Decline of the Roman Empire  Rome’s Economy declines  Trade disrupted by piracy, neglect of roads and harbours, dangerous borders  Inflation (minted coins with less silver leading to a drop in value)  Overworked soil led to increasingly meagre harvests, farmers left their land  Disease spread, population declined

Military Upheaval  Germanic tribes - “barbarians” overwhelmed Roman legions guarding the northern frontiers  Discipline and loyalty had collapsed within the army  Mercenaries (paid foreign soldiers) had little loyalty to the Empire

Politics Decay  Lost sense of patriotism  Holding political office became less desirable  Armies proclaimed 50 generals to be emperors of Rome over 50 years ( CE)  26 briefly won the approval of the Roman Senate – 25 died violently  Corruption in government weakened efficiency

Diocletian  284 CE – became emperor and restored order to the empire  Governed as an absolute ruler  Doubled the size of the Roman armies  Set fixed prices for goods  Workers were forced to stay in their jobs for life (attempt to bring stability to agriculture and manufacturing)  Persecuted Christians

Division of the Empire  Empire too large and too complex  Divided into Greek-speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria & Egypt) and Latin-speaking West (Italy, Gaul, Britannia & Spain)  Ruled by co-emperors and their assistant (tetrarchy)  Diocletian – Eastern Empire  General Maximian – Western Empire

Division of the Empire – 294 CE

Constantine  Civil war broke out  312 CE – Constantine gained control of Western Empire  324 CE – Gained control of Eastern Empire

Constantinople  Moved capital from Rome to Byzantium  Located on the Bosporus Strait, crossroads between East and West  “City of Constantine”  Present day Istanbul  Surrounded on three sides by water – it was easily defendable

Edict of Milan  313 CE  Declared that the Roman Empire would be neutral with regard to religious worship  Roman Empire officially removed all obstacles to the practice of Christianity and other religions

 Death of Constantine – 337 CE  Peace and unity established by Constantine did not last  Emperor Valentinian ( CE) divided the Empire to East & West and appointed his brother Valens as co-ruler ( CE)

 By the 5 th Century CE the two parts of the Empire remain separate  The west became increasingly rural as barbarian invasions grew  Cities shrank to tiny walled fortresses ruled by military commanders and bishops  Failure of the central authority to maintain the roads and the danger from robber bands hampered trade and communication

 The west was made up of isolated units of rural aristocrats and their dependent labourers  The only unifying institution was the Christian church  The pattern for the early Middle Ages in the west was formed  Massive barbarian invasions of the 5 th century ended effective imperial government in the west

“The Fall of Rome”  476 CE – The barbarian Odoacer (or Odovacar) deposed the western emperor Romulus Augustulus  The eastern emperor Zeno recognized Odoacer as his western viceroy  By the end of the 5 th Century barbarians had overrun the western empire