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ROME HAS FALLEN!
And it won’t get up.
Topics
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The Twilight of the Roman Empire
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Constantinople
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East vs West
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The Retaking of the West
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Barbarians at the Gate
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Early Christianity
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Attila The Hun
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A Lamb amongst Lions
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Goths, Goths, Goths
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Mohammad
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Rome is Sacked Again
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The Rise of Islam
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Romulus Augustus, The Last Emperor
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The British Isles
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The Franks
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The Rise of the Anglo Saxon
Kingdoms
What were the Dark Ages?
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Time period in Europe were there was no
real literature and recorded history.
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Period of religious fanaticism, and
superstition, over science and reason.
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No technological advancement
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Oppression of the lower classes by the
top 1%
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Extreme brutality with no checks and
balances
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Fractured kingdoms and isolation
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Erasing of antiquity
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All of these statements are FALSE!!!!!!!!!!
400 C.E. The Twilight of Rome
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By the year 400 western Rome had
been in a death spiral.
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Corruption and in-fighting from the
ruling Patrician classes.
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Empire had been divided into
sections.
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The western Roman empire had not
had a strong leader for 100 years.
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The city of Rome itself had become a
non-important backwater town.
What Led to the Fall of the West
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Corruption from the governing classes
had weakened its infrastructure.
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Conscripted and mercenary foreign
troops made up the bulk of its military.
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Money was minted with worthless
metals.
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Too many geographical divisions.
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Wages and occupations had been frozen
so no up-ward growth.
•
Too many enemies were encroaching on
the frontiers.
•
The position of Emperor had been
usurped by bureaucracy.
The Eastern Roman Empire
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330 Emperor Constantine established
eastern capital of Roman Empire.
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City was quickly built and loaded with all
of the treasures of the old Rome.
•
Due to strategic placement the city
thrived.
•
Traditionally the strongest of the
Emperors would rule from
Constantinople.
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Became more Greek than Latin.
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By 400 the East began to distance itself
from the West.
The Barbarians
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Officially a Barbarian was anyone who was not
“Roman”.
•
This was characterized by the Germanic and
Slavic people who lived beyond the Roman
frontier.
•
For centuries Roman armies had entered these
areas and attempted to conqueror and
Romanized them.
•
In 300 several successful campaigns had taken
Dacia and pacified the region north of the
Danube.
•
Due to instability in the government and
disinterested troops in the army these areas had
once again reverted.
•
By 400 a mass migration of eastern tribal people
threatened the integrity of the Roman frontier.
Goths, Goths, Goths
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Tribal groups known as Goths and
Visigoths flood in through the weakened
Roman frontier.
•
Rome seeing its outer fringes are
threatened withdraw from Britain and
Gaul around 410.
•
The Franks invade and take over Gaul and
northern Hispania.
•
The western capital of Ravenna has been
under siege and attacked.
•
The Vandals have taken over Southern
Hispania and have invaded North Africa.
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The true threat is on its way!
Attila The Hun
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444, Attila gains sole power of the Huns
after he murders his brother Bleda.
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Attila quickly moves the Huns west
triggering a mass migration of Goths.
•
446 Attila threatens Constantinople, who
agree to his terms of 2,100 lbs. of gold.
•
Attila moves west and ravages Gaul.
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He suffers a setback at the battle of
Châlons.
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Attila moves into Italy and destroys
Aquileia, and moves on Rome.
•
453 Attila dies from internal
hemorrhaging, his empire falls apart.
Rome is Sacked
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After the death of Attila the Roman west
is done for.
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Political instability and weak puppet
emperors can not stop the tide of
barbarians.
•
The Vandals take North Africa then move
into Italy.
•
455, The Vandals Sack Rome.
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473,The Ostergoths move into Italy and
sack Rome.
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The Roman Emperor flees from Ravenna.
Romulus Augustulus, The Last Emperor
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Romulus Augustulus was placed on the
throne in 475.
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He is 16 and has no stomach to rule a
failing empire.
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476, He will be dethroned by Odoacer,
the general of his German mercenaries.
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Odoacer will take the title King of Italy,
ending the rule of the western Roman
Emperors.
•
What is left of the old western empire will
be divided up by the Franks, Goths, and
Vandals.
The East Carries on
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After the fall of the West the Eastern
Roman Emperors will look to reclaim
what was lost.
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They will have to deal with
marauding Huns, Persians, and Goths
which will hold them at bay.
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527, Justinian comes to power.
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530, Justinian’s armies defeat the
Persians opening the way to a
possible invasion of the West.
A Plan to Reunite the Empire
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Justinian will send his trusted General
Belisarius to North Africa to retake the
“breadbasket” from the Vandals.
•
535, Belisarius will invade Sicily as a
spring board into Italy.
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For the next 10 years Belisarius moves in
and out of Italy.
•
Even though he takes Rome several
times, Justinian will never hold all of the
West.
•
Plague, Riots, and outside threats halts
Justinian's ambitions of a unified Roman
Empire.
Good King Clovis
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486, Frankish leader Clovis defeats his rivals
at Soissons, and unites the Franks under
him.
•
He consolidates his power and his province
is recognized by the Eastern Roman
Emperor.
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496, Clovis is Baptized as a Catholic.
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He will spend the rest of his life defeating
the Burgundians, Visigoths, Ostrogoth, and
Alemanni.
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He will establish the Frankish Kingdom and
set its capital as Paris.
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511, Clovis dies and his Kingdom is divided
equally by his four sons according to
Frankish custom.
The Merovingians
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Clovis’s heirs will establish the
Merovingian dynasty in the area that
still bears their name, France.
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They would divide the territory into
Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundia.
•
The Merovingian monarchs are little
more than tribal leaders and they will
fight constantly with each other.
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By 639 the Merovingian Kings will
become puppets to the their Comites
and Mayors.
Bad Brunhilda
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Lived from 543 to 613
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Visigoth Princess who married King Sigbert of
Austrasia.
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Convinced husband to war with brother
Chilperic over death of Sister.
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Sigbert is assassinated , so Brunhilda marries
Merovich, son of Chilperic.
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Merovich commits suicide so Brunhilda seizes
throne Austrasia for herself.
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During the next 30 years she started wars and
had ten Merovingian kings assassinated.
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She was finally captured and was quartered for
her acts.
Comites, the Key to Administration
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Merovingian kings were absolute rulers.
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Like the latter Roman Emperors they
kept themselves apart from the
Administration of their Kingdoms.
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To run the massive kingdom a new social
class called the comite was created.
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They would do everything from
collecting taxes, to recruiting for the
army.
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Over time the comites would increase
their power.
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The most powerful comite would gain the
title major domus or Mayor of the Palace.
The Spread of Christianity
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Since the first Century, Christianity had
risen.
•
In 400 it was the official religion of the
Empire, but the majority were still Pagan.
•
It had spread north and west by and had
gained major converts in several of the
Barbarian kingdoms.
•
By 900 it was the only religion in Western
Europe.
•
The Church would become the center
point to every Medieval town and village.
•
The Church would increase in power by
the selling of Indulgences and playing on
the fears of the afterlife.
Missionaries and Monasteries
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By the 4th Century people began looking to
Christianity to help them escape the world and
dedicate themselves to God.
•
In 500 Benedict, from Umbria had formed
several Monastic communities of men who had
dedicated their whole existence to God.
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Benedict seeing the nobility in this way of life
wrote The Rule in which he spelled out the
Monastic way of life.
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The Benedictine order would be founded from
this principle.
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Anchorites and Coenobites
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These early monks would become the first
missionaries, traveling into the unknown and
establishing monasteries.
Anglo-Saxons Arrive
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410, The Roman Emperor Honorius
abandons Britain.
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Britain breaks down into many tribal
kingdoms.
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To defend themselves from
marauding Picts, The kings of Britain
invite Saxon and Anglo Mercenaries.
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Mons Badonicus, the combined
Anglo-Saxon force overthrow the
tribal kings of Britain.
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Arthurian Legend is born from battle.
The Kingdoms of Britain
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By the late 6th Century the Saxon
kingdoms are established.
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East, Anglia, Mercia, Wessex,
Northumbria, Kent, Essex, and Sussex.
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The Picts to the north and the Welch to
the west remained unconquered.
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These tribal kingdoms would war and
feud with each other.
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Sometimes the kingdoms would split and
unify with Mercia being the strongest.
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This state of ebb and flux would exist
until unification under Alfred I in the late
9th Century.
Trial by Ordeal: Medieval Justice
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Under the Saxons England would establish
the Feudal system of government.
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By the end of the 6th Century most of the
Saxon kings were Christianized.
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One hold over to the Saxon system would
be their justice system.
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Courts would establish guilt or innocence
based on the number who would take oath.
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If unable to pay the punishment trial by
ordeal would be assessed.
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These ordeals would include:
Tied and thrown into water.
Carrying red hot iron.
Immersing your hand in boiling water.
Beowulf
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Saxons loved long-form poetry.
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The oldest and famous was Beowulf
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The epic poem traces the adventures
of a Swedish born king named
Beowulf who slays the monster
Grendel plaguing a Saxon king.
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Years later Beowulf will then die at
the hands of the offspring of
Grendel's mother and himself.
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The 1,200 year old poem is one of the
greatest surviving examples of
culture.
Muhammad the Prophet
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Born 570 orphaned when he was 8 he
lived with Bedouin traders for most of his
young life.
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In 595 he would marry a wealthy widow
named Khadija.
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He would pray alone in the mountains
and was visited in 610 by the Angel
Gabriel, who recited the Quran to him.
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The foundation of the new religion was
Islam which means Submission to Allah.
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Those who submit were known as
Muslim.
Submission
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Throughout his life Muhammad would preach
revelations as they were granted to him.
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This would come into opposition of those who
ruled Mecca.
•
Muhammad would then lead the tribal followers
against Mecca and conquer them and the other
Bedouins of Arabia by the end of his life in 632.
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Quickly his followers and their converts would
spread out and beat back the Persians and
Byzantines.
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In these newly conquered areas all would be
required to submit.
•
In 20 years the Muslims had conquered an area
as large as the old Roman Empire.
Umayyad Caliphate
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The rulers of the new state would be
known as caliphs or successor.
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Initially the Caliphs were chosen from the
companions of Muhammad.
•
In 644 a wealthy aristocrat named
'Uthman would establish the Umayyad
caliphate.
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Many Muslims would believe Ali the sonin-law of Muhammad should be caliph.
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Islam would become divided by the Sunni
the followers of 'Uthman and the Shi’a
the followers of Ali.
Tarik-Ibn-Ziyad
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674-678 Muslim armies would besiege
Constantinople.
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By 709 Muslim armies under the
Umayyad had broken the Vandal and
Visigoth rulers of North Africa.
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These armies were led by a
charismatic leader named Tarik-IbnZiyad.
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710 Tarik would plan for Muslim
armies to cross the Mediterranean
and invade the Christian west.
Eyeing Tarik’s Mountain
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First Tarik would need to establish a
launch point for his invasion.
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He would eye a large rock on the
southern end of the continent he would
name Jabal Tariq “Tarik’s Mountain”
known today as Gibraltar.
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Quickly Tarik’s Berber forces would
overwhelm the Visigoth rulers in
Hispania.
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The majority of Hispania would now fall
under the control of the Umayyad and be
renamed Al Andalus.
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Muslim forces would move rapidly north
and would not be stopped until 732 by
the “Hammer.”