2. The Fall of Rome

3. Road to Destruction Rome too big for one person to rule Split Rome
A.D. 284, Emperor Diocletian, a Roman general
Rome too big for one person to rule
Split Rome

5. A.D. 306 Constantine emperor Moves capital from Rome to Byzantium
(Rome’s position/location had weakened)
Named it Constantinople after himself

6. Eventually, Constantinople will become
Istanbul in modern day Turkey

9. Barbarian Societies Celts, Picts, Scots, Angles, Saxons – Britian
Franks – Gaul
Vikings – Norway (come later)
Goths, Visigoths, Ostrogoths – Northern Gaul
Vandals- Central Europe
Huns – Central Europe

10. In general: Class structure – chiefs, laborers, artisans, slaves
Good Hygiene
Some well educated
Metal and jewelry artisans
Inventions in weaponry
Migratory / agricultural societies

11. Celts Settled in Gaul First Barbarian tribe to attack Rome in 387 AD
Eventually defeated by Rome in 52 BC and
become Romanized
Movement of Germanic tribes forces their
migration to Great Britain in the 3rd century

12. Celt Vercingetorix and Caesar

13. Road to Destruction Climatic changes on the plateaus of Central
Europe/Asia make them uninhabitable (mini-ice age)
Geography and the Great Wall blocked migrations
into China
Forced the Huns to move west
Resulting in the Goths, and Vandals to move
west away from the Huns and onto the Roman
frontier in Gaul

14. Movement of the Germanic tribes force the
Angles and Saxons to Britannia (Roman Occupied)
Rome’s inability to deal diplomatically will lead
to constant warfare
Rome is forced to continually raise taxes to support the army to defend its borders and push the Barbarians back over the Rhine and Danube Rivers

15. This places an unfair burden on the populations
greatly reduced by plague
The Huns demand a yearly tribute (money) to
stop attacking Roman town and cities
Rome can not afford this, and never pays
Rome never helps the Visigoths or Vandals who
want land and protection from the Huns – this leads
to retaliation against Rome
Finally, the Visigoths led by Alaric I sack Rome in
410 Ad

16. 455 AD Vandals another Germanic tribe sacked Rome

17. 476 AD General Odoacer took control of Rome -The Empire Was No More-
Romulus Augustus surrenders Rome