The Empire Declines Emperors ineffective because: Corruption A.D. 180 - Pax Romana ends with emperor Marcus Aurelius’ death Last “Great” Roman Emperor – Emperor in “Gladiator” A philosophical king – wrote a book called “Meditations” – described the nature of rulership Persecuted Christians, however Emperors ineffective because: Corruption Incompetency – Not skilled Assassination Started with Commodus, Marcus Aurelius’ son – psychotic/neurotic in the movie and in real life – paranoid and had many murdered Strangled to death while taking a bath

Assassination Corruption Incapable Rulers

Rome’s Economy Weakens Weakened Rome: Hostile tribes shake Rome’s trade Attacked ships carrying goods from places like India and China to Rome Inflation— Value of money drops/prices rise Rome ran out of resources expanding – tried to print more money Soil Depletion – Soil loses nutrients – makes people starve Soil needs to rest-not be planted in year after year if crops are to grow there. Otherwise, all the nutrients will be absorbed

Soil Depletion Hostile Tribes Inflation

Military and Political Turmoil Third century A.D. - Soldiers loyal to commanders, not Rome Commanders often fought for the throne – many emperors after the Pax Romana are going to be generals/commanders Government uses Mercenaries—Foreign soldiers paid to fight Mercenaries accepted less pay than Romans, but they had even less loyalty to Rome than the Romans did Average citizens lose interest in the affairs of Rome They were disillusioned/disappointed at the nearly constant fighting for who would be the next emperor Felt that empire didn’t care about their well being

Emperors Attempt Reform A.D. 284 - Emperor Diocletian divided empire in two Greek-speaking East Latin-speaking West Diocletian believed the empire had grown to big and complex for one ruler; he decided to divide it Power is now shared between two emperors; one in the Western Roman Empire, one in the Eastern Roman Empire A.D. 305 Diocletian retired due to bad health, civil war started when he did Four people fought for the throne, including Constantine who saw the vision of the cross Diocletian

Division of the Empire

Constantine Moves The Capital Constantine becomes emperor of Western Empire in A.D. 312 Shortly thereafter he legalizes Christianity – Christians won’t be persecuted A.D. 324 - Constantine takes Eastern Empire and moves capital to Constantinople Constantinople—City of Constantine Will be the wealthiest city in Europe during the Middle Ages/Crusades

Foreign Invasions Germanic tribes sacked Rome in A.D. 410 The Roman Empire suffers through several invasions Military is less disciplined, has low morale, many soldiers are mercenaries Attila lead Mongol nomads from Asia, the Huns, and invaded northern borders of empire Attila had the land pillaged and sacked – Romans were fearful of Attila until his death (nosebleed on wedding night) Germanic tribes sacked Rome in A.D. 410

The Western Empire Falls Last Roman emperor falls to Germans in 476; end of Western Empire End of the Roman Empire - begins Dark Ages in Europe – Civilization/culture comes to a halt almost entirely until the 1400/1500s Eastern Empire thrives for another thousand years (Byzantine Empire) Later falls to Muslim Turks in 1458

The Legacy of Rome – Language and Architecture Latin was official language of Roman Catholic Church until 1900s Latin develops into Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian) More than half the words in English stem from Latin Romans pioneer use of arch, domes and concrete Romans built aqueducts—Structures that bring water to towns Will be used by future societies – basis of plumbing system today

Pgs. 108 – 114 (Can look at class set) Students will get 10 minutes to study for Quiz #2 Pgs. 108 – 114 (Can look at class set) Take out separate sheet of paper; number it from 1-11 This the multiple choice section Write 12 and 13 with separate spaces between them Short answer section – should be between at least 3-4 sentences