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FALL OF ROME & LEGACY OF ROME Mr. Snell
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SETTING THE STAGE By the 3 rd century, Rome faced many problems. Both from within and outside the empire. Drastic reforms would try to hold off the collapse. Political Economic Military
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A CENTURY OF CRISIS Pax Romana ends at the ender of the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Future emperors had no idea how to handle the giant Roman empire. Rome began to decline.
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ROME’S ECONOMY WEAKENS Hostile tribes outside the boundaries of the empire and pirates on the Mediterranean Sea disrupted trade. Romans lacked new sources of gold and silver. Government raised taxes, desperate for money. Government minted coins with less silver. Economy suffered. Inflation – drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices. Harvests started to lessen. Years of war, low soil fertility. Food shortages. Disease spreads, population declines.
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MILITARY AND POLITICAL TURMOIL Soldiers had less discipline, less loyalty. Gov’t recruits mercenaries who would fight for less pay than Romans. Lack of loyalty to the empire. Regular citizens lost loyalty to the empire as well. No more patriotism, or pride in one’s country. People no longer cared about the fate of the empire.
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EMPERORS ATTEMPT REFORM Rome would survive for another 200 years. Diocletian reforms the empire in 284 C.E. Iron fist rule, limit personal freedoms. Doubled size of the Romany army. Fixed prices for goods. Presented himself in a godlike aura to restore office prestige. Believed the empire was too big in its current state. Divided the empire into the Greek speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt) and the Latin-speaking West (Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain). Took eastern half for himself, appointed co-ruler for the west. East Empire> West Empire – In regards to wealth, cities, trading. Diocletian retires, Civil War breaks loose, Constantine Emerges.
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CONSTANTINE Gains control of the western half of the empire in 312 C.E. In 324 Constantine also secured control of the East, thus restoring the concept of a single ruler. 330 C.E. – Moves capital from Rome to Byzantium Strategic center for trading and defense on a crossroads between east/west empire. New capital shifts power to the eastern half of the empire. Byzantium = Constantinople (new name) Post-Constantine’s death Western Empire crumbles, East lives on.
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WESTERN EMPIRE CRUMBLES Collapse due to: Outside invasions Worsening internal problems Separation between the wealthy East and less wealthy West.
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GERMANIC INVASIONS Gathered on the northern borders of the empire. Coexisted in peace with Rome until around 370 C.E. The Huns - Mongols nomads who moved into the territory of the Germans, destroying all in their path. Germans fleeing were forced into the land of the Romans. Moved through Gaul, Spain, and North Africa. Western Roman empire could not fill an army to stop invasions. In 410, Rome was plundered for 3 days by hordes of German “barbarians” Romans called all invaders “barbarians,” a term that they used to refer to non-Romans.
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ATTILA THE HUN United the Huns around 444 C.E. Terrorized both halves of the empire. Plundered and attacked 70 eastern cities. Failed at Constantinople. 452 C.E. Huns push into Rome. Fail due to famine and disease. Death - Huns no longer a threat after 453 C.E. Germans invasions, however, continue.
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AN EMPIRE NO MORE Last emperor – 14 yr old boy named Romulus Augustulus Marked the end of the Western Roman empire in 476 C.E. Eastern Empire: Became Byzantine Empire Flourished Preserved Greek & Roman heritage for another 1,000 years. Empire would not fall until 1453 from the Ottoman Turks.
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THE LEGACY...
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GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION The mixing of elements of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman culture produced a new culture, called Greco-Roman culture. Roman Fine Arts: Roman sculptors created realistic portraits in stone. Roman art - intended for public education. Mosaics were pictures or designs made by setting small pieces of stone, glass, or tile onto a surface. Frescoes – large mural paintings
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ROMAN MOSAIC
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LITERATURE Virgil – Roman poet, wrote The Aeneid, most famous work of latin literature. Inspired by epics written by Homer (The iliad, the Odyssey) Livy & Tacitus – Roman historians Tacitus wrote on the morality of imperial Rome, the good and the bad. VirgilLivyTacitus
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LATIN LANGUAGE Latin, the language of the Romans, remained the language of learning in the West long after the fall of Rome. It was the official language of the Roman Catholic Church into the 20th century. Served as the foundation for the Romance Languages More than half of English words have a Latin base.
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MASTER BUILDERS The arch, the dome, use of concrete. Colosseum Aqueducts – used to bring water into the cities or towns. Thomas Jefferson began a Roman revival in the United States in the 18th century. Many large public buildings, such as the U.S. Capitol and numerous state capitols, include Roman features. Roman roads – Would exist through the Middle Ages, some still in use today.
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ROMAN SYSTEM OF LAW Some of the most important principles of Roman law were: All persons had the right to equal treatment under the law. A person was considered innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof rested with the accuser rather than the accused. A person should be punished only for actions, not thoughts. Any law that seemed unreasonable or grossly unfair could be set aside. The principles of Roman law endured to form the basis of legal systems.
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