1. IV. Fall of the Roman Empire

2. Fall of Rome What does this Mean?

3. A. Third Century Crisis
Marcus Aurelius ( ) – His rule marks the end of the Pax Romana
Hostile Germanic tribes began to penetrate the Roman boarders
Pirates began to disrupt trade on the Mediterranean Sea

4. Marcus Aurelius Last of the Good Emperors

5. Roman Empire also ran out of new sources of gold and silver
Inflation – Drastic drop in the value of money combined with a rise in prices
Serious food shortages and disease spread throughout the empire

6. Roman Coin

7. B. Constantine Attempts Reform
312 – Constantine gained control over the Western part of the Roman Empire
324 – He also gained control of the Eastern part
Moves the Roman capital from Rome to Byzantium, in modern day Turkey
Constantinople – “City of Constantine” became the new capital

8. C. Fall of the Western Empire
Ever since the days of Julius Caesar, Germanic peoples had surrounded Rome’s boarders
Roman armies had been able to prevent these tribes from entering the empire
370 – The Huns began moving towards the empire and destroyed everything in their path

10. In attempts to flee the Huns many Germanic groups entered the Roman Empire
Roman army was unable to stop these people
410 – Germanic people sacked the city of Rome

12. D. Attila the Hun Scourge of God – Nickname given to him by the Romans
444 – Attila the Hun united the Hun people for the first time
Huns were a barbaric people who drank blood from the skulls of their enemies
Sacked over 70 Roman cities

13. Attila’s Empire

14. Huns were capable of taking over Rome itself
453 – Attila dies and Rome is spared but the Western Roman Empire is crumbling
476 – Western half of Rome falls
After this date no Emperor even pretends to rule Rome

15. Germanic tribes were not well educated and spoke many types of language
Overall learning drastically declined
1453 – The eastern half of the Roman Empire falls to the Ottoman Turks

16. Fall of Rome