Download Fall of Rome Notes - Phoenix Union High School District

CP World History
Name _____________________
Date _________________ Pd _____
The Fall of Rome
I. Bell Work Question: Identify as many Roman accomplishments as possible in the space below:
II. The Roman Republic
a. Rome began as a _____________________ that was heavily influenced by Greek culture
b. By 509 B.C., Rome was ruled by elected _______________who served in the Roman Republic
c. During the Republic, Rome expanded by defeating_________________ in the _____________Wars & later
under generals like Julius Caesar
d. But, the Republic weakened due to _____________________, civil wars, & the assassination of
_____________________________ in 44 B.C.
III. The Roman Empire
a. After Caesar’s death, Rome became an empire ruled by the Emperor ____________________
b. Under Augustus, Rome entered an era of ___________& prosperity known as the
________________________
c. After _________ years of prosperity during the Pax Romana, the Empire began to _______________& was
conquered in 476 A.D.
IV. Why did the Roman Empire decline?
a. Brainstorm a list of reasons why the mighty Roman Empire might have entered an era of decline:
V. The Decline of the Roman Empire
a. The fall of the Roman Empire happened in _________ major stages:
1. An era of decline due to ________________ problems within Rome
a. POLITICAL:
i. The empire was too _____________for one emperor to control
ii. Emperors after the Pax Romana were ______________
iii. Citizens experienced a loss of ____________________, patriotism, &
______________to the Roman gov’t
b. ECONOMIC:
i. ______________groups disrupted trade
ii. Poor harvests led to ____________________________
iii. Rome had a trade imbalance (they _______________ more than they
__________________)
iv. The gov’t ________________taxes & printed new coins which led to
________________
v. The economic decline left many Romans ____________
c. MILITARY:
i. ____________________tribes outside Rome were gaining strength
ii. The Roman military was growing weak: ___________________were challenging the
authority of the emperors
iii. To save money, Romans hired ______________________________ but these
“__________________________” were not loyal to Rome
2. A brief period of revival due to reforms by Emperors __________________________ &
_______________________________
a. In 284 A.D. Emperor ________________________ came to power & made a series of
reforms that temporarily halted Rome’s decline.
i. To fix the military, he _____________ the size of the Roman army
ii. To fix the economy, he ________________prices for goods
iii. To fix the lack of loyalty, he presented himself as a __________________________
b. Diocletian’s most important reform was realizing Rome was too large & dividing the empire
into the ____________________________________________________________
i. The empire was divided between ________________-speaking &
_________________-speaking halves
ii. But, the empire was also divided by _______________
iii. The ____________was far wealthier than the West because it had most of the great
cities & trade centers
c. After Diocletian, the emperor ________________________ came to power & continued to
reform Rome
i. To help unify Rome, he ended persecutions & converted to
______________________
ii. He moved the official capital from Rome to a new city in the East, called
______________________________
iii. Constantinople was a major trade center & was easy to defend; They city was built
in the _________________style but had a strong Greek & Christian influence
3. Continued decline, invasion by Germanic “________________________”, & the conquest of Rome
a. After Emperors Diocletian & Constantine, the Western Roman Empire continued to decline
b. __________________ corruption, & declining economy exposed the ___________ to attack
from outside invasions
c. By 370 A.D., “barbarian” groups outside Rome, led by the ____________, began to attack
d. The weak Roman army in the West could do little to stop the invasions; By 476, Germanic
barbarians conquered _________________________________.
VI. The Fall of Rome
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
The decline of the Western Roman Empire led to the ______________________________
The East became the Byzantine Empire & flourished for another _______________________ years
The Byzantine Empire kept alive the cultural achievements of ancient _____________ & Rome
The combination of Greek & Roman achievements are known as ____________________________ culture
The civilizations of the Classical Era produced important achievements that are still
_______________________________________________.
a. FOR EXAMPLE:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
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