Historians have postulated several different dates for the “fall” of the Roman Empire. Discuss
each
of the major events covered in the class lectures which historians see as signaling the possible “fall” of the Roman Empire (make sure to include
WHY
these were possible falls). Which do you see as the true “fall of the Roman Empire” and
why
?
My Notes:
1st possible fall- Diocletian (284-305 CE) created the rule of 4, a tetrarchy. There were 4 emperors(Augustus) each with 1/4th of Rome to control. Each had a Caesar who would be next emperor. Once became emperor they would choose next Caesar. Problem was family members were appointed as new Caesars and Rome went into civil war.
2nd possible fall- Emperor Constantine built new capitol of Rome, Constantinople. Some say this was the fall because the city Rome was the heart of the Roman empire.
3rd possible fall-Theodosius the Great declared Christianity official/only religion of Rome in 380CE. He closed temples and extinguished the eternal flame. Seen as fall because Christianity had a different focus. Christianity focused on the second coming while Rome had always focused on the preservation of Rome.
4th possible fall-Some say the fall was in 410 CE when the Visigoths attacked and sacked the city Rome. They took everything of value and moved North to France and Spain.
5th possible fall-Vandals sack Rome in 455 CE. Rome had just paid off Attila the Hun 4 years prior. When Vandals sacked Rome they didn't find much of value so they started taking all metal they could find. Brackets, statues even lead plumbing pipes. Rome was utterly destroyed. (the word Vandalism came from this)
6th possible fall-in 1204 CE Crusaders, heading to fight the Muslims, ended up taking over Constantinople and started the Latin Kingdom.
7th possible fall (most widely accepted)- 60 years after the Crusaders started the Latin Kingdom members from the last emperor/royal family returned to Constantinople and took back the city. They reigned for almost 200 more years until in 1453 CE Ottomans managed to breach the 1100 year old wall with gunpowder. This breach allowed Muslims to enter and take over.
Rubrics:
He suggested 3 to 5 pages in class
• There is no length requirement, but you must answer the essay question FULLY. The most common reason for poor grades is not answering the ENTIRE question (if asked to discuss Africa and India and you only discuss Africa, the highest grade you could receive is a 50 because you have only answered 50% of the question). Review your chosen question OFTEN. This is an open note essay exam and will be graded as such. I expect thoughtful, thorough essays.
He suggests 3 to 5 pages
• You must use your text AND
class notes
to complete the essay. Essays containing little to no information from the lecture notes will receive a VERY poor grade of few to no points. Sources of information not from class notes or the text, if used, MUST be cited and should be used sparin ...
Historians have postulated several different dates for the fall” of
1. Historians have postulated several different dates for the “fall”
of the Roman Empire. Discuss
each
of the major events covered in the class lectures which
historians see as signaling the possible “fall” of the Roman
Empire (make sure to include
WHY
these were possible falls). Which do you see as the true “fall of
the Roman Empire” and
why
?
My Notes:
1st possible fall- Diocletian (284-305 CE) created the rule of 4,
a tetrarchy. There were 4 emperors(Augustus) each with 1/4th
of Rome to control. Each had a Caesar who would be next
emperor. Once became emperor they would choose next Caesar.
Problem was family members were appointed as new Caesars
and Rome went into civil war.
2nd possible fall- Emperor Constantine built new capitol of
Rome, Constantinople. Some say this was the fall because the
city Rome was the heart of the Roman empire.
3rd possible fall-Theodosius the Great declared Christianity
official/only religion of Rome in 380CE. He closed temples and
extinguished the eternal flame. Seen as fall because Christianity
had a different focus. Christianity focused on the second
coming while Rome had always focused on the preservation of
2. Rome.
4th possible fall-Some say the fall was in 410 CE when the
Visigoths attacked and sacked the city Rome. They took
everything of value and moved North to France and Spain.
5th possible fall-Vandals sack Rome in 455 CE. Rome had just
paid off Attila the Hun 4 years prior. When Vandals sacked
Rome they didn't find much of value so they started taking all
metal they could find. Brackets, statues even lead plumbing
pipes. Rome was utterly destroyed. (the word Vandalism came
from this)
6th possible fall-in 1204 CE Crusaders, heading to fight the
Muslims, ended up taking over Constantinople and started the
Latin Kingdom.
7th possible fall (most widely accepted)- 60 years after the
Crusaders started the Latin Kingdom members from the last
emperor/royal family returned to Constantinople and took back
the city. They reigned for almost 200 more years until in 1453
CE Ottomans managed to breach the 1100 year old wall with
gunpowder. This breach allowed Muslims to enter and take
over.
Rubrics:
He suggested 3 to 5 pages in class
• There is no length requirement, but you must answer the essay
question FULLY. The most common reason for poor grades is
3. not answering the ENTIRE question (if asked to discuss Africa
and India and you only discuss Africa, the highest grade you
could receive is a 50 because you have only answered 50% of
the question). Review your chosen question OFTEN. This is an
open note essay exam and will be graded as such. I expect
thoughtful, thorough essays.
He suggests 3 to 5 pages
• You must use your text AND
class notes
to complete the essay. Essays containing little to no
information from the lecture notes will receive a VERY poor
grade of few to no points. Sources of information not from class
notes or the text, if used, MUST be cited and should be used
sparingly. Direct quotation from the text or external sources
must be set in quotation marks and cited.
