1. The Empire Declines Emperors ineffective because: Corruption
A.D Pax Romana ends with emperor Marcus Aurelius’ death
Last “Great” Roman Emperor – Emperor in “Gladiator”
A philosophical king – wrote a book called “Meditations” – described the nature of rulership
Persecuted Christians, however
Emperors ineffective because:
Corruption
Incompetency – Not skilled
Assassination
Started with Commodus, Marcus Aurelius’ son – psychotic/neurotic in the movie and in real life – paranoid and had many murdered
Strangled to death while taking a bath

2. Assassination
Corruption
Incapable Rulers

3. Rome’s Economy Weakens
Weakened Rome:
Hostile tribes shake Rome’s trade
Attacked ships carrying goods from places like India and China to Rome
Inflation— Value of money drops/prices rise
Rome ran out of resources expanding – tried to print more money
Soil Depletion – Soil loses nutrients – makes people starve
Soil needs to rest-not be planted in year after year if crops are to grow there. Otherwise, all the nutrients will be absorbed

4. Soil Depletion
Hostile Tribes
Inflation

5. Military and Political Turmoil
Third century A.D. - Soldiers loyal to commanders, not Rome
Commanders often fought for the throne – many emperors after the Pax Romana are going to be generals/commanders
Government uses Mercenaries—Foreign soldiers paid to fight
Mercenaries accepted less pay than Romans, but they had even less loyalty to Rome than the Romans did
Average citizens lose interest in the affairs of Rome
They were disillusioned/disappointed at the nearly constant fighting for who would be the next emperor
Felt that empire didn’t care about their well being

6. Emperors Attempt Reform
A.D Emperor Diocletian divided empire in two
Greek-speaking East
Latin-speaking West
Diocletian believed the empire had grown to big and complex for one ruler; he decided to divide it
Power is now shared between two emperors; one in the Western Roman Empire, one in the Eastern Roman Empire
A.D. 305 Diocletian retired due to bad health, civil war started when he did
Four people fought for the throne, including Constantine who saw the vision of the cross
Diocletian

7. Division of the Empire

8. Constantine Moves The Capital
Constantine becomes emperor of Western Empire in A.D. 312
Shortly thereafter he legalizes Christianity – Christians won’t be persecuted
A.D Constantine takes Eastern Empire and moves capital to Constantinople
Constantinople—City of Constantine
Will be the wealthiest city in Europe during the Middle Ages/Crusades

9. Foreign Invasions Germanic tribes sacked Rome in A.D. 410
The Roman Empire suffers through several invasions
Military is less disciplined, has low morale, many soldiers are mercenaries
Attila lead Mongol nomads from Asia, the Huns, and invaded northern borders of empire
Attila had the land pillaged and sacked – Romans were fearful of Attila until his death (nosebleed on wedding night)
Germanic tribes sacked Rome in A.D. 410

10. The Western Empire Falls
Last Roman emperor falls to Germans in 476; end of Western Empire
End of the Roman Empire - begins Dark Ages in Europe – Civilization/culture comes to a halt almost entirely until the 1400/1500s
Eastern Empire thrives for another thousand years (Byzantine Empire)
Later falls to Muslim Turks in 1458

11. The Legacy of Rome – Language and Architecture
Latin was official language of Roman Catholic Church until 1900s
Latin develops into Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian)
More than half the words in English stem from Latin
Romans pioneer use of arch, domes and concrete
Romans built aqueducts—Structures that bring water to towns
Will be used by future societies – basis of plumbing system today

12. Pgs. 108 – 114 (Can look at class set)
Students will get 10 minutes to study for Quiz #2
Pgs. 108 – 114 (Can look at class set)
Take out separate sheet of paper; number it from 1-11
This the multiple choice section
Write 12 and 13 with separate spaces between them
Short answer section – should be between at least 3-4 sentences