1. Section Four: The Fall of the Roman Empire

2. I. A Century of Crisis end of Pax Romana marked by end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD) following rulers had no idea how to deal w/ giant empire and its problems

3. A. Rome’s Economy Weakens During its 3rd century of existence, several factors began to weaken the Roman economy 1.Pirates & hostile tribes along borders disrupt trade 2.Reached limit of expansion, lacked new sources of gold and silver 3.Desperate for money, gov’t raised taxes 4.Inflation—drastic drop in value of money coupled w/ a rise in prices

4. 5. Agriculture also faced serious problems— overworked soil started to produce less crops along w/ years of war destroying farmland 6. Serious food shortage and disease began to spread, and population declined

5. B. Military and Political Turmoil soldiers once again became disloyal, gave allegiance to commanders Commanders fought amongst themselves to become emperor gov’t recruited mercenaries— foreign soldiers who fought for money Citizens lost sense of loyalty/pride in their empire- no longer cared what happened to the empire

6. II. Emperors Attempt Reforms Rome able to survive for another 200 years due to reform minded emperors and division of the empire Diocletian

7. A. Diocletian Reforms the Empire Diocletian- strong willed army leader became emperor in 284 AD Reforms: Strict, limited personal freedoms doubled the army set fixed prices on some goods restored prestige of the emperor, claimed he was a descendent of gods most significant reform- division of empire into Greek speaking East and Latin Speaking West

8. Eastern Empire- Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt Western Empire—Italy, Gaul, Britain, Spain Diocletian ruled East, assigned a co-ruler for west, but kept overall control over both halves Eastern half contained most major cities and was far wealthier than west Diocletian forced to retire due to ill health in 305 AD= civil war broke out

9. The Split of the Roman Empire

10. B. Constantine Moves the Capital 312 AD- Constantine gained control of western empire 324 AD- Constantine reunited empire 330 AD- moved capital from Rome to Byzantium in present day Turkey Name changed to Constantinople, or city of Constantine After Constantine’s death empire would again be divided- east would survive while west collapsed

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12. III. The Western Empire Crumbles collapse of western empire would take many years final collapse result of 3 main problems: 1.worsening internal problems ($$$$) 2.the separation of the Western empire 3.outside invasion

13. A. Germanic Invasions Germanic tribes lived on edge of Empire’s borders peacefully for 100’s of years 70 AD- group of Huns invaded Germanic lands= Germanic tribes flee into Roman lands Romans referred to Germanic invaders as barbarians—all non Romans Romans not able to stop Germanic tribes who eventually made it to Rome, plundered Rome for 3 days

15. B. Attila the Hun 444- Huns united for first time under a powerful chief, Attila Huns terrorized both halves of empire, defeating many cities in east and west failed to take either Constantinople or Rome After Attila’s death Huns no longer a threat, but Germanic invasions continued to weaken Roman Empire

16. C. An Empire No More last Roman Emperor, 14 year old boy Romulus Augustulus, ousted by Germanic forces in 476 Western empire had finally completely collapsed- Eastern half survived, flourished Eastern half known as Byzantine Empire new empire preserved Greek and Roman culture for another 1,000 years

17. Even though Rome’s political power in the west had ended, its cultural influence had not- its ideas, customs, and institutions influenced development of western culture even to present times