SB, ECON, SOC] Describe the fall of the Romans. Be sure to include political, economic, social, and outside reasons for their fall.
![Picture](/uploads/4/0/3/6/40367153/rome.jpg?390)
The Roman Empire
In 27 B.C., Rome became an empire. Augustus Caesar became the first Roman Emperor. He kept Rome thriving for 40 years. Rome made great progress. The army kept peace and their trade increased. Many public buildings and lighthouses were built. Great Roman literature was written. The growth that Augustus began lasted 200 years. It is known as the “Pax Romana,” or Roman Peace.
Picture of Ancient Rome
In 27 B.C., Rome became an empire. Augustus Caesar became the first Roman Emperor. He kept Rome thriving for 40 years. Rome made great progress. The army kept peace and their trade increased. Many public buildings and lighthouses were built. Great Roman literature was written. The growth that Augustus began lasted 200 years. It is known as the “Pax Romana,” or Roman Peace.
Picture of Ancient Rome
The Fall of the Roman Empire
![Picture](/uploads/4/0/3/6/40367153/romanfalls_orig.jpg)
The fall of the Roman Empire occurred because of the spread of disease, the collapse of their economy, the spread of Christianity, Emperors seeking for power, and the Germanic Invasions. The fall of this Empire was very unexpected because they had thrived for so many years and all of a sudden all the pieces lined up perfectly to make them crumble.
Picture of Rome Falling
Picture of Rome Falling
The Spread of Disease[ENV]
- The Antonine Plague was a plague that consisted of smallpox and measles
- It was brought to the Roman Empire by people coming to Rome to trade and Solders coming back from campagins
- The people that came to trade with the Romans carried different pathogens in their body that the a Romans had never seem before so their body wasn't used to it
- Once smallpox and measles was in the main cities, there was no stopping it
- It sharply declined the population of the Romans
- During the reign of Augustus, the population of the Roman empire stood at about sixty million people
- During the second century C.E., epidemics reduced Roman population by about one-quarter, to forty-five million
- The worst outbreak was an outbreak of smallpox in the Mediterranean basin
- Smallpox spread in the cities because the Romans didn't have good defense and Medicine to stop it
- People heard of all the diseases in Roman Empire so their trade and economy declined
- People also left the Roman Empire when they heard that the Plague was going around
Disease in Rome
The Collapse of the Economy[ECON]
- With no money, means no power
- The Roman Empire had a huge decline in their economy when people found out that they had a Plague going aroung
- Without people wanting to trade with them, it made them make an economy within Rome
- That didn't work out because nobody brought in any new money
- Everybody kept trading and selling their work to people in Rome until everyone ran out of money except the small upper class
- They were at a bad point in time because they didn't have the steady flow of income as they were used too and everyone was dying of a terrible disease
- They did not have much going for them at this point
Emperors Seeking Power[SB,SOC]
- In 235-284 C.E. there were no fewer than 26 claimants to the imperial throne also known as the barrack emperors
- Barracks lost their power when they were displaced by their rivals
- They all craved power and would do anything to get it
- They also divided the people up into factions which includes slavery
- The biggest problem with Rome was how big it was
- Augustus Caesar was a dictator at the time so he couldn't control everyone at once
- Also with all these Barrack Emperors running around trying to hold the power, nobody was manageable
A picture of the split of Eastern and Western Europe
Diocletian
- Emperor Diocletian (284-305 C.E.) had divided the empires into two different districts
- The Eastern side of the Empire held the Wealthy lands of Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, and Greece.
- The Western Side of the Empire held Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and north Africa.
- There were 4 officials known as the tetrarchs and each District had a co-emperor to help maintain the people
- He tried to deal with the economy by strengthening the imperial currency
- After he was done being Emperor, there was a set off of internal struggle and civil war
- After he was done Constantine, his son, became emperor
Constantine
- Constantine built a new capital for himself called Constantinople
- He had all the same problems his father had when he was an Emperor
- It was very hard for him to govern the Roman Empire with everything corrupt
- Under Constantine's ruling, the empire grew for the need of protection from external threats
A Sculpture of Constantine
The Germanic Invasion[SB,ECON,SOC]
- The Huns attacked Europe under the influence of Attila
- The pressure on the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Franks and other Germanic people by the Huns, they streamed into the Roman empire in search for refuge
- The last of the Roman Empire was in the western part of the empire
- Unlike the Han Dynasty, the Roman empire did not disintegrate because the imperial authorities survived for another millennium in the eastern half of the empire, byzantine empire
- By this point the Roman Empire was nothing like it used to be
- It was very weak and soon died out
A picture of the Germanic invasion in the western part of the Roman empire.
Here is a video if you want a quick overview of how the Roman Empire fell.
Citations:
Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 267. Print.
"Free Image on Pixabay Colosseum, Rome, Amphitheater." Free Stock Photo: Colosseum, Rome, Amphitheater. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.
"The Fall of the Roman Empire - History | Mocomi Kids." YouTube. N.p., 21 May 2013. Web. 04 Sept. 2016
"The Fall of the Roman Empire." The Fall of the Roman Empire. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets. "Cross Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads (Constantine)." Traditions and Encounters. a Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 267. Print.
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets. "Cross Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads (Map 11.4)." Traditions and Encounters. a Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 269. Print.
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets. "Cross Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads (Tetrarchs)." Traditions and Encounters. a Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 267. Print.
"Free Image on Pixabay Colosseum, Rome, Amphitheater." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.
Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 267. Print.
"Free Image on Pixabay Colosseum, Rome, Amphitheater." Free Stock Photo: Colosseum, Rome, Amphitheater. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.
"The Fall of the Roman Empire - History | Mocomi Kids." YouTube. N.p., 21 May 2013. Web. 04 Sept. 2016
"The Fall of the Roman Empire." The Fall of the Roman Empire. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets. "Cross Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads (Constantine)." Traditions and Encounters. a Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 267. Print.
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets. "Cross Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads (Map 11.4)." Traditions and Encounters. a Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 269. Print.
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets. "Cross Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads (Tetrarchs)." Traditions and Encounters. a Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. 267. Print.
"Free Image on Pixabay Colosseum, Rome, Amphitheater." N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.