The fall of the Roman Empire.

1. The Fall of Rome?

2. Weaknesses
 The Roman Empire had always been
weaker than it appeared
 Rome’s huge frontiers were difficult to
truly defend
 Usually at war on two fronts—against the
Germanic tribes to the north and the
Parthians (Persia) to the east
 Around 250 A.D., the Empire was
politically unstable—civil war left it
vulnerable

4. The Germans
 Many different nations and tribes—spoke similar
languages
◦ Vandals, Franks, Visigoths, Burgundians, etc.
 Tradition of trade and contact with the Romans
 Population growth and pressure from other groups
(the Huns)
◦ Germans increasingly raided and migrated into
Rome
 Traditional image—rampaging hordes of barbarians!
 Reality—more likely families migrating in search of
more farm land

6. Diocletian
 Soldier of humble origins who became
emperor—sought to restore order and
defend empire from German raiders
 Divided the empire into 4 units (the
Tetrarchy), each with its own emperor
◦ Easier to defend
 Tried to control inflation with the Edict of
Prices
 Traditional imperial values—persecution of
Christians and glorification of the ruler

7. Diocletian and his palace in Split,
Croatia

8. Constantine
 After Diocletian retired, the other 3 co-emperors
began competing for power
 After years of civil war the general Constantine
emerged victorious
 Claimed that the Christian God had helped him win—
granted toleration to Christians in 313 A.D.
 Began to worship the Christian God, while continuing
to worship the Roman sun god
◦ Baptized on his death bed
 Moved capital to the East—Constantinople
◦ City of Rome fell into decline

9. Split between West and East
 After Diocletian and Constantine, another
series of power struggles between rivals
for throne
 German migrations continued, and
German and Roman culture increasingly
mixed in the West
◦ Roman army relied on German mercenaries
 The East had always been Greek in
culture and language
 After 395, the empire permanently
between East and West

11. The Last Emperor
 The Western emperors lost control of all
territory except for Italy in the early 400s
◦ Local rulers took control of the provinces
◦ The biggest loss was losing North Africa to the
Vandals—loss of grain shipments
 German soldiers made up most of what
was left of the Roman Army in Italy
 In 476, the Visigothic-Roman general
Odoacer deposed the last Western
emperor and became king of northern
Italy

14. Was it really a fall?
 In many areas of the empire, administration simply
passed from Romans to Germans—although local
rulers no longer took orders from Rome
 Daily life and culture remained similar
◦ Roman law
◦ Trade routes
◦ The Church took over administration and care for
the poor
◦ The Latin language (French, Italian, Spanish, etc.)
 A mixed Latin-German-Christian culture emerged—
Medieval civilization
 And in the East, the emperors didn’t lose power at
all…