Marcus Aurelius died and his son Commodus took over but spent much of his time fighting in gladiator games and wasting Rome’s money. This was the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. Severans ruled Rome and spent most of their time putting down revolts.
Beginning in 235 A.D., for the next 50 years Roman leaders fought each other for control of Rome. Many Roman government officials became corrupt accepting bribes which discouraged moral and talented people from serving in government. Many citizens stopped paying taxes which lead to fewer people receiving a good education and an increase in the use of slave labor.
As Rome’s economy fell, it’s government began to weaken. Roman soldiers started seizing private farms for their crops. This caused people to produce less and widespread hunger took place. A worsening economy caused job loss and high unemployment. The Roman government began putting less gold in their coins which devalued money and caused rapid inflation.
People began to barter for goods instead of using money. When Rome was at its weakest point, invaders swept into the empire. As fighting increased, the Roman government no longer had the ability to pay its soldiers so it began enlisting Germanic warriors to fight for them. All of this created a really big mess for Rome.
In 248 A.D. a general named Diocletian became Emperor and tried to initiate reform in Rome. Diocletian divided Rome into four parts and placed a ruler over each section of the Empire. He tried to slow inflation through price fixing and setting minimum wages paid to workers. People ignored Diocletian’s reforms and he lacked the power to enforce them so Rome fell deeper into decline.
Upon Diocletian’s retirement, the Roman general Constantine became Emperor of Rome. Constantine forced the son’s of workers to follow in their father’s trade. (Why?) He moved Rome’s capital to Byzantium. He built an new Forum and amphitheater called the Hippodrome at Byzantium and renamed the capital Constantinople (Modern day Istanbul in Turkey).
Constantine’s reforms were unsuccessful, and after his death a third Roman general named Theodosius took control of Rome. Theodosius had an extremely difficult time ruling Rome so he decided to re-divide Rome into just two sections (East and West). The Western Roman Empire set its capital in Rome. The Eastern Roman Empire set its capital in Constanstinople.
Various Germanic tribes invaded Rome once it was divided between the East and West. The largest invasion of Rome came from the Visigoths. The Visigoths knew Rome couldn’t defend itself so the crossed Rome’s border and attacked Rome from within. In the Battle of Andrianople (378 A.D.), the Visigoths defeated the Romans and forced them to surrender their land.
Rome was captured by the Visigoth leader Alaric. Rome was looted, its buildings were burned, and its people were enslaved. To the west of Rome, another group known as the Vandals Rome’s empire in modern day Spain and north Africa. After taking Spain and north Africa, the Vandals sailed to Rome and stripped the buildings of everything (vandalism).
The Germanic leader Odoacer took control of the Western Roman Empire after he overthrew Romulus Augustus. This is generally regarded as the event that marked the end of the Western Roman Empire. Although the Western Roman Empire fell, the Byzantine Empire in the East continued to thrive for more than 1000 years.
Rome left behind many things for us including: words for the English language, ideas for government, and knowledge about architecture. The Romans believed in “equal justice under the law.” Rights due to citizenship. The Latin alphabet.