Questions and Answers
What was the government of the Roman state for most of its history?
Which of the following groups was not incorporated into the Roman Republic?
What was the traditional date given for the founding of Rome?
Who made himself the emperor of Rome and transformed the republic into an absolute monarchy?
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What was the outcome of the Roman Empire by 476 AD?
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Who assassinated Odoacer, the Germanic Warlord?
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What year did the Roman Empire officially adopt Christianity as its official religion?
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What is believed to have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, according to some historians?
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What event marks the end of the Roman era and the beginning of the Early Middle Ages in Europe?
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What was the name of the empire that continued on until 1453 AD?
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Which of the following was a major cause of the fall of the Roman Empire?
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What was the outcome of the division of the Roman Empire by Diocletian in 293 AD?
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Who led the sack of Rome in 410 AD?
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What was the outcome of the sack of Rome in 455 AD?
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Who deposed the last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, in 476 AD?
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Study Notes
Origins of the Roman Empire
- The Roman Empire was founded in 753 BC as a union of several Latin-speaking tribes along the Tiber River in central Italy.
- The traditional government of Rome was a republic, with no king, until Octavian transformed it into an absolute monarchy in 27 BC.
- The Roman Empire lasted from 27 BC until 476 AD, when it was finally conquered by a Germanic warlord named Odoacer.
Timeline of Major Events
- 293 AD: The emperor Diocletian splits the empire into 4 large administrative areas.
- 330 AD: The emperor Constantine moves the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople.
- 410 AD: Rome sacked by the Visigoths.
- 455 AD: Rome sacked by the Vandals.
- 476 AD: Rome sacked by Odoacer, marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.
Causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire
Internal Corruption
- Corruption was a major problem in Rome towards the end of the empire, leading to inflation, starvation, disease, and excessive taxation.
- The last few centuries of the Roman Empire were presided over by corrupt and inept emperors.
The Division of the Empire
- The Roman Empire became too vast to rule from a single location, leading to the division of the empire into four administrative units in 293 AD.
- The division of the empire eventually led to the creation of two independent states: the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire.
Successive Invasions by Germanic Tribes
- In the 4th and 5th centuries, Germanic tribes from Central and Northern Europe began migrating into the Roman Empire.
- The growing weakness of the empire made its cities tempting targets to foreign armies.
The Sack of Rome
- 410 AD: The sack of Rome by the Visigoths, led by Alaric, marked the "point of no return" for Rome.
- 455 AD: The sack of Rome by the Vandals, led by Genseric, led to the destruction of the city and the origin of the term "vandalism".
- 476 AD: The sack of Rome by Odoacer, marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.
Christianity
- The adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the empire in 380 AD may have played a role in the fall of the Roman Empire.
- Christianity emphasized preparation for the afterlife rather than living life for the here-and-now, which may have contributed to the decline of the empire.
The End of the Roman Empire
- The year 476 AD is given as the date of the fall of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.
- The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, continued on until 1453 AD when it was finally conquered by the Ottoman Turks.
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Description
Learn about the origins of the Roman Empire, its transformation from a republic to an absolute monarchy, and its timeline of major events.
