The Decline of the Roman Empire

I.By 300 A.D., the Roman Empire faced many problems that would eventually result in its downfall. These problems can be summarized in 3 main categories:

II.The Roman Empire Splits: Eastern and Western Roman Empire

A. Diocletian—284 A.D. restored order to the empire and the emperor, slowing down its decline

1. Diocletian believed the empire had grown to large for one ruler 2. He divided the empire into the Greek speaking East and the Latin speaking West

DIOCLETIAN GENERAL MAXIMAN DIOCLETIAN GENERAL MAXIMAN EASTERN ROMAN WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE EMPIRE

B. After Diocletian’s death, civil war broke out

III.Constantine—emerges as emperor 312 A.D. A. By 324 A.D., Constantine had gained control of both east and west and restored the empire to a single ruler

b. Constantine moved the capital of empire from Rome to Greek city of Byzantium

c. Constantinople—strategically located for trade and defense between the East and West

d. After Constantine dies, the empire splits again. Page 161

VI.Germanic Invaders— Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Burgundians, Alemanni and Vandal poured into the Roman Empire to escape the Huns

1. Huns--fierce nomadic Mongol tribe from Central Asia

2. Attila the Hun(444 A.D.)—Attila and his army invaded the Eastern and Western Empire, plundering 70 cities

3. The Huns and other tribes invaded and destroyed the Western Empire

V. Byzantine Empire=Eastern Empire a. Survives and flourishes b. Preserves Greek and Roman culture for 1,000 years

Fall of the Roman Empire ___?????___

Fall of the Roman Empire 476 A.D.

Germanic invader, Odoacer kicked out last Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus

Causes for the Decline of the Roman Empire Military CausesEconomic CausesPolitical Causes Evaluate the data in the chart above. In your opinion, what do you think was the greatest cause of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire? Why? Defend your answer with facts from your notes. [10 pts.] ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

Bureaucracy – government workers Mercenary – Soldiers for hire

Roman Empire Timeline Create a timeline labeling all of the key dates we have discussed so far in class. 2. Start with the assassination of Julius Caesar and end with the official fall of the R. Empire. 3. You must have 13 events with the appropriate date. [1 pt. each] 4. Choose 7 dates and draw a picture that accurately represents the event. [1 pt. each]

●Increase in taxes to support army and bureaucracy ●______________ ______________ ●No longer receiving war booty from conquered territories ●Romans no longer cared about maintaining Empire ●Population decline caused by war and disease ●_______________________ ●Corruption in government ●People no longer supported corrupt government ●Division of the Empire into East and West ●____________ ____________ ●Little loyalty from mercenary soldiers ●Attila the Huns invade ●Germanic tribes sweep in-to Empire to escape ______

●Increase in taxes to support army and bureaucracy ●______________ ______________ ●No longer receiving war booty from conquered territories ●Romans no longer cared about maintaining Empire ●Population decline caused by war and disease ●_______________________ ●Corruption in government ●People no longer supported corrupt government ●Division of the Empire into East and West ●Poorly trained armies ●Little loyalty from mercenary soldiers ●Attila the Huns invade ●Germanic tribes sweep in-to Empire to escape Huns

●Increase in taxes to support army and bureaucracy ●______________ ______________ ●No longer receiving war booty from conquered territories ●Romans no longer cared about maintaining Empire ●Population decline caused by war and disease ●Upper class corruption ●Corruption in government ●People no longer supported corrupt government ●Division of the Empire into East and West ●Poorly trained armies ●Little loyalty from mercenary soldiers ●Attila the Huns invade ●Germanic tribes sweep in-to Empire to escape Huns

●Increase in taxes to support army and bureaucracy ●Reliance on slave labor ●No longer receiving war booty from conquered territories ●Romans no longer cared about maintaining Empire ●Population decline caused by war and disease ●Upper class corruption ●Corruption in government ●People no longer supported corrupt government ●Division of the Empire into East and West ●Poorly trained armies ●Little loyalty from mercenary soldiers ●Attila the Huns invade ●Germanic tribes sweep into Empire to escape Huns