Fall of the Western Roman Empire Essential Question: How could such a powerful empire collapse?

Problem 1 Your country is running low on food. What will you do? Take all the food and divide it up evenly among all the people. Let people keep what they have. Take all the food, give the army what they need and divide the rest.

Problem 2 Your nation is about to be attacked, what will you do? Ask for volunteers to join the army. Force all adult men to join the army. Force everyone to join the army.

Problems of the Empire Even though the Roman Empire was rich and powerful, it began to experience many problems These problems were interconnected Interconnected – connected or linked In other words, one problem made the other problems worse, and vice versa Give an example of interconnected problems – You need to do your homework but you don’t have a pencil. Since you can’t do your homework, you get in trouble. Since you get in trouble, you can’t leave your room. Since you can’t leave your room, you can’t go buy a pencil.

Problems of the Empire The problems that Rome faced are too long to list on one slide (they had a lot of problems!!!) However, there are three main categories (each category has many problems within itself) The empire was too big to control The empire faced a constant threat of barbarian attacks The empire suffered from extreme internal turmoil * Turmoil – chaos, trouble, confusion

“The Roman Empire’s problems were interconnected.” What does that mean?

1. The Empire was Too Big! The Roman Empire became so big that it became impossible to defend Communication and transportation were slow If a problem occurred on one side of the empire, the emperor might not hear about it for months

1. The Empire was Too Big! The larger the empire grew, the more difficult it became to control conquered people Conquered people were given citizenship (this was a good thing!) Citizenship – the right to participate in government Even with this “perk,” some people were disloyal to the empire, and often ignored the laws

How was the size of the Roman Empire problematic How was the size of the Roman Empire problematic?     Why did the Roman Empire give conquered people citizenship?

2. Barbarians!!! Enemies of Rome – Tribes who had been fighting with the Roman Empire for hundreds of years They were fierce warriors Often committed acts of brutality and savagery

2. Barbarians!!! Cared about one thing – MONEY (gold) Considered to be filthy, uncivilized, unsophisticated Not known for their art, architecture, or culture However, they are excellent war fighters They were not dumb! One of the most famous was Attila the Hun The Huns were one of the most powerful barbarian tribes

2. Barbarians!!!

2. Barbarians!!! “Barbarians are driven by evil spirits; ‘possessed by demons’, who force them to commit the most terrible acts...incapable of living according to written laws and only reluctantly tolerating kings...Their lust for gold is immense, their love of drink boundless. Barbarians are without restraint...Although generally they are considered good-looking, they are given to gross personal hygiene...They run dirty and barefoot, even in the winter...They grease their blond hair with butter and care not that it smells rancid...” Source: unknown Roman historian, circa 300 CE

2. Barbarians!!! As the Roman Empire grew weaker, emperors decided to pay the barbarians instead of fight them This worked for a while But when the Roman Empire could no longer pay, the barbarians attacked

Describe the Barbarians.

Brain Break! Draw a flag for the Roman Empire

3. Internal Turmoil While barbarians constantly threatened the Roman Empire’s borders, there were all kinds of problems back home Too many men were needed to fight in the army so there were not enough people to do the farming Not enough people to farm = not enough food Disease was common (making the problem of not enough people even worse)

3. Internal Turmoil Many leaders (senators and emperors) were very corrupt Corruption – the dishonest actions by those in power, often involving bribery Bribe – to persuade someone to do something by giving them a gift or money Rulers made themselves rich and didn’t care about common people

3. Internal Turmoil The economy was in terrible shape (remember our discussion of Venezuela?) Inflation was high; this means the price of everyday items kept going up and up (remember the price of toilet paper in Venezuela?) This led to more poor people and tougher conditions for these people – life was getting harder every day! People began to rebel!

List at least three internal problems that the Roman Empire faced.

Division of the Empire Emperor Diocletian had divided the Roman Empire into two parts (west & east) The western part of the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD when the city of Rome was sacked by the Goths The eastern part of the Roman Empire became the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire lasted for almost 1,000 years

What was the Eastern Roman Empire called What was the Eastern Roman Empire called?     When did the Western Roman Empire fall?