Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa! The Fall Of Rome

The Plague  What does the flea have to do with it?

Unemployment  What does unemployment mean?  Can you give me an an example of unemployment we discussed in class?

Greed  All the Romans were greedy, who was especially greedy?  Praetorian Guard?  Senators?  Emperors?

Empire Is Too Big  Why is the Empire being too large a problem?

Earthquakes  We haven’t talked about this yet, but it is a great example of when it rains, it pours!  Who do they blame for the earthquakes?

End Of Education  This is a big deal! There is no more tax money to fund schools and libraries.  Teachers are dying of the plague!

End Of Education  Families need their children to go to work instead of going to school!  Schools and Libraries are being destroyed in civil wars and barbarian invasions.  IF, today was the last day of school for you, what would happen?

Army Disappearing  The Roman Army used to be large, organized and very effective.

Army Disappearing  There is no longer enough tax revenue to pay the soldiers.  There is no place left to conquer.  Frustrated Romans lost their (patriotism) desire to defend the Empire.  Soldiers were left in small numbers to defend the vast borders of the Empire.

Army Disappearing  Soldiers were now recruited from the thousands of unemployed citizens  This made the army unreliable and ineffective.

Christians & Jews VS Polytheistic Romans  Why is this a problem?  Do people today hurt others because they have different religious beliefs?

No Police/ Fire Force  Which Emperor established a Police & Fire Force?  Rome Could no longer afford this.

Beginning of Feudalism

 Initially it starts with the rich land owner who pays the debts of the poor in exchange for them farming his land forever.  The unemployed Roman soldier become the Manor’s protector in exchange for some land from the rich land owner.  See diagram

Beginning Of Feudalism  Barbarian Kings conquer the vast Roman Empire, and there is too much land for the King to govern alone. He makes his underlings LORDS and grants them land, called MANORS.  The poor people farming the land become SERFS.  Unemployed Soldiers offer protection to the Lords in exchange of land, these men are called KNIGHTS.

No Republic  Government has completely dissolved. There is no Emperor or Senate.  A Republic would have been a much more effective government for such a large empire.

Civil War  This has been going on the entire unit.  Senator vs. Senator/ General vs. General/ Manor vs. Manor/ Religion vs. Religion.

Dying Economy  The Empire no longer had enough silver to produce more coins. They were cutting their coins down with cheap metal, and so it became worthless.

Dying Economy  The new economy was based on Feudalism.  Lord gave food, shelter, and protection in exchange the Serfs farmed the land and produced food for the Manor.  The Knight gave the Manor protection in exchange for a little piece of land and food.

No Law of Succession  What does this mean?  Who takes over next?  During the republic the Senate would choose a new Consul, then Augustus changed that. How did he want a new leader chosen?

Praetorian Guard  What is the problem with the Praetorian Guard?

Invaders  Attila the Hun is the most famous of the invaders. Why are the Huns historically significant?

Invaders  This was a fragile time for the Empire, there were many problems within that made it weak.  The constant invasion and attacks from the Goths, Franks, Persians, Huns, and Vandals was a problem the Empire could not withstand.

High Taxes  Who caused high taxes?  What should taxes have paid for? What did they pay for?

Horrible Morals  What do I mean by that?

Horrible Morals  An individual with good morals knows the difference between wrong and right, and always does the right thing.  Gladiator games is an example of horrible morals. (Passion for cruelty)  Crimes and violence made the streets of the Empire’s larger cities very unsafe.

Horrible Morals  Nero & Caligula are leaders, their main job is to protect and serve the people. However they (and other Emperors) wasted money on entertainment and monuments to themselves. They threw money away on lavish parties where guests ate and drank so much they made themselves sick, while people starved in the streets.

Corruption  Leaders abused their positions of power and neglected the people they were supposed to protect.  Can you think of examples?

The Fall of Rome  The official dates historians give to mark the fall of Rome: 476 CE  This begins the period of time referred to as: The Dark Ages (Medieval Period/Middle Ages)