Download Ch.6

The Fall of
Rome
After 1000
years of
civilization,
Rome is
eroded by the
Germanic
tribes that
migrated into
the empire.
During the late 300’s and early
400’s (AD), many groups invaded
Roman territory:
Visigoths, Vandals, Franks, Saxons,
Angles, and Ostrogoths.
The Visigoth chief Alaric led his
people into Rome itself.
Soon after
Alaric, the Huns
under Attila
raided the
empire. The
German tribes
actually worked
with the Romans
to expel the
Huns.
When the
Huns were
gone, the
Germans
attacked the
Romans again
and the empire
was officially
gone.
Death
Certificate
Rome
In 476 AD, a German soldierturned-General named Odoacer
captured Rome and 1000 years of
progress came to an end.
No more
Rome?!
The Fall of Rome
precipitated an
economic, political, and
social crisis that turned
into the Medieval Period
(Middle Ages).
The Fall of Rome is a process,
not an event. It took
hundreds of years for Rome
to fall, and the roots of the
fall were set in motion over
400 years before the end.
Odoacer named himself “king”, not
emperor. The Catholic Church had
no problem with a new king as
long as
they were
left alone.
Why is the Catholic Church’s
opinion important? They are the
only medieval institution that is in
every European country and knows
how to write!! Their diplomacy and
unified beliefs will be the only
source of stability in Europe for the
next 1000 years.
Fortunately, there is a pocket of
civilization that remains from the
Roman Empire: The Byzantine
Empire. It is
centered around
Constantinople.
The Fall of Rome
precipitates the advent of the
Middle Ages.
The Medieval Period is
generally assumed to be
400-1450 AD (CE).
The legacy of the Romans (for us):
1.
2.
3.
4.
Christian church.
Cultural diffusion.
Byzantine Empire & Roman law.
Literature and letters.
We are cultural descendants of the
Romans and the Greeks.