Download Roman and Byzantine Empires

Roman and Byzantine Empires
Chapter 9.3
(pages 270-276)
&
Chapter 10.1
(pages 284-289)
The Fall of Rome
About 200 – 500 A.D.
Ancient History?
• The empire of Rome had been at its strongest between 120 A.D.
and 270 A.D.
• During the following 200-300 years, Rome slowly loses power,
and eventually collapses completely
• We consider this point in history as the switch between
“ancient” history (what you learned in 6th grade), and “modern”
history (what you will learn from this point forward).
1500
500
Ancient History
Middle Ages
Modern Era
“Dark Ages”
Fall of Byzantine
Empire
Fall of Rome
476 AD (CE)
Renaissance
What went wrong?
• Commodus “The Mad”:
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Lived from 161 to 192
Took power in 180 after the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
Was only 18 years old when he took power
After the deaths of brothers, he was the only option left for Emperor.
His father knew he was not qualified to be emperor
Known as one of the worst Roman emperors to have ever lived.
Was assassinated on New Year’s Eve in 192.
His time in power is known to mark the official “fall” of Rome.
Commodus’s Bad Decisions:
• Commodus was a bad leader because:
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He was too young when he took power
He made poor choices
He allowed others to destroy his power
He did nothing while people tried to take over Rome
He made decisions without checking with the Senate
first (because the Senate was used to being asked,
they did not take this well, he also could have avoided
many of his bad decisions if he had asked for their
help)
– He bribed the army to support him,
instead of earning their support.
– He had bold, extravagant and savage ways
(like really loving the bloodshed of the
gladiator games and even taking part in
the games himself).
The 5 Reasons Rome Falls:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weak, Corrupt Rulers
A Mercenary Army
The Size of the Empire
Serious Economic
Problems
Efforts to Stop the
Decline
*There are many other
small reasons too.
Many things
contributed to the fall
of Rome
1. Weak Corrupt Rulers: Even after
Commodus, other rulers were not
very good, they often stole money to
make themselves rich, and didn’t
know how to run an empire. There
were many emperors during the fall
of Rome, most were assassinated like
Commodus.
2. A Mercenary Army: Mercenary =
Soldiers from other countries who
fight for the hiring country for pay,
not because they are loyal to or from
that country. Not being loyal to that
country would cause them to switch
sides or not fight very hard.
The 5 Reasons Rome Falls (cont):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weak, Corrupt Rulers
A Mercenary Army
The Size of the Empire
Serious Economic
Problems
Efforts to Stop the
Decline
3.
The Size of the Empire: The empire was
too large for the Emperor and his armies
to keep up with and keep defended from
outside attacks.
4.
Serious Economic Problems: Rome ran
out of money after they stopped
conquering new lands. Couldn’t pay
their army or feed their people. Led to
Inflation = an economic situation in
which more money circulates, but the
money has less value.
5.
Efforts to Stop the Decline: The
Emperor Diocletian finally divides the
Empire in half (east and west half) in
order to make it more manageable to
rule over.
*There are many other
small reasons too.
Many things
contributed to the fall
of Rome
Emperor Constantine:
• Lived from 278 until 337
• Thought that the Christian God helped his army win the
battle for control of Rome after its “fall”.
• Emperor of Rome from 312 until 337. (Only ruled the
Western half of Rome at first).
• Strongly encouraged the spread of Christianity (after
thousands of years of a Polytheistic lifestyle in Rome)
• This is about 300 years after the birth of Jesus Christ. But
Christianity (the religion started by Jesus) had only just
become widely popular.
Constantine’s Success in Rome:
Religion
• Freedom of Religion – (313)
Constantine declared that all
people in Western Rome can
practice any religion they
want, allowing them to be
Christian for the first time in
Roman History.
• Spread of Christianity –
Constantine keeps the
Christian church strong, he
builds new churches, and
works with church leaders.
Rebuilding
• Control of Eastern Rome – (324)
he declares that Eastern Romans
can practice their religion freely
too.
• Moving the Capital City – (330)
Constantine moves the capital of
the Roman Empire to Byzantium
partially because that’s where he
grew up, and partially because
the area was more powerful.
• Capital City –
eventually became known as
Constantinople meaning “the city
of Constantine”.
Rome
Constantinople
The Real End of Rome:
Inside of Rome
Outside of Rome
• Constantine can’t keep the
east and west together
before his death.
• Last Roman Emperor –
14 year old Romulus
Augustulus. Sent to work
on a farm after German
“barbarians” break
through Rome in 476.
• Constantine’s death makes
it an easy target for
outsiders to attack.
• German Tribes known as
“barbarians” take over
Rome in the 400s
• Famous German
“barbarian” tribes =
Visigoths and Vandals.
The Byzantine Empire
About 500 – 1450 A.D.
Why Byzantine?
• The area was what was left of the fallen
Roman Empire.
• Constantine had moved the capital of
Rome here less than 200 years before.
• The area had been called “Byzantium”
before it was renamed “Constantinople”
after the Emperor Constantine.
• Even after the fall of Rome, Constantinople
stayed strong, with large markets, public
squares, paved roads, a cathedral, a palace,
public baths and even a circus.
• About ½ million people lived there. They
were called “Byzantines”.
• The area was a major center for trade
because it was on a strait, or a narrow
passage that links two bodies of water.
The Age of Justinian:
Justinian, the Emperor
Justinian’s Code (Laws)
• Lived from 483 – 565
• Became Emperor in 527
• Known as one of the
greatest Byzantine
Emperors
• He was energetic, never
gave up, and cared for the
poor because he had come
from a poor family.
• A system of laws created
by Emperor Justinian.
• Justinian noticed that
when he took power, the
old Roman laws were
unorganized and didn’t
make much sense.
• Justinian re-writes the
laws to make more sense
for the new Byzantine
Empire.
• They are still used as the
basis for many modern
legal systems in Europe.
The End of the Byzantine Empire:
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Problems with Religion
Justinian Dies in 565 leaving the empire
weak.
Eastern Byzantines and Western Romans
practiced Christianity differently (The
Pope was only recognized in Western
Rome)
Arguments between the two sides led to a
schism, or split.
The Christian Religion became 2 branches
of Christianity: The Roman Catholic
Church in the West, and the Eastern
(Greek) Orthodox Church in the east.
The End of the Byzantine Empire (cont):
The Fall of Constantinople
• Even though the Byzantine Empire had one
more period of greatness from 900 to 1050
under Emperor Basil II, the Empire could not
hold off outside invaders.
• 1050-1100: Muslims from the East gain power
• 1170: Wars with Europeans from Venice
(Italy)
• 1200s: Constantinople attacked by Christian
Crusaders.
• 1260: The Byzantines regain power for a short
time.
• 1453: 70,000 Turks surround Constantinople,
attack, and take the city.
• Later: New leaders rename the city Istanbul
and it becomes a center of Muslim culture and
the capital of the Ottoman Empire (still in
existence today).
The End
Questions, Repeats?