”
No Shouting Answer
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In A.D 410 the Romans are conquered for
the first time in 800 years, who was their
leader?
Rome Falls
I. In A.D. 476, a Germanic general named Odoacer
(oh*duh*way*suhr) overthrew the western emperor
Romulus Augustulus.
J. After Augustulus, no emperor ever again ruled from
Rome.
K. By A.D. 550, the Western Roman Empire had faded
away.
L. The Eastern Roman Empire prospered and became
known as the Byzantine Empire.
No Shouting Answer
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Which of the two empires survives
attacks from the Germanic tribes?
III. The Legacy of Rome
M. Many of our ideas and knowledge today comes from the
Roman Empire.
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Many words in the English language come from the
Romans.
Many of our ideas about government, our system of law,
and knowledge of building came from the Romans.
Study Questions
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What did the Eastern Roman Empire become
known as?
What group of people became the first to
conquer the Romans in 800 years?
These people were the influence for the
English word vandalism, which means “the
willful destruction of property.
In A.D. 395, the Roman Empire was split into
how many different empires?
The last ruler to govern from Rome.
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