The fall of rome

1. The fall of rome …and it didn’t fall in a day, either.

2. Military Causes • Invasion by Germanic tribes, beginning 200s AD • 200s: Visigoths moved South and West into the Emipre • 400s • Vandals moved West into the Empire • Angles and Saxons invaded the British isles • 444-450: Huns invaded (under leadership of Attila)

3. Economic Causes • High Taxes to fund… • Hiring people to control provinces • “Bread” (free food) and “Circuses” (free gladiator, chariot racing entertainment) to appease poor, unemployed population • Small farmers lost land to wealthy “latifundia” (large farm) owners, then moved to join poor, unemployed city population • A population decrease from civil war, invasions, and plague meant less people to collect taxes from • Taxes were raised again, angering people, creating a vicious cycle

4. Social Causes • Roman values of loyalty and duty to Rome began to decline • Hired solders fought instead of citizen soldiers: their loyalty was purchased and easily swayed • Non-Romans were hired to lead provinces • Wealthy got richer, poor got poorer

5. Political Causes • Diocletian split the empire into East and West in 293 • Western half “fell” in 476 AD when the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome • Eastern half survived, had political instability (22 emperors from 235-284 A.D.) • Constantine legalized Christianity, his successor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome • Constantine established a capital of Eastern Rome at Constantinople. • Eastern Rome became the Byzantine Empire

6. The literal “fall” of Rome: 476 A.D. • Rome’s decline was gradual and multi-causal • Officially, (game show answer here) the city of Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 476 A.D.