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The Fall of Rome. 1. Empire Weakens. Weak leaders and growing problems Came after the 5 Good Emperors Problems Civil Wars Increased threat of invasion Increased size of the army Prolonged economic crisis. iii. Empire will become a military dictatorship
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1. Empire Weakens • Weak leaders and growing problems • Came after the 5 Good Emperors • Problems • Civil Wars • Increased threat of invasion • Increased size of the army • Prolonged economic crisis
iii. Empire will become a military dictatorship • Military will elevate their own leaders and dispose of emperors
b. Economic Troubles • Problems facing the empire • Increased robbery and piracy • Hazardous travel • Military required increasing amounts of revenue • Rising taxes decreased the value of money • Growing inflation • Dramatic rise in prices
2. Attempts at reform • Diocletian • Took power in 284 A.D. • Made empire into an absolute monarchy • Divided empire in two • He ruled the eastern half and appointed a co-ruler to the western half • Both will have assistants called Caesar to help run the empire
v. Established a rigid order for society • Sons followed the trades and social positions of their fathers • Peasants permanently tied to the land • Increased the army vi. Geared commercial and manufacturing activities toward meeting the needs of imperial defense vii. All of this kept the economy from collapsing immediately
b. Constantine • Becomes emperor when Diocletian and co-emperor abdicate • Not long after a civil war erupted • When order was restored Constantine was proclaimed the new emperor
iv. Continued Diocletian’s policies of state control over society v. Two key decisions • Supported Christianity • Built a new capital, Constantinople • Located on the shore of the Bosporus in an area called Byzantium
3. Invasion and Fall • The Huns • They had speed and were ferocious • Had strong leadership • Started attacking areas around the Roman empire sending Germanic tribes into the empire • Visigoths will sack Rome in 410 A.D. • Attila the Hun (leader of the Huns) will start to attack Rome but will be persuaded not to by Pope Leo I
b. Fall of the West • Germanic tribes ruled most of the western provinces, including Italy • 476- Odoacer, a Barbarian commander, overthrew the last emperor of the west • Western empire collapsed but the Eastern empire continued • Eastern empire became known as the Byzantine Empire