Section 5 Decline and Fall Ancient Rome Section 5 Decline and Fall

Problem and Upheaval After Marcus Aurelius, the last of the “good” emperors died in 180 AD, a period of conflict, confusion and civil wars followed Roman throne was occupied by whoever had the most military control

Start of the Decline Following the Pax Romana the Empire began to have many problems that led to its decline: Economic Decay Military Decay Political Loyality

Economic Decay Trade began to decay when Barbarians from the North and Pirates from the Mediterranean began to raid Roman ships Wealthy Romans had spent so much money on parties and luxuries from China, India, and Arabia that gold and silver storages were drained. To meet its debts the Roman government minted money that contained less and less gold and silver This created an price increases, also known as inflation

Military Decay As the Empire became weaker, citizens became less willing to fight and be loyal to the state Because of this, the military declined in strength and Rome is forced to hire barbarians, whose loyalty was uncertain

Political Decay Political office was no longer an honor but more of a burden Tax collectors in districts were responsible to pay money if they were short at all with the taxes. Even with these problems, the empire lasted another 200 years with the help of two of Rome’s greatest emperors Diocletian and Constantine

Diocletian Military leader and son of a slave Took power in 284 AD To save the empire, he doubled the size of the army and stopped the rise of prices to keep inflation down Persecuted Christians to restore faith in Roman Gods Created an atmosphere of splendor to restore the respect for the emperor To make administration easier he split the empire into two sections, the eastern Greek speaking portion and the western Latin speaking portion

Constantine Young soldier that took over following the retirement of Diocletian Prayed for divine help before a crucial battle. Claims to have a vision of a cross. After he led his troops to victory he converted to Christianity As emperor, in his famous “Edict of Milan”, he transformed Christianity from an outlawed religion to a government approved religion Constantine later won control of the Eastern empire and moved the capital to Byzantium (modern day Turkey). He later renamed it Constantinople, after himself

Final Phase of Decline The final phase of the downfall came between 378Ad and 476 AD, resulted from a series of attacks by Germanic tribes and finally by a group of Asiatic nomads called the Huns Led by Attila the Hun, they attacked and destroyed 70 cities in the Eastern Empire and then advanced on Western Rome In 476 AD, the last Roman emperor was a 14 year old boy who lost the throne to a barbaric general named Odoacer. The Western empire was lost The western half of the empire ceased to exist as a political entity

In Summary Roman cultural influence as persisted for centuries The Christian church base in Rome will become a unifying force later in Europe The Church’s ceremonies and institutions will help preserve the Latin language, Roman literature and learning, through times of turmoil that lay ahead The eastern half of the empire, which came to called the Byzantine empire, survived and flourished for another thousand years.

Activity #6 Get out a separate sheet of paper which you will turn in. Answer the following reflection questions: What are 5 things you learned about Rome (be specific) What was your favorite part in Roman history Answer the “I Can…” on the board.