Transcript The Fal2 - Wando High School

The Fall of the Roman Empire
INTERNAL PROBLEMS AND INNOVATIONS
SPUR THE DIVISION AND DECLINE OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
A Century of Crisis
 The Empire Declines
 Pax Romana ends
in 180 AD with
death of emperor
Marcus Aurelius
 Subsequent emperors
unable to govern giant
empire
What were the causes for the
Fall of Rome?
Economic Reasons
Disruption of trade

Raids from hostile tribes and by pirates on the
Mediterranean
2. Gold and silver drain
 Fewer lands to conquer and resources to gain
 Money leaving empire (trade with China)
1.
3. Inflation
 To pay off debts, government raised taxes and coined
more money with less silver, which led to inflation
 Drop in value of money and rise in prices
 Weakens trade
Military Factors
 Decline of loyalty and
discipline in military
 Recruitment of foreign
mercenaries

Paid foreign soldiers
 Fighting among military
commanders for the
throne
 By third century AD
Roman military in turmoil

Soldiers loyal to commanders,
not Rome
 How might soldiers
with limited loyalty
behave in a military
crisis?
 They might desert or
even switch sides.
 Which is likely to be more
important in the decline of the
Roman Empire, the economy or the
military?
Social Conditions
 Citizen indifference and loss of patriotism
 Decline in population because of disease
 Contrast b/n rich and poor
Agricultural Problems
 Food shortages
 Overworked soil
 War-torn farmland leads to food shortages
 Disease spreads
Emperors Attempt Reform
 Diocletian
 Constantine
Diocletian




Doubles size of Roman armies
Fixes prices to control inflation
Claims descent from Roman gods
Divides empire into eastern and
western parts

Two emperors in Greek-speaking East, Latinspeaking West
 In 305 AD Diocletian retires, rivals
compete for power
Constantine
 Becomes emperor of Western
Empire in 312 AD
 Extends reforms of Diocletian
 Seizes Eastern Empire in 324 AD
 Moves Roman capital to
Byzantium
 Renamed to Constantinople
after Constantine

Today named Istanbul
On Bosporous Strait, crossroads
b/n East and West
 Issues Edict of Milan-Legalizes
Christianity

 How does control of Byzantium offer trade and defensive advantage to
cultures on the Black Sea?
Baptism of Constantine
1517-1524
Divided Empire
The Western Empire Crumbles
 The Decline of Rome took
place over many years
 Germanic Invasions
 Nomads from Asia, the Huns,
invade northern borders of
empire
 Causes Germanic tribes
(Franks, Saxons, Goths,
Visigoths, Vandals) fleeing the
Huns, to enter Roman lands


Sack Rome in 410 AD
Plunder Rome for 3 days
Germanic Invasions
 Why do you think the Western
Empire was unable to field an army
to stop the Germans from
invading?
The Huns
 Nomadic group from the
steppes of Central Asia
 Renowned for skill on
horseback

Devised the stirrup that
allowed them to stand on
horseback and attack
Attila the Hun
 Unites the Huns in 444 AD
 Conquered lands from




France to Balkans, into
central Asia
Set up headquarters in
modern-day Hungary
Plunders 70 cities in East
Attacks Rome in 452 but
famine and disease prevents
victory
Attila dies in 453, but
Germanic invasions
continue
The Last Emperor of Rome
 Romulus Augustulus
 Last Roman emperor
 Falls to Germans in
476
 End of Western Empire
 East thrives for another
thousand years

Byzantine Empire falls
to the Ottoman Turks
1453 AD
Multiple Causes of Fall of Western
Roman Empire
 1. Political (Civil wars, unrest, division of empire)
 2. Social (Low confidence in empire, disloyalty, lack
of patriotism, corruption, contrast between rich and
poor)
 3. Economic (Disruption of trade, inflation, crushing
tax burden, poor harvests)
 4. Military ( Low funds for defense, invaders,
problems recruiting)
Immediate Cause of Fall
 Invasion by Germanic tribes and by
Huns