- The end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180) ended Pax Romana
- People didn't know how to rule; Rome declined
Rome's economy weakens
- Hostile tribes blocked trade
- no more land to conquer
- resources limited
- more taxes
- inflation- drop in value of money, higher prices
- land became infertile due to over farm
- food shortages, death, disease
Military and Political Turmoil
- soldiers loyalty and discipline declined, only towards general fighting each other for throne
- government recruited mercenaries; got paid less
- citizens less loyal
Emperors Attempt Reform
Diocletian Reforms the Empire (284 A.D.)
- more strict
- less rights
- less inflation by set prices
- made himself seem like a god, or have godly aura
- doubled size of Rome
- split in half
- Latin speaking in west (Italy, Gual, Britian, Spain)- co ruler
- Greek speaking in east- Diocletian (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt)
- retired in 305 A.D. due to illness
- civil war broke out, by 311, 4 rulers fought for power
- Among them was Constantine
Constantine Moves the Capital
- Gained control on western part of empire in 312 A.D.
- continued many of the same social and economic policies
- in 324 A.D. he gained control of East, thus restoring concept of a single ruler
- In 330 A.D. he moved the capital to the Greek city of Byzantium
- Center shifted, walls would be built, new name of Constantinople
- After Constantine's death, it split once more
- The west fell while the east survives
The Western Empire Crumbles
Germanic Invasions
- Since the rule of Julius, the people of the northern boarder coexisted peacefully
- Around 370 A.D., that all changed
- Mongol nomads called Huns from central Asia moved into the region and destroyed all in their path
- In attempt to flee, Germanic people pushed into Rome
- Romans referred to invaders as Barbarians (any non-Roman)
- They kept moving through Roman provinces of Gaul, Spain and North Africa
- Western empire couldn't make army to stop them
- In 410 A.D., Germans overran Rome itself and plundered it for three days
Attila the Hun
- In 444, the Huns united under a powerful chieftain named Attila
- With his 100,000 soldiers he terrorized both parts of the empire
- they attacked and plundered 70 cities (failed for Constantinople; walls)
- Swept to west
- In 452 A.D., Attila's forces advanced against Rome, but famine and disease stopped them from conquering Rome
- After Attila's death in 453, the Huns stopped being a threat, but Germanic invasions continued
An Empire No More
- Last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, 14, was ousted by German forces in 476
- No ruler even pretended to rule the western half of Rome after that
- Eastern half later called Byzantine Empire
- flourished
- preserved Greek and Roman culture for 1,000 years
- Emperors ruled from Constantinople and saw themselves as heirs to Augustus Caesar
- Empire endured until 1453, when it fell to the Ottoman Turks
- Rome's culture lived on even when Rome did not
1. a. Inflation is when the value of money lowers and prices raise, this happened in Rome but was later reformed
b. A mercenary is a hired soldier from another country
c. Diocletian was a very powerful and innovative Roman emperor who brought reform to Rome and was the first to split it into halves.
d. Constantinople, also known as Byzantium before was the new capital of Rome named after Constantine
e. Attila was a very powerful Hun leader whom made an army of 100,000 and invaded and plundered more than 70 cities throughout Rome
3. The main internal causes were politics, economics and military
4. He split the empire in half which would make it easier to rule since Rome was becoming to large, this, farther down the road helped preserve Roman AND Greek culture for another 1000 years
5. They began invading because they were fleeing the Huns
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