The fall of Rome
What factors led to the rise, growth, and fall of the Roman Empire? Essential question What factors led to the rise, growth, and fall of the Roman Empire?
Key terms Constantine- Emperor of Rome from A.D. 312-337; Encouraged the spread of Christianity
From good rule to bad rule
From good to bad rule The Christian church provided comfort and authority at a time when the Roman Empire was close to collapse The decline of the Roman Empire start when Marcus Aurelius died, and he left his son Commodus in charge at the age of 18 in A.D. 180 Commodus allowed others to help him run the empire, but he made poor choices He allowed others to destroy the power and prestige of the senate Commodus never sought the approval of the senate before he acted, and kept a grip on the army by bribing the army to support him His bold, extravagant ways were his downfall-as he was assassinated on New Years Eve in 192
The empire crumbles
Weak corrupt leaders The decline of the Roman Empire began under Commodus, but historians do not agree on the cause for the decline The emperors after Commodus were great generals, yet horrible politicians The government and the economy became weak and the senate lost power Between A.D. 180 and A.D. 284-most of the 29 emperors were assassinated
A mercenary army In earlier times, the Roman army was made up of citizen soldiers ready to defend their land but now the army was filled with mercenaries-foreign soldiers who serve for pay They often switched sides if doing so could work to their advantage The army once depended on great, loyal soldiers but now that no longer existed The Roman Empire was now spending their time defending the empire instead of gaining new territories
Economic problems When Rome stopped conquering new lands, new sources of income were not available To make up for this loss of income, the government raised taxes-which in turned raised the unemployment rate Food became scare causing the prices to go up- to pay for food, the government produced more coins that were dependent upon the amount of silver in them The government did not have much silver, and less of this metal was put in each coin resulting in inflation If inflation is not controlled, money buys less and less making Roman coins soon worthless
Efforts to stop the decline Diocletian worked to strengthen Rome by enlarging the army, building new forts at the borders and improving the tax system He also divided the empire into two parts- the wealthy eastern part ruled by him and a co- emperor to rule the western part
Constantine and Christianity
Constantine and Christianity Diocletian and his co emperor Maximian stepped down in A.D. 305, and so ensued an internal battle for power (AGAIN!) Constantine battled, and eventually won control over the western part of the Roman Empire( the eastern section was run by Licinius In 313, Constantine and Licinius stated all people were allowed freedom to practice any religion Thus further spreading Christianity, thus making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire
Building a faith In 324, Constantine won several battles against Licinius and won control of the entire empire. Once he became emperor of Rome, Constantine witnessed how Licinus was still allowing Christians to be persecuted During his reign, Constantine worked to strengthen this religion and helped plan and pay for the construction of a church in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified
Invasions and collapse
Invasions and collapse In 330, Constantine moved the capital to the city of Byzantium( modern day Turkey) Although he tried very hard, forces continued to pull apart the Roman Empire A northern tribe the Romans referred to as the barbarians( origins traced to Germany) invaded Rome in 400s, and overran the empire The Vandals took Rome in 455, leaving the empire powerless The last Roman emperor was Romulus, who was later defeated by a German tribe in 476 The Roman Empire never flourished again
KEY TERMS Constantine Mercenary Inflation