The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Origins of Romans Rome began near the center of what is now Italy. The Latin’s built the original settlement of Rome by the Tiber River.

The Last King of Rome The last king to rule Rome was Tarquin the Proud. His full name was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. He often ruled with a harsh hand as a result the Romans rose up and drove Tarquin from power.

From Republic to Empire The Romans established a form of government known as a republic. Power rests on the citizens who vote to select their leaders. At the head of the government were two leaders known as consuls and a law making body known as the Senate.

Citizens The laws were designed to protect the rights of Rome’s citizens. Citizens are the people who could participate in the government. Citizens could vote.

Duties of Citizens Had to pay taxes Males had to serve in the army

Decline of the Republic As Rome grew larger it became difficult to maintain order and Rome fell into a civil war. In 45 BC Roman general Julius Caesar brought order to Rome and named himself ruler. In 44 BC Roman Senators assassinated Caesar.

Augustus Caesar’s adopted son Octavian took over as ruler. He took the title of Augustus or “divine one”. His rule began an era of great growth and peace known as the Pax Romana or roman peace.

Rome Becomes an Empire Under Augustus, Rome became an empire. An empire is a group of different cultures or territories led by a single all powerful ruler. The ruler of an empire is known as an emperor. Augustus died in AD 14. and made Rome its largest size of 2 million square miles.

CHRISTIANITY FROM THE ROMAN PROVINCE OF JUDEA

The Rise of Christianity A new religion spread known as Christianity. It emerged during the Roman Empire and is based on the teachings of Jesus who is believed by the Christians to be the son of god. He taught people to love God and had a large following. This angered Roman leaders and they had him arrested and put to death. Those who believed in Jesus spread his teachings and continued to worship in great risk because Roman officials imprisoned or killed many Christians.

Internal weakness threaten Rome Rome began to decline because of a series of internal problems. Economic: the empire stopped expanding because of no new conquests. This meant no new sources of wealth. Officials grew desperate and raised taxes in order to maintain the army. Society suffered and it became hard to become educated. Military: Roman soldiers became less disciplined and loyal. They followed individual military leaders. Political: Politicians grew corrupt and only interested in money and financial gain.

Diocletian and Constantine

Rome Divides into East and West Rome continued for another 200 years despite its problems under two strong emperors: Diocletian and Constantine. Constantine succeeded Diocletian and took two steps to greatness. 1. He declared an end to all attacks on Christians and allowed them to worship freely. 2. He moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium which then became known as Constantinople. This was a shift of power from the west to the east. It later became the Byzantine Empire.

Byzantine Empire

Fall of the Roman Empire Foreign groups were swarming all around Rome’s borders. In 476 CE Germanic tribes conquered Rome. This marked the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

End of an Empire Though the western part of the Roman Empire fell the Eastern part survived. It became known as the Byzantine Empire. It lasted until 1453 C.E.