Transcript Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Fall of the Western Roman
Empire
Problems in the Empire
• The Empire was too big to control
• Germanic warriors (barbarians) continued to attack
Roman territories
• Captured Germanic people moved into the empire –
creating their own system of government – thus ignoring
Roman laws
• Army vs. Farmers – Male citizens had to serve in the
military leaving fewer people to farm = less food
production
• Taxes were growing higher to help pay for the military
• Wealth citizen were moving out of the city creating their
own estates
Division of the Empire
• Diocletian – Took power in the late 200’s. Decided that
the empire was too big for one person to rule, so he divided it
into the Eastern and Western Empires.
• Eastern:
– Ruled by
Diocletian
• Western:
– Ruled by
Appointed
Co-Emperor
Power Moves to the East
• Constantine –
Reunited the two halves of
the Roman Empire for a
short time.
• Moved the capital to the east
into what is now Turkey.
• He called the new capital
Constantinople.
Ten Theories on Why the Roman
Empire Fell
• Excessive Military
Spending to Defend
the Empire.
• Political Corruption
?
The Fall of Rome
• Interior Technology
• Inflation
The Fall of Rome
• Unemployment
• Urban Decay
The Fall of Rome
• Decline in Morals and
values
• Rise in Christianity
The Fall of Rome
• Environmental and
Public Health
Problems
• Barbarian Invasions
The Sack of Rome
• Barbarians Invade
Rome
• Huns (warriors from Central
Asia) invaded from
southeastern Europe
• Goths (Eastern tribes) who
could not defeat the Huns and
ran into Roman territory
• Vandals (Germanic tribe from
Northern Europe) invaded
Gaul (France), Spain, and
North Africa
The Empire in Chaos
• The Huns pushed the
Goths into Roman territory;
the Goths raised an army and
were paid by the Romans
not to attack.
• However, when the Romans
stopped the payments, the
Goths destroyed Rome in
410.
The End of the Western Empire
• During the 400’s, Roman Emperors were
weak.
• Military leaders took power away from
emperor
• Military leaders began fighting for power
among themselves
• 476 – Barbarian general overthrew last
Roman Emperor and Named himself King
of Italy