1. Decline and fall of Rome

2. Unrest A long period of unrest followed the death of the last good emperor, Marcus Aurelius. For a period Rome was ruled by Severans, whose motto was “pay the soldiers and ignore everyone else.” After their rule ended between 235 and 284, Rome was ruled by whoever had the army who could seize it. There were 22 emperors—20 died violently.

3. Problems The Roman Empire also suffered invasions by Persians and Germanic peoples. Invasions, civil wars, and plague almost caused the empire to collapse in the third century. There was a labor shortage due to plague and fields were ravaged by invaders. Money was short—the state depended on Germanic soldiers that had no loyalty to Rome and they did not understand their traditions.

4. Late Roman Empire Diocletian and Constantine revived the empire and created the Late Roman Empire—new religion Christianity Diocletian split empire into 4 units The policies of Diocletian and Constantine were based on coercion and control and therefore failed. Question: Describe the economic and social conditions in the Roman Empire during the reign of Constantine and Diocletian.

5. Invasion At the end of the fourth century, Huns from Asia moved into eastern Europe and put pressure on the German Visigoths—so they moved south into Roman territory. The Visigoths sacked Rome in 410. In 455 the Vandals sacked Rome (our word vandal comes from the name of this tribe).

6. Fall? Christianity weakened Rome’s military virtues, Roman values declined as non-Italians gained prominent positions, lead poisoning from pipes caused mental decline, slavery held Rome back from advancing technologically, Rome’s political system did not work.

7. Assignment Imagine you are the adviser to a kind Roman emperor. Write a letter describing the steps he should take to preserve the Roman Empire.