1. Decline and Fall of Rome

2. The last two good emperors
Diocletian
Absolute ruler, limited personal freedom
Claimed descent from the gods
Persecuted Christians
Divided empire
Got too big
Easier to govern

3. Constantine Reunited the empire Moved the capitol to Constantinople
Power shift: west → east
Christianity
Legalized the Christian church and ended persecution – Edict of Milan

4. Political Causes Political office seen as burden Bad emperors
Military interference in gov’t
Civil war
Division of Empire
Moved capital to Byzantium

5. Social Causes Decline in interest in public affairs
Low confidence in gov’t
Disloyalty
Corruption
Gap between rich and poor

6. Gap between rich and poor
Economic Causes
Poor harvests
Disruption of trade
Lack of war plunder
Gold and silver drain
Inflation
High taxes
Gap between rich and poor

7. Military Causes Threat from northern tribes Low funds for defense
Recruiting non-Roman citizens
Lack of patriotism and loyalty amongst troops

8. Immediate Causes Military pressure from Huns
Invasion by Germans and Huns
Sack of Rome
Conquest by invaders

9. Legacy of Rome Alphabet and Language Calendar
Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian (Romance languages)
Roman Numerals
Calendar
Developed by Julius Caesar
July and August
Saturday

10. Engineering and Architecture
Aqueducts
Carried water into the cities from long distances
Used the arch
Architecture
-columns
-dome
-concrete

11. Law Twelve Tables – applied to everyone
Used witnesses, cross X, evidence
Lawyers
Civil and criminal