The Falls of Rome

● Vocabulary
○ Plague (PLAYG): _________________________________________________
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○ Inflation (ihn⠂FLAY⠂shuhn):_______________________________________
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○ Barter (BARH⠂tuhr):______________________________________________
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○ Reform (rih⠂FAWRM):_____________________________________________
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● The Decline of Rome
○ The government failed to keep order, violence and tension increases dividing the
empire.
○ The economy became very weak due to the wealthy failing to pay taxes.
○ Famine and disease spread throughout the empire.
● Political and social problems
○ For almost 50 years Roman as 22 different leaders all fighting each other for the
throne.
○ Many government officials took bribes.
○ Much of the empires lower class citizens became slaves to wealthy as a cheap
form a labor.
● Economic and Military Problems
○ Because economic and military problems grew farmers grew less food and
hunger began to spread.
○ Inflation occurred due to fewer taxes being paid and few good being purchased.
○ The Roman government could no longer afford to fund its military. To save
money the government put less gold into each coin.
○ This made the money less valuable, prices to go up, and people to stop using
coins all together.
○ People began to barter instead
● What Were Diocletian's Reforms?
○ Diocletian (Dy⠂uh⠂KLEE⠂shuhn) became emperor in A.D. 284 he introduces
reforms to stop the empire’s decline.
○ He also issued rules that set prices of goods and wages in order to slow inflation.
○ To make sure more goods we produces the orders workers to remain in the
same job until they died.
○ The people ignores these rules and Diocletian was unable to make them obey
● Who was Constantine?
○ Constantine became emperor in A.D. 312
○ Rules sons of workers had to follows their father’s trades
○ Moved the capital of Rome to Constantinople (now known as Istanbul)
○ Failed to save the Roman empire.
● Rome is Invaded
○ Rome was no longer able to hold back Germanic tribes on its border.
 ○ These tribes known as the Visigoths were allowed to stay within the eastern
borders as long as they stayed loyal to Rome.
○ Conflict broke out when the Romans charged the Visigoths extremely high prices
for food and enslaved them.
○ Eventually the Visigoths rebelled and defeated the Romans at the battle of
Astianpole (Ay⠂dree⠂un⠂NOH⠂puhl). As a result, Rome hand to hand over
land.
○ Alaric the Visigoth leader captured Rome in A.D. 410
● Rome Falls
○ In A.D. 476 a Germanic general named Odoacer (OH⠂duh⠂way⠂suhr) western
took control and overthrew the western emperor and would rule for almost 15
years.
○ This is marked the end of the Western Roman Empire.
○ While the Western empire fell the eastern Empire prospered and would last for
another 1,000 years.
● Roman Ideas and government today.
○ Gave the principle that all people are equal under the law.
○ Columns, domes, and arches were popular in Roman architecture and are still
used and seen today.
○ Like America they followed a republic form of government.
● Roman Influence on Culture
○ Expanded alphabet from 22 to 26 letters.
○ Many languages use Latin as an influence
○ Every known species of plants and animals has a Latin name.
● Christianity
○ Began in the Roman empire in A.D. 300s
○ Allowed for the spread of many other religions