The Fall of the Roman Empire

World HistoryMs. Costas

Rome’s Golden Age

• As Rome became more stable, it had a 200 year span of peace and prosperity– Known as “Pax Romana”

• Means Roman Peace

• Rome was strong in many areas– Military was strong – Government was stable and

functioning fairly– Economy was flourishing

• This leads to the happiness and peacefulness of the people

Rome Weakens

• The end of Roman greatness did not occur overnight

• After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 A.D., the Pax Romana ended– For 100 years political and

economic turmoil rocked the Roman Empire

• One of the major signs of weakness was the size of the empire– It was too big to be

controlled by one person• Split into two halves

Emperor Diocletian

• Emperor Diocletian split the empire in two to make it easier to govern

• He made several reforms to fix the empire’s growing economic concerns– Boys had to follow

their father’s profession

– He fixed prices for goods and services• This prevented

inflation

Emperor Constantine

• Emperor Constantine followed Diocletian to the throne

• He followed in many of Diocletian’s footsteps in making reforms– Granted toleration of

Christianity– Built a new capital

city, Constantinople

The Long Decline

• Rome did not fall in one day…– It took over 100 years for

the Empire to truly fall from power• Rome never disappeared, it

simply weakened and became much smaller and far less powerful

• There are many causes for the fall of the empire– They can be put into 4

categories• Military• Political• Economic• Social

Barbarian Invasions

• For years the army had been strong and held the Roman borders

• As civil war continued within the empire, the military could not defend the borders– They had to hire mercenaries to

defend the borders• This cost the empire a TON of

money

• Germanic invaders chipped away at the Roman borders in the west– The destroyed and looted

everything left over

• The Huns, led by Attila the Hun, were on their way to Rome to take the Western part of the empire.

Decline in Morals and Values

• There was a decline in traditional values– Patriotism– Discipline– Devotion

• Crimes and violence made the city unsafe– A large emphasis on

violence contributed social problems

• People became greedy and wasteful– The wealthy drained the

empire of money spent on lavish parties

Poor Conditions & Health

• Wealthy Romans lived in nice homes– Upper-class is thought to

have been affected by lead poisoning

• Most Romans were not rich– Lived in small, cramped

apartments called “islands”• Houses with six of more stories

– At one point there was more than 44,000 islands inside of Rome

• These terrible conditions contributed to the unhappiness of citizens– Perpetuated sickness and

disease

Political Corruption

• It became difficult to choose new emperors– No longer did the emperor

choose their successor– Caused violence and struggles

for power

• It was decided that the Praetorian Guard would choose the new emperor

• Praetorian guard = emperor’s private army

– They began selling the position to the highest bidder

• In 100 years Rome saw 37 different emperors– 25 of whom were

assassinated

Rise in Christianity

• Many Romans began pledging their loyalty to their religion rather than their country– Decreased patriotism

• Some people believed Christianity made people pacifists– Pacifist = someone

opposed to war• This was shown in a decline in

people partaking in the army

• Much of the money that was needed to help the empire went to building new churches

Inflation & Taxes

• To make up for the lack of funds, the government began charging higher taxes– Many Romans could not pay

these taxes• This caused them to lose their

land, homes, belongings

• This also led to inflation• Inflation = rapid rise of prices

– People could no longer afford every day things

– This made the value of money decrease

• The once very wealthy Roman Empire was now economically weak

Rome’s Demise• It’s important to note that Rome did

not fall overnight– Think more like it splintered into pieces

• Rome does not officially “fall”– It never disappears– It shrinks to a small, less powerful

civilization

• Rome leaves an incredible legacy– At its height, Rome had a very rich

culture• Future civilizations strive to recreate Rome