1. Rome 20-3

2. Anticipatory Set
What are some factors that led to the destruction of other empires you have studied?

3. Standards
H-SS – Students analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate disintegration of the Roman Empire

4. Key Terms Corrupt - dishonest
Money supply – the total amount of money in an economy
Inflation – general rise in the cost of goods

5. Big Idea
Unstable government, high taxes, and splitting the empire in two all contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire

6. Political and Economic Trouble
The Pax Romana ended in AD 180 with the death of the emperor Marcus Aurelius
Last of the five powerful emperors who kept the empire strong and united

7. Unstable Government The decline began with a series of weak emperors
Commodus (Marcus’ son) was corrupt
In the 50 years after AD 235, there were 21 emperors!

8. High Taxes The civil wars created enormous economic problems
One reason for the people’s inability to pay their taxes was that the empire’s supply of gold and silver coins was declining
More coins left the empire than could be replaced

9. Price Inflation
Emperors tried to increase the money supply by issuing coins made of less precious metal
As a result, merchants raised their prices
Inflation
Inflation hurt commerce, and made it difficult to supply the army

10. Diocletian Divides the Empire
In 248 the empire got a capable emperor: Diocletian
Reorganized the imperial government from top to bottom
Double the size of the army
Increased the number of magistrates
Split the empire into two parts:
Eastern Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire

11. Diocletian Divides the Empire
Reforms looked good on paper… but were expensive to carry out
To pay soldiers he raised taxes
Led many farmers to abandon their farms when they couldn’t pay
Loss of farms weakened the empire’s already struggling economy

12. Constantine’s New Capital
A military officer named Constantine defeated his rivals to become ruler after Diocletian’s death
In 330, began work on an impressive new capital which is now Turkey
He built his “New Rome” on the site of an old Greek city called Byzantium
After his death the city was renamed Constantinople

13. Political and Economic Troubles
Read Political and Economic Troubles on pages of your textbook

14. The Collapse of the Empire
Unstable government and economic problems weakened the Roman Empire from within
The empire was also being attacked along its borders
The most serious threat was from the Germanic peoples of Eastern Europe

15. The Germans
Two great rivers, The Rhine and the Danube, marked the northern and eastern boundaries of the Roman Empire in Europe
Romans called the people living past these frontiers “Germans”
By the time of Constantine, thousands of Germans had joined the Roman army

16. Barbarians on the Move
The crisis that would test the Roman Empire’s border legions came from the Huns of Central Asia
In the 300s, the Huns conquered northern China
Then they turned towards Europe
Germans fled in terror

17. Barbarians on the Move
In 376, the Goths crossed the Danube, entering the empire
When the Romans tried to drive them back, they were badly defeated
Other groups followed, and the western provinces were taken over by peoples who set up their own Germanic kingdoms

18. The Fall of Rome In time, Rome itself came under attack
Visigoths invaded Rome in 410 and looted the city
In 455, Vandals attached Rome a second time
Their raid was so destructive that we still use the term “vandalize”

19. The Fall of Rome Rome never recovered from these attacks
Historians have used the date 476 to mark the fall of the Roman Empire
However, Roman peace, order, and government had collapsed long before that date

20. The Fall of Rome
In the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople survived as the capital of what is still called the Roman Empire
Its people still saw themselves as Romans, although their main language was Greek
Today the Eastern Roman Empire is known as the Byzantine Empire
Was not defeated by barbarians, and would last another thousand years

21. Check For Understanding
What were Rome’s economic problems?

22. Check For Understanding
What were Rome’s economic problems?
Rome’s economic problems were high taxes and inflation.

23. Guided Practice
How did economic problems affect the poor in Roman society?

24. Guided Practice
How did economic problems affect the poor in Roman society?
Rome’s economic problems affected the poor in that they were not able to pay taxes, which caused most of them to become slaves.

25. Independent Practice
Complete Rome 20-3 Independent Practice