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INDICTMENT
OF ROMAN EMPERORS
The Charge:
Your ineffective leadership caused the collapse of the Roman Empire.
In the 500 years Rome was empire, some of the emperors were good,
some were bad, and some were plain crazy. Rome never solved the problem
of how to peacefully transfer political power to a new leader. When an
emperor died, ambitious rivals with independent armies often fought each
other for the emperor’s crown.
Even when the transfer of power happened without fighting, there was
no good system for choosing the next emperor. Often the Praetorian guard,
the emperor’s private army, chose the new ruler. But they frequently chose
leaders who would reward them rather than those who were best prepared
to be emperor.
Notorious emperors like Nero and Caligula wasted large amounts of
money, spreading corruption and causing a decline in citizenship. A rise in
crime made the emperor’s cities and roads unsafe. Unemployment was also
a serious problem for many people. Small farmers could not compete with
the large landowners. They fled to the cities looking for work, but there
were not enough jobs for everyone.
Instead of fixing these problems, the emperors tended to focus on
improving their own extravagant lifestyle and persecuting Christians, a new
powerful religious group who challenged government beliefs and corruption.
Diocletian tried to save the empire by splitting it into two, but this move was
the final straw. With a new focus on the eastern half of the empire, the west
was left to collapse. Your ineffective leadership is to blame for the fall of the
Roman Empire, the greatest civilization of its time.
Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the following
comprehension questions. Answer as a 6A Student, not as an
emperor. When you’re finished, check in with me!
 ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES 
1. If an emperor died, how was the next leader usually chosen?
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2. How could this method of choosing new emperors hurt Rome? How could it
help it?
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3. Name at least three ways the emperors were considered ineffective and may
have caused the decline of the Roman Empire.
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Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on
another defendant group!
INDICTMENT
OF BARBARIANS
The Charge:
Your constant attacks on Roman borders and pillaging of the city of
Rome led to the collapse of the world’s greatest empire.
In the 200s C.E., several Germanic tribes like the Gauls, Ostrogoths,
Visigoths, Vandals, and Franks started gaining power and made it
increasingly difficult to defend Rome’s borders. Your tribes were
“uncivilized,” living in small groups, wearing animal fur, and constantly
fighting amongst themselves. Barbarian literally means “foreigner” or “nonGreek speaker.” You’re considered filthy, violent, and coldblooded; the
Romans definitely feared you.
While the barbarians originally made peace with Rome, your lifestyle
focused on war and the constant need to seek more power and land. Even
when they joined the Roman army, they were not entirely loyal and
weakened their military unit’s effectiveness.
In an attempt to gain control, Rome tried to charge higher taxes on
the barbarians, but the tribes rebelled and attacked. Over the course of two
hundred years, Roman generals were forced to constantly defend the
empire’s borders. Defenses could only hold for so long. In one battle, two
thirds of the Roman army was destroyed and the tribes made their way to
Rome.
You were ruthless, murdering innocent civilians (non-fighting men)
and kidnapping women and children. You plundered Rome, taking gold
and jewels first, and then helped themselves to fine furniture and works of
art. For six days you sacked (destroyed) the city. By the time you left, the
streets were littered with bodies and the empire never recovered. When
Rome fell, it was broken up into numerous barbarian-led tribal kingdoms
and a dark period (a lack of inventions, ideas, and peace) fell across Europe
for the next thousand years. Your constant invasions brought about the fall
of Rome and the Dark Ages.
Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the
following comprehension questions. Answer as a 6A Student,
not as a barbarian. When you’re finished, check in with me!
 ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES 
1. Who were the barbarians?
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2. Name two ways why the barbarians could be responsible for ending the
Roman Empire.
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3. Why would constant attacks on Rome’s borders be a major problem?
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Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on
another defendant group!
INDICTMENT
OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
The Charge:
Your religious beliefs and growing population questioned the
emperors’ authority and divided the Roman people, causing the
empire to lose power and collapse.
At its height, the Roman Empire included many races, languages, and
religious beliefs. There were many beliefs that flourished and gained followers,
but none had as much influence and followers as Christianity. Christianity
promised something that other belief systems of the time did not: a chance of
forgiveness and eternal life. Christians believe that Jesus Christ was not only a
religious prophet, but the son of God.
At first, Rome was not unfriendly to Christians. What was another god,
among so many? But Christians refused to worship the other Roman gods. Worse,
you would not admit that the emperor was a god. Your way of life seemed to be an
insult to Roman customs. Instead of wealth and luxury, you preferred living simply.
Recalling Jesus’ message of peace and love, many of you refused to serve in the
army.
As the number of Christians grew, the empire became divided. Romans saw
you as a threat to Roman order and patriotism. Eventually your religion was
declared illegal and Christians were sentenced to die in cruel and painful ways for
refusing to honor the Roman gods. Yet these punishments failed to destroy the
new religion since Christianity gained new followers with its belief that even the
poor and slaves could look forward to a better life after death if they followed the
ways of Christ. This growing power made the emperors seem weak and further
caused division amongst believers and non-believers.
Eventually, the Emperor Constantine embraced the church and gave
Christians the freedom to practice their religion openly and by 395, it became the
official religion of the Roman Empire. As the empire was occupied with wars and
political matters, the Church became more and more powerful and many valued
its opinion over the empire. The Church had become more powerful than the state
(government), and the empire was unable to re-establish its control and unify its
people. Your religion’s challenge of authority and division of believers and nonbelievers helped bring about the fall of Rome.
Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the following
comprehension questions. Answer as a 6A Student, not as a new
Christian. When you’re finished, check in with me!
 ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES 
1. How did Christian values differ from Roman values?
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2. Why was Christianity able to survive despite the empire’s attempts to kill all
Christians?
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3. Why would a civilization have trouble if its citizens are divided? (Ex’s: Rome’s
Christians and non-Christians or our own “Red” States and “Blue” States).
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4. How would allegiance (loyalty) to the Church instead of the empire help
bring about Rome’s collapse?
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Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on
another defendant group!
INDICTMENT
OF THE ROMAN ARMY
The Charge:
Your constant need to expand the empire caused savage wars,
problems between Roman citizens and non-citizens, and massive
debts that brought about the fall of Rome.
From the beginning to its fall in 476 CE, Rome had four periods of
expansion. When Rome was only a small city-state, your soldiers conquered
the Etruscans and gained control of all of Italy. During the second period of
expansion, Rome fought three savage wars against Carthage, a city-state in
Northern Africa. While Rome was eventually victorious against Hannibal and
his army, families mourned for the countless soldiers who had died in the long
wars. In addition, people living outside of Rome suffered huge losses;
Hannibal’s army had destroyed thousands of farms and many soldiers returned
home to find nothing waiting for them.
As newly conquered people entered the empire, they were not given the
same rights as Roman citizens and many became slaves. Romans treated
slaves very harshly and many revolts occurred, killing thousands. Incoming
slaves also took jobs away from thousands of farmers and laborers.
Your army’s generals (like Julius Caesar) also used their victories to gain
fame in far-off lands and fight for power in Rome. In one civil war, over 200,000
Romans were killed. Eventually democracy ended and the empire began with
Augustus’s rule. Though the Pax Romana, a 200 year period of peace,
occurred after his rule, Rome’s large borders constantly needed to be defended.
The empire could not afford to send soldiers to all the places it needed to
defend and kept raising taxes to pay for this constant expansion and defense.
Rome had basically become “too big for its britches.” The empire became
too large too fast and was unable to provide for its citizens and protect its
territories. Constant expansion led to brutal wars, troubles between citizens
and non-citizens, and massive debts. These issues weakened the empire until
it was no longer able to guard itself against barbarian attacks. The Roman
army’s greed for more power and land eventually led to the empire’s collapse.
Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the following
comprehension questions. Answer as a 6A Student, not as a
Roman general. When you’re finished, check in with me!
 ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES 
1. Why would the Rome want to expand its boundaries?
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2. How did war cause non-citizens and citizens to have problems with one
another? How would this issue cause problems for the Roman government?
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3. Name at least three ways Rome’s expansion help bring about its fall.
Should Rome have kept expanding its empire? Why/Why not?
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Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on
another defendant group!