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Rome
Chris Anderson
Randolph-Henry High School
Italian Geography
The Romans developed their civilization on
the Italian Peninsula—a boot shaped
peninsula located in southern Europe
The peninsula divides the Mediterranean
Sea in half
The Peninsula is a natural location for trade
in the region
Italian Geography
Italian Geography
Italy’s climate—mild
The peninsula has lots of farmland—75% of
Italy contains arable land
Mountains in the north—the Alps—act as
natural barriers to protect Italy
Italy has very few natural harbors
Etruscans
The Etruscans came into Italy around 900
BC
Historians do not really know from where
the Etruscans came
They used an alphabet similar to Greek—
but historians have yet to understand the
language
Etruscans
Historians learned about the people from
their art
Wonderful frescos
Lots of sculptures
Etruscans had a class system
Wealthy overlords
Priests
Slaves
The Rise of Rome
The city of Rome was created by a group
called the Latins
Roman legend said the city was created by
two legendary brothers—Romulus and
Remes
In reality—the Latins created villages on
the 7 hills around the Tiber River
Over time, the villages grew so large that
the people decided to create a city--Rome
The Rise of Rome
600s BC—the Etruscans took over Rome
and turned the Latins into slaves
The Etruscans brought useful innovations to
the city
Taught the Latins to build with brick and tile
Drained marshes to create more farmland and
to help eliminate the mosquitoes
Created the idea of the Forum—public square
The Rise of Rome
534 BC—a new Etruscan king came to
power
He was very cruel to the Latin people
509 BC—the Latins rebelled, driving out
the Etruscan king and his court
Rome will never be ruled by a king again
The Latins created a Republic in Rome
The Rise of Rome
After the Latins had reclaimed their city, a
new social order took hold
Rome was composed of 2 social classes
Patricians
The wealthy aristocrats and Latin nobles
Plebeians
Everyone else of Rome
The Rise of Rome
Both Patricians and Plebeians shared some
rights and responsibilities
Both could vote
Both were required to pay taxes
Both were expected to serve in the military
But the Patricians were the only class that
could hold public office
The Rise of Rome
The Patricians created 2 branches of
government to rule the Roman Republic
Executive Branch—Consuls
2 consuls ruled over the Republic
Both were elected for 1-year terms
Both consuls had to agree before any action could
be taken
Legislative Branch—Senate and Assembly of
Centuries
Both legislative branches were controlled by
Patricians
The Rise of Rome
Only 1 person could overrule the Roman
consuls—a dictator
Dictators were temporary in Rome
Dictators could only rule in Rome during a
crisis and were to step down when the crisis
was over
Plebeian v. Patrician
The plebeians were upset at having no real
say in the government of Rome
The patricians could do just about anything
they wanted because the patricians were
running the Roman government
The plebeians wanted more voice in Roman
politics
Plebeian v. Patrician
494 BC—the plebeians went on strike
The plebeians refused to serve in the military
Since the plebeians constituted the majority of
the military, their refusal would leave Rome
with virtually no defenses
The plebeians then threatened to leave
Rome and create their own republic
This would have left Rome with no workforce
Plebeian v. Patrician
The patricians gave in to the plebeians’
demands
Plebeians would get their own representatives
in government—tribunes
Tribunes had veto power over any government
decision
Tribunes could not be arrested
The Assembly of Tribes—the body that elected
each tribune—was also recognized
Plebeian v. Patrician
The plebeians also wanted Roman law to be
written down
The patricians agreed
431 BC—Roman laws were written on the
12 Tables—12 bronze tablets
Plebeian v. Patrician
287 BC—the plebeians gained even more
political power over Rome
The Assembly of Tribes was given the right
to make all of Rome’s laws—turning Rome
into a Democracy
Religion and Family
The Romans adopted the Greek gods, but
changed their names
Aphrodite—Venus
Ares—Mars
Hera—Juno
Zeus—Jupiter
Athena--Minerva
Religion and Family
The Roman family was controlled by the
father
The father also controlled the families of his
married sons
Women had few rights
Some women could own land and businesses
Many wealthy women could read Greek
Roman Expansion and Crisis
To protect the city from invasion, the
Romans began to take over their neighbors
and force them into alliances
By 264 BC—Rome had taken over the
entire Italian Peninsula
Rome’s use of Legions made the military
quicker and more efficient
Roman Expansion and Crisis
At first, the Romans copied the Greek
military system of phalanxes
The phalanxes were too large and too slow
for the Romans
The Roman generals then created Legions
Consisted of 6,000 men
Broken down into units of 60-120 men
The smaller units were quicker and easier to
maneuver
Roman Expansion and Crisis
Roman Expansion and Crisis
Roman soldiers were very well trained and
very skilled
Soldiers were well disciplined and followed
orders very well
Roman Expansion and Crisis
The Romans treated their conquered victims
rather well
Many areas were allowed to keep their
governments and kings if they agreed to
help Rome in future wars
Many captured people were given
citizenship in Rome
Roman Expansion and Crisis
Rome also created military colonies in Italy
The colonies acted as buffers—to defend
the city of Rome if anyone attempted to
attack the city
The Romans built roads to link the different
colonies to Rome
The roads were very well constructed
Roman Expansion and Crisis
Roman Expansion and Crisis
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
Rome will begin to face challenges from a
former Phoenician colony—Carthage
Carthage was located in Northern Africa
300 BC—Carthage bean expanding into the
Mediterranean as a way of helping its trade
Carthage took over the island of Sicily—just
off the “toe” of the Italian peninsula
By 264 BC—Carthage was about to take the
Straits of Messina—between Sicily and Italy
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
Because Carthage was advancing toward
Rome, Rome will go to war to defend the
Peninsula
What resulted was a series of 3 wars—the
Punic Wars
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
1st Punic War (264-241 BC)
264 BC—to keep Carthage from taking the
Straits of Messina, Rome sent its legions
into Sicily and captured Carthage’s Sicilian
colonies
Carthage retaliated with their very strong
navy
Rome was forced to build a navy
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
1st Punic War
Both navies met to do battle off of the coast
of Northern Africa
Rome used grappling hooks to pull
Carthage’s ships close
The Roman soldiers would board the enemy
ships and fight to the death
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
1st Punic War
Rome defeated Carthage in the naval battle
in 241 BC
Carthage was forced to give up its Sicilian
holdings
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
2nd Punic War (218-202 BC)
221 BC—Carthage wanted to exact revenge on
Rome
Carthage’s leading general—Hannibal—was in
Spain—he was only 25 years old
218 BC—Hannibal attempted to draw Rome into a
war by attacking one of Rome’s allies
The attempt failed to bring Rome into Spain
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
2nd Punic War
Hannibal then set out to invade the Italian
peninsula
He decided to take 40,000 men and 40
elephants on his land trek from Spain to
Italy
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
2nd Punic War
Hannibal’s route led him over the Alps
His men were not equipped for the cold and
harsh conditions of the Alps
Half of Hannibal’s army died in the attempt
to cross the alps
Nearly all of the elephants died
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
2nd Punic War
Although with a small force, Hannibal met
with lots of success in Northern Italy
All Roman armies sent to stop Hannibal
were defeated
Rome began raising volunteer legions under
General Publius Scipio
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
2nd Punic War
Scipio developed a plan to defeat Hannibal
Attack the city of Carthage to draw Hannibal
out of Italy
Scipio’s plan worked
Carthage called Hannibal out of Italy to come
and help defend Carthage
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
2nd Punic War
202 BC—Scipio and his volunteer legions
defeated Hannibal in the Battle of Zama
Carthage gave up all of their land in Spain
Punic Wars—Rome v. Carthage
3rd Punic War (149 BC)
149 BC—Carthage was at war with one of Rome’s
allies
Rome saw this as an opportunity to finally get rid
of Carthage
Rome invaded Carthage and burned the city to the
ground
Rome turned the people into slaves
Soldiers put salt in the ground to keep food from
growing
Roman Republic in Crisis
Between 230 and 202 BC—Rome had taken
over most of the Atlantic coast of Europe
Spain
France
England
188 BC—Rome took Asia Minor—modern
day Turkey
Roman Republic in Crisis
133 BC—Rome forced Syria and Egypt into
an alliance with Rome
By 130 BC—Rome had taken over all of
the Mediterranean region—from Spain to
Asia Minor
The Romans called the Mediterranean Sea
their “little lake”
Roman Republic in Crisis
Roman Republic in Crisis
Ruling such a large area was very difficult
for Rome
Rome began to face severe political and
economic problems
To help rule the large land holdings, the
Roman government made all of the nonItalian areas into provinces
Roman Republic in Crisis
Each province was required to pay tribute to
Rome
Most of the taxes collected never reached
Rome, but stayed in the pockets of the tax
collectors
The people knew their money was being
stolen
The people began to rebel
Roman Republic in Crisis
Many poor farmers flocked to the city of
Rome because of
The low cost of food
The free entertainment
A hope of finding a job
Unfortunately, the slaves did all the work in
the city
The poor farmers were left unemployed and
living off the Roman government
Roman Republic in Crisis
A series of reformers will try to fix the Republics problems
Unfortunately, most of the reforms will be unsuccessful
The reformers were:
Tiberius Gracchus
Gaius Gracchus
Gaius Marius
Lucas Cornelius Sulla
1st Triumvirate—Gnaeus Pompey, Marcus Crassus, Julius Caesar
2nd Triumvirate—Octavian, Marcus Lepidus, Marc Antony
Roman Republic in Crisis
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius had the chance to be a patrician,
but chose to be a plebeian tribune
133 BC—he proposed a law to take land
away from the rich farmers and give the
land to those who had no land
The law passed, but with much opposition
Tiberius was eventually killed by 300
rioters
Tiberius Gracchus
Roman Republic in Crisis
Gaius Gracchus
Tiberius’ brother
Gaius was elected tribune 1 year after his
brother’s murder
Gaius wanted to give more land to poor
farmers
He created laws to sell grain at lower prices
121 BC—Gaius was murdered by his
opponents
Gracchi Brothers
Roman Republic in Crisis
Gaius Marius
107 BC—he was elected consul
He passed laws that enlisted the poor into the
military
A way to give the poor jobs—they were paid for their
service
After military service, the poor were given land
This system changed the military system—soldiers
became loyal to their commander, not to the Republic
88 BC—Gaius was overthrown by his newly
created army, led by Lucas Cornelius Sulla
Gaius Marius
Roman Republic in Crisis
Lucas Cornelius Sulla
Sulla made himself dictator of Rome
He attempted to steal power away from the
Assembly of Tribes
This attempt embroiled Rome into a brutal
period of violence
Roman Republic in Crisis
1st Triumvirate
70 BC—2 new consuls were elected in
Rome—Gnaeus Pompey and Marcus
Crassus
Pompey was a general and Crassus was a
politician
Both men began to gain support from a
young aristocrat—Julius Caesar
Gnaeus Pompey
Marcus Crassus
Julius Cesar
Roman Republic in Crisis
1st Triumvirate
60 BC—the 3 men formed the 1st
Triumvirate—all 3 would share power over
Rome
The Triumvirate was very unstable—each
man tried to take power from the others
Roman Republic in Crisis
1st Triumvirate
Caesar flexed his muscle by conquering the
Celts, increasing Roman holdings in Britain
Crassus tried to show military power, but he
will be killed in battle in 53 BC
Crassus’ death left Caesar and Pompey to
battle over Rome
Roman Republic in Crisis
1st Triumvirate
Pompey feared that Caesar would try to take
all power
Pompey convinced the Roman Senate to
order Caesar to leave his legions in Britain
and return to Rome, alone
Caesar did start for Rome, but with his
legions
Roman Republic in Crisis
1st Triumvirate
When Caesar crossed the Rubicon River
with his army, civil war broke out in Rome
Caesar quickly took over all of Italy in only
2 months
Pompey was driven out of Italy
Roman Republic in Crisis
Julius Caesar
45 BC—Caesar made himself dictator of
Rome for life
He gave the poor loans and jobs
He gave many non-Italians citizenship
Roman Republic in Crisis
Julius Caesar
Many in the government questioned
Caesar’s true political intentions
They believed Caesar wanted to make himself
King
Many government officials began a plot to
rid Rome of Caesar
Roman Republic in Crisis
Julius Caesar
March 15, 44 BC (Ides of March)—Caesar
was assassinated by a group of Roman
Senators
The assassination was led by Caesar’s friend—
Marcus Brutus
Roman Republic in Crisis
2nd Triumvirate
After Caesar’s murder, Caesar’s 18 year old
grandnephew—Octavian—began to make
alliances with 2 very powerful government
officials—Marc Antony and Marcus
Lepidus
Octavian
Marc Antony
Marcus Lepidus
Roman Republic in Crisis
2nd Triumvirate
The 3 began to divide the Roman world
between them
Octavian—Italy and the West
Antony—Greece and the East
Lepidus—North Africa
Roman Republic in Crisis
2nd Triumvirate
The 3 then formed the 2nd Triumvirate
The Triumvirate was very short lived
Octavian forced Lepidus to retire
Antony moved to Egypt and married
Cleopatra
Octavian convinced the Roman people that
Antony was going to seize Rome
Roman Republic in Crisis
2nd Triumvirate
Octavian and Antony go to war over Rome
Antony and Cleopatra commit suicide to
escape capture
Octavian became the sole leader of Rome
Octavian’s victory ushered out the Republic
and created the Roman Empire
Octavian is the 1st Roman Emperor
The Roman Empire
27 BC—the Roman Senate elected Octavian
tribune, consul, and commander in chief for
life
Octavian changed his name to Augustus—
”the Majestic One”
The 1st Emperors
Many different emperors will rule Rome
after Augustus
Some will be considered “Bad Emperors”
Others will be called the “Good Emperors”
Each will have their own “quirks” and ideas
of how to make the Roman Empire great
The 1st Emperors
1.) Augustus (27 BC-AD 14)
He rebuilt the city of Rome and was a
patron of the arts
He ordered new roads to be built
Under Augustus, the Pax Romana began
The Pax Romana was a 200 year period of
peace in Rome
The 1st Emperors
1.) Augustus (27 BC-AD 14)
The Roman empire under Augustus was
very large
70-100 million people in the empire
He used professional governors to rule the
different provinces
Augustus made himself chief priest in
Rome
The 1st Emperors
2.) Tiberius (AD 14-37)
Augustus’ adopted son
Tiberius will be the 1st of the “Bad
Emperors”
He falsely accused many in the government
of treason
Emperor Tiberius
The 1st Emperors
3.) Caligula (37-41)
Tiberius’ grandnephew
He became mentally ill after an illness
AD 41—Caligula was assassinated by is
own guards because of his ineptitude
Caligula
The 1st Emperors
4.) Claudius (41-54)
Caligula’s uncle
He took office at a rather elder age
He had trouble with affairs of the state
He was a “yes” man
He was too easy to influence
AD 54—Claudius was murdered by his wife
She wanted her son—Nero—to be emperor
Claudius
The 1st Emperors
5.) Nero (54-68)
Claudius’ stepson
Nero was very cruel and vain—he was probably
insane
He was more concerned with making himself
happy than with the empire
Nero had his wife and mother murdered—he did
not trust them
AD 68—he was arrested and sentenced to death,
but he committed suicide before he could be
executed
Nero
The 1st Emperors
After Rome had been ruled by so many
failures, the Roman Senate decided to
choose its own emperors
Over time, the Senate began to choose
emperors that were capable
In AD 96, the Senate chose the 1st of the
“Good Emperors”--Nerva
The 1st Emperors
6.) Nerva
1st of the Good Emperors
7.) Trajan
He increased the size of the Roman empire
The 1st Emperors
8.) Hadrian
He strengthened
Rome’s
fortifications—built
Hadrian’s Wall in
Great Britain
9.) Antoninus Pius
He maintained the
prosperity of the
empire
The 1st Emperors
10.) Marcus Aurelius
He brought Rome lots of wealth
He will be the last of the good emperors
The 1st Emperors
As the empire grew under the 1st emperors ,
different cultures were added to the empire
New laws were needed to deal with the new
cultures—jus gentium (laws that applied to
non-citizens and foreigners)
By AD 200—all free males in the empire
were given citizenship
The 1st Emperors
Roman law placed the state above the
individual
An accused individual was presumed
innocent until proven guilty
Roman law is the basis for most Western
law
The 1st Emperors
The emperors did keep strong armies
However, during the Pax Romana, Rome
did not need to keep a large military force
because there were few threats to Roman
power during these peaceful times
Rome reduced its number of legions from
60 down to 28
The 1st Emperors
With the reduced number of legions and Rome’s
reserve forces, the emperor had 300,000 soldiers
at his disposal
300,000 troops were NOT enough to protect the
empire’s borders from invasion
Outsiders slowly began invading the frontier of
the empire
These invasions will help cause the downfall of
the empire
Roman Civilization
The Pax Romana allowed trade to grow
within the empire
It was safe to trade—no fear of bandits on the
trade routes
In the 1st century AD, many “factories”
turned out pottery, cloth, glass, and jewelry
The Romans began to trade as far east as
China
Roman Civilization
The family became less important during
the Pax Romana
The Romans started having fewer childre
Divorce rates increased
Fathers lost their power over the family
Roman society was becoming less stable
and more flexible
The poor could become rich and the rich could
lose it all and become poor
Roman Civilization
Although the poor of Rome still had it
rough, they did not try to rebel
The government took care of the poor
Gave the poor free bread
Gave the poor free entertainment in the
Colosseum
Chariot races
Gladiators
The Romans celebrated over 130 holidays
Roman Civilization
During the Pax Romana the Romans
created many architectural achievements
The Colosseum
Aquaducts
Roman Civilization
The Romans studied what others had
written
Rich boys & girls received private
educations at home
Boys would go on to academies to further their
studies in geometry, astronomy, philosophy, and
oratory
Girls received more education at home
Roman Civilization
The lower classes of Rome were literate
(could read and write) and had some
knowledge of simple math
The Romans spoke Latin
The Latin language had fewer letters than
Greek and was relatively simple to learn
Latin was the common language of Europe
until AD 1500s
Roman Civilization
Latin is the basis for the Romance
Languages
Spanish
French
Italian
Portuguese
Romanian
Rise of Christianity
The Romans were polytheistic
The Roman Republic allowed for religious
freedom—the different cultures could worship
their different gods
Religion began to change under Augustus
Augustus made himself chief priest and expected the
people to honor him as chief priest
Augustus still allowed for different religions to worship
Many different religions began to developed during
Augustus’ reign
Rise of Christianity
A new religion began to developed during
Augustus’ reign—Christianity
Christianity started as a radical sect of Judaism
followed by eastern Mediterranean Jews
As more Jews converted to Christianity, the
Christian faith moved away from the ideas of
Judaism
Christianity eventually gained its own identity and
became its own religion
Rise of Christianity
Judaism and the Roman Empire
AD 6—Kingdom of Judah became part of
the Roman Empire
The Romans renamed the region Judea
The provincial government of Judea
allowed the Jews to practice their religion,
but the Jews were still persecuted because
they were monotheistic
Rise of Christianity
Judaism and the Roman Empire
The Jews began to pray for a messiah--a
deliverer or savior—to save them from the
Romans and restore the kingdom of David
Other Jews began taking up arms in
rebellion against the Roman government in
Judea
Rise of Christianity
Judaism and the Roman Empire
AD 66—a small force of Jews was able to
overpower the Romans in Jerusalem and
reclaim the city for the Jews
AD 70—the Romans recaptured Jerusalem
and destroy the Jewish temple
AD 132—the Jews attempted another
rebellion, but it proved unsuccessful
Rise of Christianity
Judaism and the Roman Empire
The Romans forced the Jews out of
Jerusalem
The Jews were forced to settle in the Middle
East
Rise of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth
Around the time that Judea fell under
Roman control, Jesus was growing up in
Nazareth
Jesus received a traditional Jewish
education
Between AD 26 and AD 30, Jesus traveled
through Judea preaching his message and
gaining lots of followers
Rise of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus preached that the people needed to
repent their sins and change their behavior
Jesus also preached that God was not harsh
and vengeful as the Jews believed—instead
he preached that God was loving and
forgiving
Rise of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth
Many of Jesus’ followers began to believe
that Jesus was the Jewish messiah—the man
sent by God to deliver the Jews out of
Roman control
Other Jews saw Jesus as a fake
The differing opinions over Jesus began to
cause problems
Rise of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth
The Roman government of Judea feared Jesus
because of his large following
The Jewish rabbis disliked Jesus because he was
teaching a message different than what they were
preaching
AD 33—Jesus was arrested by the Roman
governor of Palestine
Jesus was charged as a political troublemaker and
executed by crucifixion—a common practice for
the time
Rise of Christianity
Spread of Christianity
After Jesus’ death, Jesus’ followers were
called Christians
The early Christians started forming
Churches
The Churches promoted worship, fellowship,
and the further spread of Jesus’ message
Rise of Christianity
Spread of Christianity
The leading teacher of Christianity in the
non-Jewish community was Paul
Paul helped Christianity spread through the
Middle East and Roman Empire
Paul tried to narrow down the early
Christian doctrine
Paul
Rise of Christianity
Spread of Christianity
Peter began spreading Christianity in the
city or Rome
Peter helped form the Christian Church in
Rome
Christian Churches were later created in
Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece, Gaul (France),
and Spain
Rise of Christianity
Persecution
Christians believed and taught that
Christianity was the only true faith
Christians would not honor the Roman emperor
as a god
Christians refused to serve in the military
Christians criticized the many Roman holidays,
festivals, and games
Rise of Christianity
Persecution
Because the Christians openly challenged
Roman customs, the Christians were
severely disliked
Many Christians were accused of treason
for not honoring the emperor and refusing
to serve in the military
Many Christians were thrown into the
stadiums to fight animals for entertainment
Rise of Christianity
Persecution
The emperor Nero burned Christians to
light the streets of Rome
Many Christians never gave up a fight and
willingly died for their religion—martyrs
Many of the early martyrs became Christian
saints
Rise of Christianity
Persecution
Because of all the persecution, many nonChristians feared becoming Christian
Others secretly practiced the religion
AD 200s and 300s—the Romans began to
become unhappy with their own polytheistic
religion
The Roman empire was also becoming weak
Rise of Christianity
Persecution
The Romans were losing faith in their
polytheistic gods and wanted more
Many turned to monotheism—Judaism and
Christianity
As the Roman empire began to fall, more
people turned to Christianity seeking faith
and guidance
Rise of Christianity
Romans Adopt Christianity
The Roman emperor Constantine became
the 1st Christian emperor in AD 312
He allowed for religious tolerance in the
Empire—this ended the Christian
persecution
He had Christian churches constructed in
Rome and Jerusalem
Rise of Christianity
Romans Adopt Christianity
AD 300s—the Christian population began
to increase at a very rapid rate
AD 392—the emperor Theodosius made
Christianity the official religion of the
empire
Rise of Christianity
The Early Church
Early Christians knew their Church would
have to be unified in order for it to survive
St. Augustine tried to explain much of the
early Church’s beliefs
Rise of Christianity
The Early Church
AD 354—St. Augustine was born in Hippo,
North Africa
He wrote many books, sermons, and letters
that helped Western Christianity solidify its
doctrine
Rise of Christianity
The Early Church
The early Church was organized into a
hierarchy—different levels of authority
The lowest level was the parish priests
Many parishes together formed a diocese
A diocese was overseen by a bishop
The most powerful bishops were the
archbishops
Archbishops controlled the churches in the
large cities
Rise of Christianity
The Early Church
There were 5 archbishops of the early
church
Rome
Constantinople
Alexandria
Antioch
Jerusalem
Rise of Christianity
The Early Church
AD 400—the archbishop of Rome
proclaimed authority over the rest of the
Archbishops
All of the other archbishops—except the
archbishop of Constantinople—relinquished
their power to the archbishop of Rome
The Archbishop of Rome then became the
Pope
Rise of Christianity
The Early Church
The Archbishop of Constantinople refused
to see the Pope as the leading authority on
religion
This caused the early church to split
Western Church—Roman Catholic Church
Eastern Church—Eastern Orthodox Church
Rise of Christianity
The Early Church
Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church
Pope
Archbishop
Bishop
Parish Priests
Fall of the Western Empire
As the Catholic Church began a stronghold
in the Roman Empire, the empire began to
experience invasion from the outside
The outsiders were Germanic tribes from
the north and west of the empire
Fall of the Western Empire
The Empire’s Problems
When the “Good Emperors” controlled
Rome, the empire was in good condition
AD 180—the last “Good Emperor” died—
Marcus Aurelius
After Aurelius’ death, the empire fell into a
period of severe violence and corruption,
ending the Pax Romana
Fall of the Western Empire
The Empire’s Problems
After Aurelius died, his son—
Commodus—became emperor
Commodus was a very bad emperor
He spent most of the empire’s money on his
own luxuries—similar to Nero
His unwise spending left the Roman Empire
in a state of bankruptcy
Fall of the Western Empire
The Empire’s
Problems
AD 192—Commodus
is killed by his own
troops
From AD 192—284,
the empire fell into a
period of violence
28 different emperors
ruled from 192—284
Most of the 28 were
killed not long after
taking office
At one point, the
throne was sold to the
highest bidder
Fall of the Western Empire
The Empire’s Problems
From 192—284, the Roman army was busy
fighting with itself, not defending the
Empire’s frontier
With the army NOT defending the borders,
Germanic tribes began to invade and take
over parts of the empire
Goths, Alemanni, Franks, Saxons, etc.
Fall of the Western Empire
The Empire’s Problems
Rome’s unstable politics led to an unstable
economy
The constant civil warfare caused :
travel to become difficult
disrupted trade
Destroyed farmland—caused food prices to
increase
Fall of the Western Empire
The Empire’s Problems
Artisans and merchants began to lose
money because of the decrease in trade
The Germanic invaders destroyed many of
the empire’s production centers
To help stimulate the economy, the Roman
government began increasing the supply of
money
The new $ had no backing—led to soaring
inflation
Fall of the Western Empire
The Empire’s Problems
To keep up with the rising inflation, the
government had to continually raise taxes
Farmers stopped farming—resulted in
major food shortages in the empire
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
3 emperors will come along and try to keep
the empire from falling apart in the AD
200s and 300s
These emperors will be able to save the
Eastern part of the empire, but not the
Western part
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
1.) Diocletian (284-307)
AD 284—Diocletian came to power after
the murder of the previous emperor
He raised the number of legions back to 60
An attempt to fight off the Germanic invasions
He realized the empire had grown way too
large
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
1.) Diocletian (284-307)
He divided the empire into 2 parts—an
Eastern part and a Western part
Diocletian made himself emperor of the Eastern
part
Diocletian appointed Maxmian to rule the
Western Part as co-emperor
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
1.) Diocletian (284-307)
Diocletian also tried to fix the empire’s
economic problems
He issued the Edict of Prices to slow
inflation
The Edict froze wages and set a maximum price
for goods
The Edict failed because it was not enforced
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
1.) Diocletian (284-307)
AD 307—Diocletian retired from the
government
His retirement led to a brutal civil war in the
empire
Diocletian
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
2.) Contantine (312-337)
AD 312—Constantine won the civil war
and made himself emperor
He made it legal for landowners to chain
farmers to the land to make the farmers
grow food
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
2.) Contantine (312-337)
He moved the empire’s capital to
Byzantium and renamed the city after
himself—Constantinople
Constantine
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
3.) Theodosius (337-395)
After Constantine’s death, civil war erupted
again in the empire
AD 337—Theodosius won the civil war and
made himself emperor
Before he died, Theodosius created a will
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
3.) Theodosius (337-395)
His will stated that upon his death, the
eastern and western parts of the empire
would become separate empires with
separate rulers
AD 395—he died and his will was carried
out
Fall of the Western Empire
Unsuccessful Reforms
3.) Theodosius (337-395)
The empire was divided into 2 separate
parts
East—Byzantine Empire
West—Roman Empire
Theodosius
Fall of the Western Empire
Germanic Invasions
AD 300s—many Germanic tribes began
migrating into the Western part of the
empire
The Germanic people came to the empire
for several reasons
Looking for better climates and grazing lands
for their herds
Wanted to share in Rome’s wealth
Others were running from the Huns
Fall of the Western Empire
Germanic Invasions
The Germanic tribes were nomadic—
usually raising cattle and farming small
plots of land
The Romans called the different Germanic
tribes barbarians
Fall of the Western Empire
Germanic Invasions
AD 378—the Visigoths defeated the
Romans at Adrianople
During the battle, the eastern emperor was
killed
The new emperor of the east made peace
with the Visigoths by giving them land in
the Balkans—mostly Greece
Fall of the Western Empire
Germanic Invasions
AD 410—the Visigoths invaded Italy and
the city of Rome
The Visigoth leader was killed, causing the
Visigoths to retreat into Gaul (modern day
France)
Fall of the Western Empire
Germanic Invasions
Many of the Germanic tribes were running
from the Huns—a group from Asia
Attila the Hun was the leader of the Huns
Attila invaded the eastern empire
He then invaded Gaul (France)
AD 451—the Romans received some help
from the Visigoths
Fall of the Western Empire
Germanic Invasions
The Romans and the Visigoths kept the
Huns from taking Gaul
Attila then turned his focus on Italy
He attacked the peninsula, terrorizing the
Italian people
AD 453—Attila died and the Huns retreated
from Italy into Eastern Europe
Fall of the Western Empire
End of the Western Empire
After the Huns left, Italy was left in
shambles
Italy was left defenseless to further invasion
AD 455—the Vandals invaded and sacked
the city of Rome
The Franks and Goths divided Gaul
Fall of the Western Empire
End of the Western Empire
AD 476—The Roman emperor was killed
by a German soldier—Odacer
Odacer made himself king of Italy—
effectively ending the empire of the West
AD 476—the date of the end of the Western
(Roman) Empire
Fall of the Western Empire
End of the Western Empire
Roman culture did not end in the west
The German rulers accepted the Latin
language, Roman laws, and Christianity
The Eastern (Byzantine) empire will
continue to prosper for another 1000 years
Byzantine empire adopted Hellenistic culture
and the Greek language