Download The Fall of Rome

6.5 Notes
THE FALL OF ROME
6.5-Empire Weakens
 Weak Leaders
 When the Pax Romana ended in 180 CE the Roman Empire
began to weaken as it faced challenges from both inside and
outside the empire
 After the last good emperor died a series a civil wars began
 Outside invasions made the emperor increase the army which
lead to financial issues
This weakened the empire significantly
 20 emperors between 235-284 all but one died violently
 Generals of the army became the real leaders
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6.5-Empire Weakens
• Economic Troubles
• Empire’s instability led to robberies
• Cost of the military raised= taxes raised
• New money coined with less silver to help with economic
trouble
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Opposite effect people would not can the coin bc it wasn’t worth as
much.
Caused inflation
Economic crisis – increased costs for military led to decreased
prosperity, increased taxes, decreased trade, new money coined
causing value of money to decrease and prices to rise - inflation
6.5- Attempts at Reform
 Diocletian
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successful reformer - becomes emperor in 284 CE
The crisis of the 200’s led to reform
Changes empire government structure to an absolute monarchy
Split the empire into two (Western Roman Empire and Eastern
Roman Empire)
Co-emperor in the West, both had advisors who were Caesars
Regulated all aspects of Roman life (sons followed the trades and
social positions of their fathers, peasants were permanently tied to
the land they farmed)
Increased size and budget for military
Switched economy to military production
Introduced new tax system
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Reforms were successful
6.5- Attempts at Reform
 Constantine
In 305 Diocletain and his co-emperor abdicated the throne so their
Caesars could rise as emperors. Soon civil war broke out
 Order was not restored until 312 when Constantine was proclaimed
the new emperor by his troops
Constantine continued policies enacted under Diocletian – became
emperor in 312 CE
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State control over society
 Converted to Christianity and legalized the practice of the religion in
313 CE in the Edict of Milan
 Built a new capital in Eastern Roman Empire – Constantinople
 Because the east was richer and better protected than the west.
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 Reforms enacted under Diocletian and Constantine only
slowed the decline the eventual fall of the Roman Empire
was inevitable
6.5-Invasion and Fall
 Invasion and Fall of Rome
 Germanic tribes has invaded Rome’s frontiers
 Increasing shifts of population from Asia into Europe pushed these
Germanic tribes into Roman Empire
 In the 300’s a nomadic tribe called the Huns stormed out of the east and
sent the Germanic tribes fleeing.
 The Huns could not be stopped
 In 370 the Huns attacked, Ostrogoth, a Germanic tribe and sent even
more Germanic tribes fleeing into the Roman Empire
 Pushed by the Huns other migrating tribes went into the Roman Empire
and began attacking the Roman Empire
 The Vandals tribe attacked Rome
 In the 400’s Attila, a strong leader for the Huns, attacked Gaul
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The Rome army allied with the Germanic tribes, The Visigoths, and defeated
the Huns
Huns set out for Rome however Pope Leo I convinced them to leave
6.5-Invasion and Fall
 Fall of the West
 Despite the Hun’s withdrawl of Rome the Western Empire lay
in shambles
 Germanic Tribes ruled most of the western provinces including
Italy
 In 476 tribe leader Odoacer over threw the last Roman
Emperor in the West
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Empire in the East did not collapse
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Considered the end of the Roman Empire
Lasted for several centuries
Last period of the Eastern Roman Empire is considered the
Byzantine Empire
The fall of Rome
 The Western Roman Empire falls in 476 CE after an attack
led by the barbarian commander Odoacer
 The Eastern Roman Empire does not collapse, but over
time evolves into the Byzantine Empire due to influences
from other cultures, especially Greek
Causes and Effects of the Fall of
Rome
Causes
•Weak leadership after 180 CE *Invasions
•Economic Crises
*Social Unrest and Insecurity
Effects
*In the west, the disappearance of central authority and the
creation of small kingdoms
*In the east, the continuation of the Roman Empire ruled
from Constantinople