Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Section 2 The Fall of Rome

2. I. The Decline of Rome (pgs. 318 – 321) • In A.D. 180, the last of the “good emperors”, Marcus Aurelius, died leaving his son Commodus (kah*muh*duhs) emperor. • Commodus was cruel and spent much of his time fighting as a gladiator. • In A.D. 192 the emperor’s bodyguard killed him. • After Commodus, emperors called the Severans ruled Rome.

3. Political and Social Problems • The last Severan ruler died in A.D. 235 • Rome’s government became weak and for the next 50 years, Rome had 22 different emperors. • Rome’s many problems included: * Romans no longer honored the old ideals of duty, courage, and honesty. * Officials stole money * Wealthy people stopped paying taxes *Fewer people attended school *Large number of empire’s people were now enslaved

4. Economic and Military Problems • During the A.D. 200’s, Rome’s economy began to fail. • A plague, or disease that spreads widely, broke out and killed one out of every ten people in the empire. • Rome suffered from inflation, or rapidly increasing prices. • Government tried to get more money by putting less gold in its coins, but that made the coins lose value. • People began to barter, or exchange goods, without using money.

5. Germanic tribes from northern Europe began invading Roman farms and towns. • Persian armies also pushed into Rome’s territories. • Rome began using Germanic warriors in their army because they could not afford to pay soldiers, but they were not loyal to Rome.

6. What Were Diocletian’s Reforms? • In A.D. 284, a general named Diocletian (dy*uh*klee*shuhn) became emperor. • He introduced many reforms, or political changes. * divided Rome into four parts * set the prices of goods and workers’ wages * Ordered workers to remain at the same jobs until they died • The people ignored the new rules and Diocletian did not have enough power to make them obey.

7. Who Was Constantine? • Constantine (kahn*stuhn*teen) became emperor in A.D. 312. • He issued several orders to aid the Roman economy. • Ordered the sons of workers to follow their fathers’ trades. • Moved capital city from Rome to Byzantium (buh*zan*tee*uhm). • City became known as Constantinople (kahn*stan*tuhn*oh*puhl) (Istanbul today).

8. II. Rome Falls • In A.D. 395, the Roman Empire was split into two separate empires. • The Western Roman Empire had Rome as its capital. • The Eastern Roman Empire had Constantinople as its capital.

9. Rome Is Invaded • As Rome declined, it could no longer hold back the Germanic tribes. * Ostrogoths * Visigoths * Franks * Vandals * Angles * Saxons • These groups were looking for warmer climates, better grazing land for their cattle, and fleeing the Huns, fierce warriors from Mongolia in Asia.

10. In A.D. 378, the Visigoths defeated Roman legions at the Battle of Adrianople (ay*dree*uh*noh*puhl). • In A.D. 410, the Visigoth leader Alaric (a*luh*rihk) and his soldiers captured Rome itself. • It was the first time Rome had been conquered in 800 years. • In A.D. 455, the Vandals entered Rome and spent 12 days stripping buildings of valuables and burning them. • From these attacks came the English word vandalism, which means “the willful destruction of property.”

11. Rome Falls • In A.D. 476, a Germanic general named Odoacer (oh*duh*way*suhr) overthrew the western emperor Romulus Augustulus. • After Augustulus, no emperor ever again ruled from Rome. • By A.D. 550, the Western Roman Empire had faded away. • The Eastern Roman Empire prospered and became known as the Byzantine Empire.

12. III. The Legacy of Rome • Many of our ideas and knowledge today comes from the Roman Empire. • Many words in the English language come from the Romans. • Many of our ideas about government, our system of law, and knowledge of building came from the Romans.