2. Rome at its height
Rome reached its height
around the year 0.
It reached into 3
continents and contained
The Empire was ruled by
a succession of
Emperors
4. Overreaching
Rome had problems
They had so much
territory, it was difficult to
keep track of it
The borders were not
secure
Many soldiers were
needed to defend the
Empire
5. Problems with Rule
Rome began to encounter
problems with its Emperors
They had never decided how
to transfer power from ruler to
ruler
Each time an emperor died,
rivals would compete to be
the next ruler
Assassinations were
common
6. Deciding a Ruler
Often, rivals would come from
different areas of the Empire.
They were backed by
different parts of the army
Between 211 and 284 CE
there were 23 different
emperors during a time of
constant war
7. The Army
Maintaining an army was
expensive
Army camps grew into cities
that were supported by
Rome
The bigger the empire grew,
the greater the need for
soldiers
The more soldiers there
Awwwww
were, the more expensive
and difficult to train they
were
8. The Army
Roman soldiers were at
one point the best
armed, best trained
soldiers in the world at
the time
As the Empire declined,
the army became less
powerful and too
expensive to maintain
9. Economy
Financial support of a large
empire became a great
problem
To pay for the government,
taxes were raised so high
that many people had
difficulty paying them.
This made many people
unhappy with the empire
Trade was suffering
10. Economy
Inflation began to hurt the
Empire as well as Rome
made more and more
money
Inflation is when the
amount of money in a
system goes up, but the
value goes down.
Look at grades as an
example
11. Germanic Tribes
Many of the areas
surrounding Rome
began grow in power.
These tribes had many
names including
Vandals, Visigoths,
Franks, Burgundians,
and Ostrogoths. The
Huns from China also
began to grow in power
These tribes began to
attack Rome.
12. The Empire Splits
The Emperor Diocletian
decided that Rome would
collapse if it continued the way
it was.
He split the Empire into East
and West. Ravenna is made
capital of west.
The Emperor Constantine
made even more changes from
307-337 CE
He made Christianity the
official religion of the Empire
and moved the capital to
Constantinople, now called
Istanbul
13.
14. Attacks
Ostrogoths, Franks,
Vandals, Burgundians,
and Huns all invaded
Rome in different areas.
The Visigoths became
the greatest threat to
Rome, attacking from
what is now Spain.
A goth named Alaric
sacked Rome, causing
Rome to move its
borders inward
Another Goth named
Odovacar defeated the
West Roman Emperor
Romulus Agustulus
Editor's Notes
Roman empire (117 ad under Trajan) = ~2.2 million sq miles.
