Fall of the Roman Empire

1. Fall of the Roman Empire Mr. Lawrence

2. The Power Structure Crumbles • The Power Structure of Rome Crumbles because of Seven Key Aspects (However, they are all interrelated: • The Economy Falters • Trade Slows • Welfare Becomes to Expensive • The Military Weakens • The Government is Corrupt • The Rise of Christianity • Invasion (The Nail in the Coffin)

3. The Power Structure Crumbles • The Roman Economy begins to Falter as expansion ends due to: • Inflation ensues because of a lack of Natural Resources (Precious Metals) • Also Trade Begins to Slow except for the Silk Road • Also the Food supply begins to shrink • Welfare Becomes to Expensive at this time because of both inflation and shrinking food supplies

4. The Power Structure Crumbles • Trade Slows because the Trade routes become dangerous do to bandits and Barbarians, Further Weakening the Economy • The Military cannot stop the Bandits because the Military begins to weaken due to the of new practice of hiring Mercenaries in the place of Romans • Also the Government is Corrupt from bad Emperors and cannot address these major issues

5. The Power Structure Crumbles • Also with the Rise of Christianity the masses are becoming less loyal to Rome and more attached to Jesus and the newly formed Catholic Church • The Final nail in the Coffin will be the Barbarian Invasions further weakening the Roman Empire

6. Reforming Emperors • Diocletian • Strong-willed and military minded • Realizes the empire cannot be run by one man and splits the empire in two leaving himself in charge • However the East is far more stable and powerful because of the connection to the Silk Road • Constantine • - Legalized Christianity in an attempt to bring unity and peace • - Moved the Capital from Rome to Constantinople in the Eastern Romans Empire

7. Barbarian Invasions • The first group to invade are the Germanics • Many tribes come across the border seeking protection and the PaxRomana in exchange for military service • However, the Romans treat them poorly and they revolt against the Empire, ending in the sacking of Rome by Alaric in 410 CE

9. Attila the Hun • Attila the Hun would also attack both the Eastern and Western Empires • Causing fear in the Empires and causing more distrust in the Roman Government and Roman People

10. The End • After the defeat of Attila the Western Roman Empire continues to weaken for a number of reasons • Finally a Germanic named Odovacar will attempt to gain power in Rome by assassinating the last Emperor of Rome Romulus Augustus • With this the Western Roman Empire Dies, However the Eastern Roman Empire will live on until 1492 under the name “The Byzantine Empire”

11. The Four Legacies of Rome • Latin Language • The Basis for All Romantic and Educated Language, Also the Language of the Catholic Church • Greco-Roman Culture • The Foundation of All Western Culture • Roman Architecture • The buildings still stand today and were an inspiration for generations to come • Stable Government • The Basis and Model for Modern Government and Law; Laws should be based in Reason