THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Dec 13, 2015
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
Essential Question:What factors led to the collapseof the Roman Empire and what effect did the fall of Rome have on the Mediterranean world?
Warm-Up Question:In the cartoon on the next slide, identify as many Roman achievements as possible
The Roman Republic & Empire: A Brief Overview
Rome began as a city-state that was heavily influenced by Greek culture
The Roman Republic
By 509 BCE, Rome was ruled by elected Senators who served in the Roman Republic
The Roman Republic During the Republic, Rome expanded by
defeating Carthage in the Punic Wars and later under generals
like Julius Caesar
The Roman Republic
The Republic weakened due to corruption, civil
wars, and the assassination of Julius
Caesar in 44 B.C.E.
The Roman Empire
After Julius Caesar’s death, Rome became
an empire ruled by the Emperor
Augustus
The Roman Empire
Pax Romana
Under Augustus, Rome entered an era
of peace and prosperity known as
the Pax Romana
The Roman Empire
Pax Romana
Era of decline
After 207 years of prosperity during the Pax Romana, the Empire began to decline and was
conquered in 476 A.D.
The Decline of the Roman EmpireThe decline and fall of the Roman Empire
happened gradually, in three stages
FIRST STAGE: internal problems with politics, the economy, and the military began an era of decline
SECOND STAGE: there was a brief period of revival as Emperors Diocletian and Constantine enacted
reforms; however, some of these reforms would help bring about the Empire’s end
THIRD STAGE: repeated invasions by Germanic “barbarian” tribes would lead to the conquest of
Rome, bringing the Roman Empire to an end
Rome’s Internal ProblemsPOLITICAL and SOCIAL
The empire was too large for one emperor to control
Emperors after the Pax Romana
were weak
Rome’s Internal ProblemsPOLITICAL and SOCIAL
Citizens experienced a loss of confidence, patriotism, and loyalty to
the Roman government
Rome’s Internal ProblemsPOLITICAL and SOCIAL
Rome’s Internal ProblemsECONOMIC
Outside groups disrupted trade
Poor harvests led to food shortages
Rome’s Internal ProblemsECONOMIC
The government raised taxes and minted new coins
which led to inflation
The economic decline left many Romans
very poor
Rome had a trade imbalance (they
bought more than they produced)
Rome’s Internal ProblemsMILITARY
Germanic tribes from Northern Europe, outside of the Roman Empire, were gaining strength
Rome’s Internal ProblemsMILITARY
The Roman military was growing ineffective due
to poor leadership: generals had their own
interests and were challenging the authority
of the emperors
Rome’s Internal ProblemsMILITARY
To save money, Romans found it cheaper to hire foreign soldiers
instead of employing more Romans; these “mercenaries” were not truly loyal to Rome
The Decline of the Roman EmpireThe decline and fall of the Roman Empire
happened gradually, in three stages
FIRST STAGE: internal problems with politics, the economy, and the military began an era of decline
SECOND STAGE: there was a brief period of revival as Emperors Diocletian and Constantine enacted
reforms; however, some of these reforms would help bring about the Empire’s end
THIRD STAGE: repeated invasions by Germanic “barbarian” tribes would lead to the conquest of
Rome, bringing the Roman Empire to an end
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR DIOCLETIAN
In 284 CE, Emperor Diocletian came to power; he began a series
of reforms that temporarily halted Rome’s decline
To fix the problems of the military, he doubled the size of
the Roman Army
To help the economy and stop inflation, he fixed the prices of
certain goods
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR DIOCLETIAN
In an attempt to do something about the lack
of loyalty and patriotism of many Roman citizens, Diocletian presented
himself as a godlike leader
He wanted to boost the prestige of the position of emperor, so he claimed
descent from the gods and had numerous ceremonies
to glorify himself
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR DIOCLETIAN
Diocletian’s most important reform was dividing the Roman Empire into two parts:
the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR DIOCLETIAN
Diocletian’s most important was reform was dividing the Roman Empire into two parts: the
Eastern Empire and the Western Empire
Western
Eastern
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR DIOCLETIAN
The Roman Empire was divided by language: the mostly Latin-speaking Western half and the
mostly Greek-speaking Eastern half
Western
Eastern
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR DIOCLETIAN
However, the Empire was also divided by wealth: the East was far richer than the West because it contained more major cities and trade centers
Western
Eastern
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR DIOCLETIAN
Diocletian’s reasons for the division: he believed that the Empire had grown too large
and too complex for one ruler
He took the Eastern half for himself and appointed a co-emperor to run the West; however, Diocletian had
overall control of the Empire
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR CONSTANTINE
After Diocletian’s death, there was a power struggle among several men who wanted to
rule the Empire
Emerging victorious and becoming the new emperor of
the West was Constantine
Constantine continued many of Diocletian’s reforms, but he reversed the biggest reform:
he reclaimed the East and the Roman Empire once again had
a single ruler
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR CONSTANTINE
Constantine made other changes: wanting to unify Rome and
recognizing that Christianity was on the rise and could not be destroyed, he ended persecutions of Christians
and made it a legal religion
Constantine later converted to Christianity himself
The emperor after him would go on to make Christianity the official
religion of Rome; this would have unexpected consequences
Attempts To Reform The Roman EmpireEMPEROR CONSTANTINE
In 330 CE, Constantine made a change that would have far-reaching consequences for
the world: he moved the capital
of the Roman Empire and his seat
of power from Rome to a Greek
city called Byzantium
Byzantium, the new capital
Rome, the old capitalByzantium was perfectly
located to be the center of trade between East and West
Given its location on the Bosporus Strait, the city was also in a more easily defensible position from
Northern invaders than Rome was
When it was constructed, Byzantium had a strong Greek and Christian influence; the new capital was soon
protected by massive walls and later was the home to many great new structures built in the Roman style
Byzantium eventually took on a new name: Constantinople (or “City of Constantine”)
After Diocletian and Constantine died, the Eastern half of the Empire
continued to grow wealthier and more powerful
The Western half, on the other hand, once again began to decline
Reasons why the Western side of the Roman Empire once again slid into decline: political corruption,
weakening economy, and terrible plagues
Also, Roman citizens were less concerned with the fate of the Roman Empire and more
preoccupied with thoughts of the afterlife (because of the dominance of Christianity)
The Decline of the Roman Empire
All of these issues made the Western Roman Empire weak and vulnerable (open to attack)
The Decline of the Roman Empire
The Decline of the Roman EmpireThe decline and fall of the Roman Empire
happened gradually, in three stages
FIRST STAGE: internal problems with politics, the economy, and the military began an era of decline
SECOND STAGE: there was a brief period of revival as Emperors Diocletian and Constantine enacted
reforms; however, some of these reforms would help bring about the Empire’s end
THIRD STAGE: repeated invasions by Germanic “barbarian” tribes would lead to the conquest of
Rome, bringing the Roman Empire to an end
The Fall of the Roman Empire
By 370 CE, “barbarian” tribes from Asia and Northern Europe were attacking both halves of the Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Eastern half was well-protected, organized, strong, and prosperous; it fought off the invaders
The Western half was vulnerable, disorganized, and weak; it could not defend itself from the invaders
The Fall of the Roman Empire
A marauding barbarian tribe from Central Asia called the Huns began the
invasions
The Huns swept into Northern Europe, conquering all in
their path
The Fall of the Roman Empire
When the Huns invaded Northern Europe, they
were so fierce that they even made the Germanic
tribes want to avoid them
The Fall of the Roman Empire
To avoid the Huns, the Germanic tribes moved south into the Western Roman Empire’s territory
The Fall of the Roman Empire
These Germanic groups (such as the
Vandals, Goths, Visigoths, Franks,
and Ostrogoths) did not move into
Roman territory peacefully
They repeatedly attacked the
Western Romans
The Fall of the Roman EmpireWhen a vicious new leader
named Attila united the Hun tribes, the Huns also
attacked both sides of the Roman Empire
The Eastern side, centered around Constantinople,
successfully fought off the attacking Huns
The Western side, attacked at several places by the Huns
and Germanic tribes, crumbled and was
conquered ATTILA THE HUN
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The city of Rome itself was captured and looted by the Visigoths in 410 CE
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The German warrior Odoacer removed the last Roman emperor
from power
The Fall of the Roman EmpireThe weak Western Roman Army could do little to stop
the invasions; by 476 CE, Germanic barbarians took over the city of Rome and
conquered the West
The once-united Western Roman Empire broke up into numerous smaller kingdoms and territories, each
ruled over by different Germanic groups
The fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of numerous small kingdoms led Europe
to the Middle Ages
The fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of numerous small kingdoms led Europe
to the Middle Ages
The Eastern Roman Empire, now known as the Byzantine Empire, not only remained together but
survived for nearly a thousand more years
The Importance of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire kept alive the cultural achievements of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome at
the same time as Han China and Gupta India were creating their own great civilizations
The combination of Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic (the blend of Greek and Asian cultures) achievements
are known as Greco-Roman culture
If the Byzantine Empire also fell, it is possible that the great innovations and achievements of these great
civilizations could have been lost foreverGreco-Roman achievements are the
foundation of Western civilization, the culture Americans live in today