1. The Fall of Rome

2. The Roman Empire

3. Building an Empire  As Rome grew the government changed from being ruled by kings to a republic

4.  Republic  Rule by elected officials

5.  Over time the republic became corrupt and Rome changed their government again  Rome became an empire

6. Roman Emperors  The first emperor was Augustus

7.  He created the powers that future emperors would have  Declare war  Raise taxes  Punish lawbreakers  Nominate public officials  Influence the Senate  Lead religious festivals

8.  Some emperors used their powers for good  Others used their powers only to make themselves more powerful

9. Laws and Citizenship  The empire lasted so long because of its laws

10.  Laws were written down and put on display so everyone knew the laws

11.  Only Roman citizens were protected by the laws  Citizens – the people who could participate in government  Only citizens could vote and hold office  Citizens had to pay taxes and serve in the army

12. Roman Advancements

13.  Roman engineers improved life in the empire  They built durable roads and bridges that still exist today

14.  They built aqueducts to carry water from mountains to Roman cities

15.  Engineers of today copy their designs

16.  Architects creates buildings that were not only useful but they were beautiful as well  They borrowed ideas from the Greeks and served as an example for future civilizations

17.  Artists tried to make their art realistic

18.  Roman philosophers focused on how they could improve people’s lives

19.  Stoics were a group of philosophers that taught people not to be concerned with possessions and should focus on having a virtuous life

20.  They influenced people to perform civic and act for the good of the city and not for personal gain

21. Fall of the Western Roman Empire

22. Problems Threaten the Empire

23.  Emperors had given up some Roman territory because they feared the empire had become to big to defend  Tribes of Germanic warriors constantly attacked Rome’s northern borders, while Persian armies were always attacking in the east

24. Internal Problems  There weren’t enough farmers to feed the people because so many men belonged to the army

25.  Disease was rampant throughout the empire killing large amounts of people

26.  Taxes increasingly went up to help the defense of the empire

27.  Diocletian became emperor in the late 200s

28.  He believed that the empire was too big for one emperor to rule so he divided the empire in half, ruling the eastern half  A co-emperor was left to rule the west

29.  After Diocletian, Constantine became emperor, moving the Roman capital to east  He named the new capital Constantinople

30. Barbarians Invade Rome

31.  After Constantine moved the capital Germanic tribes began raids on Rome’s northern borders

32.  The Huns, warriors from Asia began new raids into the Roman Empire

33.  The Visigoths, also known as the Goths also attempted raids on the Roman Empire

34.  Romans tried to keep the Goths away from Rome by paying them not to attack  This idea worked until the Romans stopped making payments  In 410 the Goths invaded and sacked (destroyed) Rome

35.  The fall of Rome caused many other barbarian groups to invade the western half of the empire  Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Franks

36.  To defend Rome military leaders took power away from the Emperor

37.  Military leaders were so busy fighting with each other for power invading hordes overthrew the last emperor  476 is considered the end of the western Roman Empire

38. Factors in Rome’s Fall

39.  There were many causes for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire 

40. Barbarian Invasions

41. Corruption of Government Officials

42. Inflation and a Weakening Economy

43. The Military’s Ability to Remove Emperors

44. The Vast Size of the Empire

45. The Byzantine Empire

46. Emperors Rule from Constantinople

47. Justinian  Justinian ruled the remaining Roman Empire from 527 to 565

48.  He wanted to reunify the Roman empire  His army was able to retake Italy

49.  He also wanted to rid Rome of laws that were out of date or unchristian

50.  All laws became organized into one legal system called Justinian’s Code  It ensured fair treatment for all

51.  Because of these things Justinian made many enemies and he decided to leave Constantinople

52.  Before he left his wife, Theodora convinced him to stay and fight his enemies  With Theodora’s help Justinian was able to end riots, kill his enemies and retain his throne

53.  After Justinian’s death the eastern empire began to decline due to invasions by barbarians, Persians and Muslims  Later emperors lost all the land that Justinian had regained in the west

54.  Despite all of this the eastern empire remained until 1453  Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and ended the eastern Roman Empire

55. A New Society

56.  After Justinian’s death many things in the empire changed  People stopped speaking Latin and started speaking Greek

57.  People stopped thinking of themselves as Romans and called their new society the Byzantine Empire

58.  Because Constantinople was located between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Seas it was a strategic trading port

59.  It was influenced by the people they traded  Outside influences mixed with Greek and Roman culture to create the new Byzantine society

60.  The Byzantine emperor had a lot of influence over his people  He was considered both the head of government and the head of the church  People believed he was chosen by God to lead the empire and the church

61. Byzantine Christianity

62.  Christianity was central to the lives of Byzantines  Almost everyone that lived in the empire was Christian

63.  People in the east and west interpreted the religion differently  Over time difference led to a split between the two regions

64.  Christians in the east formed what became known as the Orthodox Church  This created a split between eastern and western Europe