Download The Fall of Rome

Ohio Academic Content Statement #3: Germanic invasions helped to break up
the Roman Empire and set the stage for the development of feudal and
manorial systems. Later invasions helped establish Mongol dominance in
central Asia and led to the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the Turks.
Because of the well-built
Roman Roads, the success
of the Legionnaires, and
the leadership of Rome's
more able Emperors and
Generals, the Roman
Empire grew to enormous
proportions.
 It was huge! It covered most
of Europe, most of North
Africa, and some of Asia.
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The choice for who would be
the next emperor was
typically up for debate
between the Old Emperor,
the Senate, the Praetorian
Guard (the emperor's private
army), and the Army
 Gradually, the Praetorian
Guard gained complete
authority to choose the new
emperor
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Taxes were too great,
many rich people stopped
paying
Education: People
stopped attending school
Slaves: Large number of
people enslaved
Plague (disease) spread
throughout Rome, killing
1 in 10
Famine: There was not
enough food to feed
people
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Farming: Farmers lost land,
unable to grow and sell crops,
out of work (and famine)
Recession: People bought
fewer goods, shops closed
Inflation: Rapidly rising prices.
Money lost value because fewer
taxes paid.
Coins Lost Value: Less gold put
in, people found out (caused
inflation)
Bartering Grew: sell goods
without using money
No Taxes=No Money
Mercenaries: Soldiers who
were hired to fight.
 No money to pay military
= weak military
 Invaders: Constant threat
of invaders on empire’s
borders
 Weak military=unable to
stop border invasions
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284 A.D., Diocletian became
Emperor
 Reforms: Political changes
 Set Price Limits: He created
a law that stated if you
charged more than the price
limit, you could be killed. The
punishment for breaking any
of his laws was quite severe.
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Diocletian felt that the only
way to save the empire was
to divide it in half
Created two empires:
Western and Eastern
Western Empire: Europe/
North Africa and city of Rome
Eastern Empire: Turkey/ Asia
and city of Byzantium
Two emperors: emperor in
charge of East and West
Diocletian retired and
Constantine took his
place as emperor
 One Empire: United
the empire again under
one ruler
 First Christian
Emperor
 Reforms: Sons had to
follow fathers’ trade

Rome continued to
decline
 Constantine moved
the capital from Rome
to city of Byzantium
 City name changed to
Constantinople (today
is Istanbul)

Constantine died in 337
CE, replaced by
Theodosius
 Empire Splits:
Theodosius could not
rule the empire,
divided in two again
 Western Roman
Empire with capital in
Rome
 Eastern Rome Empire
with capital in
Constantinople

Western Empire unable
to hold off German tribes
on its borders
 Ostrogoths, Visigoths,
Franks, Vandals, Saxons
 German tribes wanted
warmer area, Roman
riches, and to flee the
Huns
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Rome agreed to allow the
Visigoths to live inside of
Roman boundaries
Romans treated Visigoths
badly
Visigoths rebelled and
defeated the Romans
Visigoth leader, Alaric,
captured Rome in 410 CE
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Vandals followed Visigoths
and spent 12 days stripping
Rome of valuables
(vandalism)
Many more German
invaders followed
Finally, a German general
named Odoacer defeated
the Western Emperor
Romulus Augustulus (14
years old)
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Rome was defeated in 476
A.D.
For this reason, this date is
given as the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Empire was
divided into many
kingdoms that adopted
many of the customs of
Rome
Although the Western
Empire fell in 476 A.D.,
the Eastern Roman
Empire continued to
prosper for 1,000 more
years
 Became known as the
Byzantine Empire
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http://www.history.com/videos/the-fall-of-rome#the-fall-of-rome
Ohio Academic Content Statement #3: Germanic invasions helped to break up
the Roman Empire and set the stage for the development of feudal and
manorial systems. Later invasions helped establish Mongol dominance in
central Asia and led to the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the Turks.
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Constantine begins rule in 306
A.D.
Constantine becomes Christian
and stops persecution of
Christians in Empire
Constantine decided to build a
new capital city
Constantine chose Byzantium
(Eastern Roman Empire)
In 330 A.D. Byzantium
renamed Constantinople (City
of Constantine)
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By early 500’s,
Constantinople had
large markets, forums,
paved roads, a
cathedral, a palace,
public baths and a
hippodrome (or circus)
Although the name of
their city had changed
the people who lived
there were still called
Byzantines.
Emperors who followed
Constantine continued to
rule the Eastern half from
Constantinople
 The Eastern half was far
stronger than the Western
half
 The Byzantine Army was the
strongest in the world
 Byzantines also had a strong
trade network.
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As Rome was falling to
invaders, strong
fortifications and an
excellent army protected
Constantinople.
 With the Western Empire
now gone the Eastern
Empire became known as
the Byzantine Empire
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The early Byzantine
Empire had many
excellent rulers who
were wise as well as
popular.
 They encouraged
education and made
reforms to laws and
government.
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 This also helped
strengthen the Empire.
One of the greatest
Byzantine Emperors was
Justinian
 Justinian was a energetic
ruler who rarely gave up
on a task until it was
completed
 He had been born into a
poor family and was
known to listen to all his
subjects (rich and poor)
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One of Justinian’s most lasting
contributions was a system of
laws
 When Justinian became
emperor, the empire was
using a disorganized system
of old Roman laws.
 Justinian appointed a team to
collect and summarize
centuries of Roman laws.
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Justinian’s Code became a
organized collection and
explanation of Roman laws for
use by the Byzantine Empire
 Eventually this code became the
basis for the legal systems of
most modern European
countries
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Justinian also wanted
to reunite the entire
“Roman Empire”
 He re-conquered all of
Italy and began to
make his way into
Northern and Western
Europe
 A lack of Money and
Disease stopped
Justinian's conquests
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Theodora, wife to Justinian, came
from humble beginnings.
Her father was a barkeeper in
Constantinople's Hippodrome
Theodora's marriage to Justinian
gave her great power.
Many of Justinian's decisions were
made with her advice
Theodora worked to improve
women's rights and helped change
divorce laws to protect women.
Commissioned by
Emperor Justinian
 It took 10,000 workers
five years to build the
Hagia Sophia
cathedral.
 Hagia Sophia means
Holy Wisdom.
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In addition to preserving the
principals of Roman law,
Byzantine scholars also kept and
copied the works of the ancient
Greeks.
At its peak, Byzantine civilization
blended Greek, Roman, and
Christian influences.
Later Byzantine culture will
heavily influence the Italian
Renaissance.
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After the death of Justinian the Byzantine
Empire began to decline
Later emperors had to fight wars against
many neighboring enemies
 Persians and Turks to the East, Arabs to the
South and Germanic peoples to the North and
West.
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The Byzantine Empire was shrinking in both
size and power
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Although most Byzantines were Christians,
they did not practice Christianity the same
way as people from Western Europe
The Byzantines rejected the authority of the
Pope (leader of the church in Rome)
They Byzantine Emperor had to approve
church officials in Constantinople
Greek was the language of the Byzantine
Church, while Latin was the language of the
Roman church
At this time many Christians
prayed to saints or holy people,
represented by Icons
 In the 700’s a Byzantine
Emperor outlawed the use of
Icons, saying they violated
Gods commandments
 The Pope disagreed, and
banished the emperor from
the Church.
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Byzantines felt the Pope did
not have the authority to
banish the emperor
 This led to a schism, or split, in
the Christian church in 1054
 Now there were two distinct
forms of Christianity: the
Roman Catholic Church in the
west and the Eastern (Greek)
Orthodox in the east.
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Lasted from about 900 until the mid-1000’s
Trade increased and merchants came from all
over
This caused the population, economy and
government to grow.
The long reign of Emperor Basil II (976-1025)
was the most exceptional rule since Justinian.
The Empire regained some of its land it had
lost and there was a burst of creativity in the
arts.
During the 1000’s Muslim peoples to the East were
gaining power
 By 1100’s, Turks had taken the inland areas of Asia
Minor
 Byzantines were also threatened by the
Europeans
 In 1171, disagreements over trade led to war and
Constantinople was attacked by Christian
Crusaders
 Western Christians ruled the city for 50 years.
 In 1261, the Byzantines regained their capital, but
little was left of their empire.
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In 1453, a force of about
70,000 Turks surrounded
Constantinople.
 They came by both sea and
land and brought cannons to
attack the city’s walls
 The defending force, which
numbered 7,000 held out for
two months.
 Then the Byzantine capital
finally fell.
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Like Constantine
before them, the new
rulers would rebuild
the city and make it an
imperial capital.
 Renamed Istanbul, the
city became a great
center of Muslim
culture and the capital
of the Ottoman
Empire.
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