Download The End of the Empire Rome`s Greatness

The End of the Empire
Rome’s Greatness
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At Rome's height in the early 100’s it included all the
land around the Mediterranean Sea including Britain.
To Large for its Own Good
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The empire did not
stay that large for long.
By the end of the 200’s
emperors had given up
land because they
feared the empire had
become too large to
defend or govern
effectively.
These emperors were
RIGHT!!
External Threats to Rome
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Germanic warriors
attacked Rome’s
Northern boarders.
– Very fierce warriors
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The Romans were able
to defend for 200 years
but at great cost
Internal Threats to Rome
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Because of the fighting in
the North many Romans
abandoned their land
near the boarders.
Rome allowed these tribes
to farm on their land.
Over time, whole
Germanic communities had
moved into the empire and
choose their own leaders
and ignoring the
emperor.
Internal Threats to Rome
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Disease swept
through the empire,
killing many people.
The government was
forced to raise taxes
for defense
But many of the
Romans couldn’t pay.
The Romans looked
for a strong leader,
they found
Diocletian.
Diocletian
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Diocletian took power
in the late 200’s.
He believed the empire
was too big for one
person to rule.
He divided the empire
into 2 parts. An East
and a West.
He ruled the Eastern
half and picked a coruler for the Western
half.
Constantine
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Shortly after Diocletian left
power Constantine
reunited the empire.
He moved the capital East
to modern day Turkey and
called it Constantinople.
He also ended the ban on
religion allowing
Christianity to flourish.
Even though the empire
was called the Roman
empire. Rome was no
longer the center of power.
The Decline of Rome
The Huns
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The foreign tribes that
had settled in the North
began raiding deep into
the heart of the empire.
Fierce warriors from
Central Asia called the
Huns began invading
southeastern Europe.
Some of the Huns
victims were the Goths.
Unable to defeat the
Huns the Goths flee into
Roman territory.
The Goths
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The emperors were scared
the Goths would destroy
land and property.
The Eastern empire is
successful at repelling the
Goths, pushing them
further West.
But the Western empire is
unsuccessful and fails.
Large numbers of Goths
move into the empire.
Fighting the Goths
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The Romans fought
desperately to keep
the Goths from
Rome.
They even paid
them not to attack.
But when they
stopped making
payments, the
Goths marched into
Rome and
destroyed the city
in 410 A.D.
The Fall of the Western Empire
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The Gothic victory inspired other tribes to invade the
Western Empire.
The Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Franks all launched
attacks.
The Fall of the Western
Empire
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At the same time the Huns,
under a fearsome leader
named Attila, raided
territory in the East.
Rome needed strong leader,
but the emperors were weak.
Generals tired to rule Rome
and fought amongst
themselves.
This made Rome even
weaker. In 476 A.D. a
foreign general overthrew
the last emperor in Rome
and named himself king.
This event is considered the
end of the Western Roman
Empire.
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Size & Political Reasons
The size of the empire was
too big to govern
effectively.
Making communication
difficult especially during
war.
Corruption in the
government.
– Officials used threats or bribes
to get what they wanted.
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Often ignored the needs of
citizens.
As a result, Rome’s
government was no longer
effective.
Weakening Army
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The Empire needed a strong army to protect
its borders.
Rome hired MERCENARIES, paid soldiers,
from other provinces to protect Rome.
These soldiers did not care about Rome.
Powerful generals kept fighting among
themselves about who should be the next
emperor.
This fighting caused Rome to have at least
23 emperors in 73 years. All but one were
assassinated.
Internal Struggles
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The rich left the city
and created their
own armies for
protection.
Some tried to take
power and
overthrow the
emperors.