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Fall of the Roman Empire. Decline of the Roman Empire End of the Pax Romana , two centuries of peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire. Rome’s Economy Weakens. Hostile tribes were on the boundaries of the empire, and Mediterranean pirates disrupted trade
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Fall of the Roman Empire • Decline of the Roman Empire • End of the Pax Romana, two centuries of peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire
Rome’s Economy Weakens • Hostile tribes were on the boundaries of the empire, and Mediterranean pirates disrupted trade • Rome lacked the financial resources to stop the attacks • Rome raised taxes and coined more money • As a result of these activities, Rome suffered from inflation, a drastic drop in the value of its money • Agricultural production within the empire declined, and food shortages and disease spread
Military and Political • The military was in disarray - soldiers had lost loyalty to Rome • Roman government began the use of mercenaries, or foreign soldiers who for fought for money and had little sense of loyalty to the empire • Roman citizens became indifferent about the empire’s fate • More slaves and none-citizens in Rome than citizens
Empire Divided • In 284 AD Diocletia became the emperor • Restored order and increased the military’s strength • Split the empire into East and West
Constantine Moves the Capitol • Constantine gained control of the western part of the empire in 312 AD • Moved the capitol from Rome to Byzantium (later Constantinople, present day Istanbul, Turkey ) • The center of power shifted from Rome to The East • The divide of the Eastern and Western Empires led to the decline of the West
Attila the Hun • Huns united under leader Attila and attacked Roman cities throughout The East but did not capture Constantinople • 452 AD Attila’s forces moved towards Rome but failed to take it • the Germanic invasion continued • last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, ousted by Germanic forces in 476 AD • the western half of the Roman Empire disappeared • the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, which came to be called the Byzantine Empire, flourished another 1,000 years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453
Germanic Tribes • Germanic peoples were overrun by Mongol nomads from Central Asia – the Huns • Germanic people flooded into Roman areas fleeing the Huns • The Roman army was unable to stop the march of the Germanic peoples or “barbarians” • In 410 AD hordes of Germanic tribes over-run, sack, and plunder Rome for days Sack of Rome