Download 9.3 and 10.1 Rome/Byzantine PowerPoint

Roman and Byzantine
Empires
Chapter 9.3
(pages 270-276)
&
Chapter 10.1
(pages 284-289)
The Fall of Rome
About 200 – 500 A.D.
Ancient History?
• The empire of Rome had been at its strongest between 120 A.D. and 270
A.D.
• During the following 200-300 years, Rome slowly loses power, and
eventually collapses completely
• We consider this point in history as the switch between “ancient” (what
you learned in 6th grade), and “modern” (what you will learn from this point
1500
500
forward)
Ancient History
Middle Ages
Modern Era
“Dark Ages”
Fall of Byzantine
Empire
Fall of Rome
476 AD (CE)
Renaissance
What went wrong?
• Commodus “The Mad”:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Lived from 161 to 192
Took power in 180 after the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
Was only 18 years old when he took power
After the deaths of brothers, he was the only option left for
Emperor.
His father knew he was not qualified to be emperor
Known as one of the worst Roman emperors to have ever lived.
Was assassinated on New Year’s Eve in 192.
His time in power is known to mark the official “fall” of Rome.
Commodus’s Bad Decisions:
• Commodus was a bad leader because:
–
–
–
–
–
He was too young when he took power
He made poor choices
He allowed others to destroy his power
He did nothing while people tried to take over Rome
He made decisions without checking with the Senate first
(because the Senate was used to be asked, they did not take
this well, he also could have avoided many of his bad
decisions if he had asked for their help)
– He bribed the army to support him, instead of
earning their support.
– He had bold, extravagant and savage ways (like
really loving the bloodshed of the gladiator
games and even taking part in the games
himself).
The 5 Reasons Rome Falls:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weak, Corrupt Rulers
A Mercenary Army
The Size of the Empire
Serious Economic
Problems
Efforts to Stop the Decline
*There are many other small
reasons too. Many things
contributed to the fall of
Rome
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Weak Corrupt Rulers: Even after Commodus, other
rulers were not very good, they often stole money to
make themselves rich, and didn’t know how to run an
empire. There were many emperors during the fall of
Rome, most were assassinated like Commodus.
A Mercenary Army: Mercenary = Soldiers from other
countries who fight for the hiring country for pay, not
because they are loyal to or from that country. Not
being loyal to that country would cause them to switch
sides or not fight very hard.
The Size of the Empire: The empire was too large for
the Emperor and his armies to keep up with and keep
defended from outside attacks.
Serious Economic Problems: Rome ran out of money
after they stopped conquering new lands. Couldn’t
pay their army or feed their people. Led to Inflation =
an economic situation in which more money circulates,
but the money has less value.
Efforts to Stop the Decline: The Emperor Diocletian
finally divides the Empire in half (east and west half) in
order to make it more manageable to rule over.
Emperor Constantine
• Lived from 278 until 337
• Thought that the Christian God helped his army win the battle for
control of Rome after its “fall”.
• Emperor of Rome from 312 until 337. (Only ruled the Western half
of Rome at first).
• Strongly encouraged the spread of Christianity (after thousands of
years of a Polytheistic lifestyle in Rome)
• This is about 300 years after the birth of Jesus Christ. But
Christianity (the religion started by Jesus) had only just become
widely popular.
Constantine’s Success in Rome:
Religion
•
•
Freedom of Religion – (313)
Constantine declared that all
people in Western Rome can
practice any religion they want,
allowing them to be Christian for
the first time in Roman History.
Spread of Christianity –
Constantine keeps the Christian
church strong, he builds new
churches, and works with church
leaders.
Rebuilding
•
•
•
Control of Eastern Rome – (324)
he declares that Eastern
Romans can practice their
religion freely too.
Moving the Capital City – (330)
Constantine moves the capital of
the Roman Empire to Byzantium
partially because that’s where
he grew up, and partially
because the area was more
powerful.
Capital City –
eventually became known as
Constantinople meaning “the
city of Constantine”.
Rome
Constantinople
The Real End of Rome:
Inside of Rome
Outside of Rome
• Constantine can’t keep the
east and west together
before his death.
• Last Roman Emperor –
14 year old Romulus
Augustulus. Sent to work
on a farm after German
“barbarians” break through
Rome in 476.
• Constantine’s death makes
it an easy target for
outsiders to attack.
• German Tribes known as
“barbarians” take over
Rome in the 400s
• Famous German
“barbarian” tribes =
Visigoths and Vandals.
The Byzantine Empire
About 500 – 1450 A.D.
Why Byzantine?
• The area was what was left of the fallen Roman
Empire.
• Constantine had moved the capital of Rome here
less than 200 years before.
• The area had been called “Byzantium” before it
was renamed “Constantinople” after the Emperor
Constantine.
• Even after the fall of Rome, Constantinople
stayed strong, with large markets, public squares,
paved roads, a cathedral, a palace, public baths
and even a circus.
• About ½ million people lived there. They were
called “Byzantines”.
• The area was a major center for trade because it
was on a strait, or a narrow passage that links
two bodies of water.
The Age of Justinian:
Justinian, the Emperor
Justinian’s Code (Laws)
• Lived from 483 – 565
• Became Emperor in 527
• Known as one of the
greatest Byzantine
Emperors
• He was energetic, never
gave up, and cared for the
poor because he had come
from a poor family.
• A system of laws created by
Emperor Justinian.
• Justinian noticed that when
he took power, the old
Roman laws were
unorganized and didn’t
make much sense.
• Justinian re-writes the laws
to make more sense for the
new Byzantine Empire.
• They are still used as the
basis for many modern legal
systems in Europe.
The End of the Byzantine Empire:
Problems with Religion
•
•
•
•
Justinian Dies in 565 leaving the
empire weak.
Eastern Byzantines and Western
Romans practiced Christianity
differently (The Pope was only
recognized in Western Rome)
Arguments between the two sides
led to a schism, or split.
The Christian Religion became 2
branches of Christianity: The Roman
Catholic Church in the West, and
the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox
Church in the east.
The Fall of Constantinople
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Even though the Byzantine Empire
had one more period of greatness
from 900 to 1050 under Emperor
Basil II, the Empire could not hold
off outside invaders.
1050-1100: Muslims from the East
gain power
1170: Wars with Europeans from
Venice (Italy)
1200s: Constantinople attached by
Christian Crusaders.
1260: The Byzantines regain power
for a short time.
1453: 70,000 Turks surround
Constantinople, attack, and take the
city.
Later: New leaders rename the city
Istanbul and it becomes a center of
Muslim culture and the capital of the
Ottoman Empire (still in existence
today).
The End
Questions, Repeats?