1 / 10

The Decline and Fall of Rome C.E. 177-450

The Decline and Fall of Rome C.E. 177-450. University High School Western Civilization. The Last of the 5 Good Emperors. Beginning with Marcus Aurelius (161-180 CE) & his son Commodus (180-192 CE) we begin to see trouble on the frontiers with barbarian tribes.

whitby
Download Presentation

The Decline and Fall of Rome C.E. 177-450

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Decline and Fall of RomeC.E. 177-450 University High School Western Civilization

  2. The Last of the 5 Good Emperors • Beginning with Marcus Aurelius (161-180 CE) & his son Commodus (180-192 CE) we begin to see trouble on the frontiers with barbarian tribes. • Rome suffers from poor rule after the death of Marcus Aurelius (the last of the five good emperors)

  3. The "Barracks Emperors" • 20 different emperors in a 49 year span (235-284 CE). • Widespread unrest and uprisings • Civil War – Mutinous Generals • Barbarian invasions • Economic decline • Praetorian Guard out of control

  4. The "Barracks Emperors" • Severus Alexander - lynched by soldiers (235) • Maximinus the Thracian – lynched by soldiers (238) • Gordian I – suicide (238) • Gordian II – killed in action (238) • Balbinus – lynched by soliders (238) • Pupienus – lynched by soliders (238) • Gordian III – killed in action (238) • Phillipus the Arab – killed in action (249) • Decius – killed in action (251) • Hostilianus – death from plague • Trebonian the Gaul – lynched by soliders (253)

  5. Conan and the Barbarians • Goths in the Balkans and down into Greece & Asia Minor • Germanic tribes (Franks & Alamanni) throughout Europe • Saxons from Scandinavia • Sasanids in the East

  6. Don't Call it a Comeback… • Diocletian (r. 248-305) stabalizes Rome and the Empire • Emperor now absolute autocrat… “the elect of god,” and no longer Augustus’s “first among equals” • Diocletian realized the Empire had grown too large to manage as a whole • Divided the Empire into Western and Eastern halves. • Assumed control of the Eastern half and gave the title of augustus to Maximian for the Western half. • Each half also had a second in command, a caesar • Thus, this period of rule called the Tetrarchy

  7. Growing Apart • The Eastern and Western Empires slowly drifted apart • The Western half suffered from a lack of resources and trade networks like the Eastern half • Western Empire proved more difficult to defend

  8. No Money, Mo' Problems • Widespread lawlessness & government corruption • Widespread inflation • High taxes • Widespread slavery • Rural farmers taxed heavily and many flea. • Agricultural production collapses • Urban: Wars and invasions disrupted commerce/trade in cities • Response: Rigid and strict measures • Fixed maximum prices • Fixed wages • Some cases of fixed occupations

  9. Constantine • Reigns from 306-337 • Issues Edict of Milan – Ends Christian persecution and makes Christian worship legal • Participates in Council of Nicaea – Catholic Church defines doctrine and beliefs concerning Holy Trinity • Most likely baptized on his death bed = 1st Christian Emperor • Built residence in place of Byzantium • Called Constantinople in his honor • Becomes capital of prosperous Eastern Roman Empire • Theodosius I in 380 makes Christianity official religion of Roman Empire

  10. What Does it All Mean!? • Other theories for the decline of the Roman Empire • Loss of civic virtue • Increased reliance on mercenary soldiers • Civil Wars • Various financial issues (slavery, taxation, inflation, etc) • Diseases (plagues) • Environmental degradation • Split between Paganism and Christianity …Why Eastern propsered • Others argue that it was just a transformation and not a fall at all… • How would you re-title this lecture? Did the Roman Empire truly fall?

More Related