1. Fall of the Roman Empire Mr. Lawrence

2. The Power Structure Crumbles The Power Structure of Rome Crumbles because of Seven Key Aspects (However, they are all interrelated: 1.The Economy Falters 2.Trade Slows 3.Welfare Becomes to Expensive 4.The Military Weakens 5.The Government is Corrupt 6.The Rise of Christianity 7.Invasion (The Nail in the Coffin)

3. The Power Structure Crumbles The Roman Economy begins to Falter as expansion ends due to: – Inflation ensues because of a lack of Natural Resources (Precious Metals) – Also Trade Begins to Slow except for the Silk Road – Also the Food supply begins to shrink Welfare Becomes to Expensive at this time because of both inflation and shrinking food supplies

4. The Power Structure Crumbles Trade Slows because the Trade routes become dangerous do to bandits and Barbarians, Further Weakening the Economy The Military cannot stop the Bandits because the Military begins to weaken due to the of new practice of hiring Mercenaries in the place of Romans Also the Government is Corrupt from bad Emperors and cannot address these major issues

5. The Power Structure Crumbles Also with the Rise of Christianity the masses are becoming less loyal to Rome and more attached to Jesus and the newly formed Catholic Church The Final nail in the Coffin will be the Barbarian Invasions further weakening the Roman Empire

6. Reforming Emperors Diocletian – Strong-willed and military minded – Realizes the empire cannot be run by one man and splits the empire in two leaving himself in charge – However the East is far more stable and powerful because of the connection to the Silk Road Constantine - Legalized Christianity in an attempt to bring unity and peace - Moved the Capital from Rome to Constantinople in the Eastern Romans Empire

7. Barbarian Invasions The first group to invade are the Germanics Many tribes come across the border seeking protection and the Pax Romana in exchange for military service However, the Romans treat them poorly and they revolt against the Empire, ending in the sacking of Rome by Alaric in 410 CE

9. Attila the Hun Attila the Hun would also attack both the Eastern and Western Empires Causing fear in the Empires and causing more distrust in the Roman Government and Roman People

10. The End After the defeat of Attila the Western Roman Empire continues to weaken for a number of reasons Finally a Germanic named Odovacar will attempt to gain power in Rome by assassinating the last Emperor of Rome Romulus Augustus With this the Western Roman Empire Dies, However the Eastern Roman Empire will live on until 1492 under the name “The Byzantine Empire”

11. The Four Legacies of Rome 1.Latin Language – The Basis for All Romantic and Educated Language, Also the Language of the Catholic Church 2.Greco-Roman Culture – The Foundation of All Western Culture 3.Roman Architecture – The buildings still stand today and were an inspiration for generations to come 4.Stable Government – The Basis and Model for Modern Government and Law; Laws should be based in Reason