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Rome:
The End of the Empire
CHW3M
The Roman Empire
31 BCE – 180 CE
Various emperors (some good, some
bad, some insane) move the empire
forward (or backward)
It reaches its greatest extent under
Trajan (97-117 CE)
The Pax Romana
The Roman Peace
About 100 years of stability
Ends with the death of Marcus Aurelius
Reasonable taxes, work is plentiful
Trade with the Orient and Northern Europe
Cities built and linked with an extensive
network of paved roads
Latin becomes the common language of the
empire
The Decline of the Empire
Vast size of the empire means its
hard to hold back invaders from its
frontiers
Parthians, and later, the Sassanians
invade from east (Persia)
Franks and Burgundians raid Roman
territories
Uprisings in Gaul and Britain
From one empire to two
Diocletian figures the empire is too big for
one emperor to rule
Divides it into two
Diocletian rules the east, Maximian rules the
west
Each emperor (Augustus) will rule for 20 years,
each with an assistant (Caesar) to be his
successor
Rome is no longer the capital
Milan for the west, Nicomedia for east
Roman senate is basically relegated to being a
city council
Did it work?
Good: Army reconquers Britain, stops
African uprising, locks down eastern
borders
Bad: When Diocletian and Maximian
resign, a power struggle ensues
Constantine
After a civil war, Constantine emerges
victorious in 324
Moves eastern capital to Byzantium and
renames it Constantinople
Converts to Christianity (though still
worships Roman gods)
Roman soldiers wear Christian monograms on
shields
Issues Edict of Milan (Christians are free to
practice their religion with persecution)
Build churches and encourages Romans to
convert
Theodosius
Successor to Constantine
The last emperor to rule a united
Roman Empire
After him, the Empire is once again
divided into two
Makes Christianity the official religion
of the empire in 380…
… and outlaws all other religions
The Barbarian Invasions
The Huns are a constant problem
from the east, Germanic tribes
invading from the west
Germanic tribes capture Rome in 476
and force the western emperor to step
down
The Legacy
The eastern Roman Empire becomes
the Byzantine Empire
Fairly extensive territory
Unique culture, art, Christian sect
The Legacy
The western empire more or less descends
into chaos for the next few hundred years
The Roman Catholic Church continues to
grow in wealth and power
Spreads Christianity throughout Europe
By the high middle ages is the dominate power
in Europe
The Holy Roman Empire emerges in 962
under Charlemagne
What do you think?
Check out pages 172-173
Which factor do you think played the
most significant role in the decline of
the empire? Why?
Politics
Economics
Defence