1. The Fall of the Roman Empire

2. A Century of Crisis
End of Marcus Aurelius’ reign as emperor (AD ) brought about the end of Pax Romana.
The rulers that came after Marcus Aurelius didn’t know how to handle such a large empire.

3. ROME’S ECONOMY WEAKENS
Hostile tribes on the borders and pirates in the Mediterranean disrupt trade
No new sources of gold and silver
Needed money, so they raised taxes
Minted coins with less silver
Result was inflation
Drop in the value of money couple with rise in prices for goods
Agricultural problems emerged
Famine due to over-farming
Disease
Population decline

4. Military and Political Turmoil
Generals and soldiers became less loyal
Gave allegiance to commanders
Soldiers are becoming less disciplined
To defend the empire, the Roman government hired mercenaries
Foreign soldiers who fought for money
Citizens were losing their sense of loyalty and patriotism

5. Emperors attempt Reform
Diocletian
284 A.D
Severely limited personal freedoms
Doubled size of the army
Worked to control inflation by fixing prices
Divided the empire into Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West
He ruled the East and appointed a co- ruler for the West
He was in charge
Retired in AD 305, and civil war broke out immediately after.
Constantine took power

6. Constantine Moves the Capital
Took control of the Western portion of Rome in AD 312
Continued Diocletian’s reforms
324 A.D. took control of the Eastern portion
Moved capital from Rome to Byzantium
Rename Byzantium---CONSTANTINOPLE
Power shifts from Rome to the East

8. The Western Empire Crumbles
3 main causes for the fall of the West
Internal problems
Separation of the wealthy East
Outside invasion

9. Germanic Invasions The Huns
Central Asians who invaded Germanic areas on the borders of the Roman empire
Destroying everything in their path
AD 370 The Huns move into Europe causing Germanic peoples to flee into Roman territory
AD 410 Germans invade and overrun the city of Rome and plunder it for three days.
AD 444 An army of 100,000 Huns unite under a leader named Attila
AD 452 The Huns invade Rome, but are stopped by famine. Atalla dies in 453.

10. Western Rome Collapses
14-year-old Emperor Romulus Augustulus ousted by German forces in 476
Power gone in the Western half
Eastern portion took a new name: The Byzantine Empire
Survived and flourished
Preserved Greek and Roman culture for another 1000 years
Byzantine emperors ruled from Constantinople
Lasted until fell to the Ottoman Turks