1. The Fall of the Roman Empire
World History
Ms. Costas

2. Rome’s Golden Age
As Rome became more stable, it had a 200 year span of peace and prosperity
Known as “Pax Romana”
Means Roman Peace
Rome was strong in many areas
Military was strong
Government was stable and functioning fairly
Economy was flourishing
This leads to the happiness and peacefulness of the people

3. Rome Weakens The end of Roman greatness did not occur overnight
After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 A.D., the Pax Romana ended
For 100 years political and economic turmoil rocked the Roman Empire
One of the major signs of weakness was the size of the empire
It was too big to be controlled by one person
Split into two halves

4. Emperor Diocletian
Emperor Diocletian split the empire in two to make it easier to govern
He made several reforms to fix the empire’s growing economic concerns
Boys had to follow their father’s profession
He fixed prices for goods and services
This prevented inflation

5. Emperor Constantine
Emperor Constantine followed Diocletian to the throne
He followed in many of Diocletian’s footsteps in making reforms
Granted toleration of Christianity
Built a new capital city, Constantinople

6. The Long Decline Rome did not fall in one day…
It took over 100 years for the Empire to truly fall from power
Rome never disappeared, it simply weakened and became much smaller and far less powerful
There are many causes for the fall of the empire
They can be put into 4 categories
Military
Political
Economic
Social

7. Barbarian Invasions
For years the army had been strong and held the Roman borders
As civil war continued within the empire, the military could not defend the borders
They had to hire mercenaries to defend the borders
This cost the empire a TON of money
Germanic invaders chipped away at the Roman borders in the west
The destroyed and looted everything left over
The Huns, led by Attila the Hun, were on their way to Rome to take the Western part of the empire.

8. Decline in Morals and Values
There was a decline in traditional values
Patriotism
Discipline
Devotion
Crimes and violence made the city unsafe
A large emphasis on violence contributed social problems
People became greedy and wasteful
The wealthy drained the empire of money spent on lavish parties

9. Poor Conditions & Health
Wealthy Romans lived in nice homes
Upper-class is thought to have been affected by lead poisoning
Most Romans were not rich
Lived in small, cramped apartments called “islands”
Houses with six of more stories
At one point there was more than 44,000 islands inside of Rome
These terrible conditions contributed to the unhappiness of citizens
Perpetuated sickness and disease

10. Political Corruption It became difficult to choose new emperors
No longer did the emperor choose their successor
Caused violence and struggles for power
It was decided that the Praetorian Guard would choose the new emperor
Praetorian guard = emperor’s private army
They began selling the position to the highest bidder
In 100 years Rome saw 37 different emperors
25 of whom were assassinated

11. Rise in Christianity
Many Romans began pledging their loyalty to their religion rather than their country
Decreased patriotism
Some people believed Christianity made people pacifists
Pacifist = someone opposed to war
This was shown in a decline in people partaking in the army
Much of the money that was needed to help the empire went to building new churches

12. Inflation & Taxes
To make up for the lack of funds, the government began charging higher taxes
Many Romans could not pay these taxes
This caused them to lose their land, homes, belongings
This also led to inflation
Inflation = rapid rise of prices
People could no longer afford every day things
This made the value of money decrease
The once very wealthy Roman Empire was now economically weak

13. Rome’s Demise It’s important to note that Rome did not fall overnight
Think more like it splintered into pieces
Rome does not officially “fall”
It never disappears
It shrinks to a small, less powerful civilization
Rome leaves an incredible legacy
At its height, Rome had a very rich culture
Future civilizations strive to recreate Rome