The Fall of the Western Empire PDF

## The Fall of the Western Empire ### Read to Discover - What problems did the Roman Empire have to deal with during the A.D. 200s? - How did the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine slow the decline of the empire? - What factors led to the final decline of the Roman Empire in the West? ### Defin...

## The Fall of the Western Empire ### Read to Discover - What problems did the Roman Empire have to deal with during the A.D. 200s? - How did the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine slow the decline of the empire? - What factors led to the final decline of the Roman Empire in the West? ### Define - **Inflation:** A rise in prices caused by a decrease in the value of money. ### Identify - Diocletian - Constantine - Goths - Vandals - Huns - Attila ### The Main Idea Internal conflicts and invading forces weakened the Roman Empire and led to its decline. ### The Story Continues One Roman leader who strongly supported Christianity was Empress Galla Placidia (c. A.D. 390-A.D. 450). The era in which she lived was not a good one for the Romans, however. Years of poor leadership and conflicts with other peoples began to take their toll. Eventually such problems would result in the collapse of the Roman Empire. ### Troubled Times Arise The last of the Good Emperors, Marcus Aurelius, died in A.D. 180. His son, Commodus, proved to be an unpopular emperor who was killed in his bed on the last day of A.D. 192. Within a few years the empire began to slide into crisis. Between A.D. 235 and A.D. 284, many ambitious men competed for the title of emperor. Throughout this period invaders threatened the borders and civil war tore at the empire. - **Rising inflation:** In an effort to collect more taxes, the government had granted citizenship to all free people of the empire in A.D. 212. But defense of the frontiers and civil wars were costly, and the end of expansion meant wealth was no longer pouring into the empire. The result was a shortage of silver for coins - the main form of official currency. Emperors responded by decreasing the amount of silver in each coin so that they could mint more money. By A.D. 270 a silver coin contained little actual silver. To receive the same amount of silver as before, merchants raised prices. - **Increasing insecurity:** As the economic crisis deepened and attacks on the borders continued, daily life became harder for many people. Many small farmers were force to sell their farms to land speculators and large landowners. During the A.D. 250s and 260s, Athens and Antioch were both sacked by invaders. The rich were able to escape the cities for the countryside, but city workers were not so lucky. They were unable to leave their jobs and, in any case, they had no other place to go. ### Reading Check: Identifying Cause and Effect How did events and government policies contribute to the empire's economic problems in the A.D. 200s? ### Two Able Emperors Attempt Reform By A.D. 284 the Romans had made some progress in pushing back the invaders. Things were far from secure, however, and the economy was still shaky. It would take the efforts of two emperors—Diocletian and Constantine—to slow the empire's decline. - **Diocletian:** Diocletian (dy-uh-KLEE shuhn), a general in the Roman army, was made emperor in A.D. 284. An able administrator, he realized that the empire had grown too large for one person to manage. He appointed a co-emperor and two assistants, or caesars. Diocletian ruled in the East, his co-emperor in the West. Under Diocletian the government controlled almost every aspect of life. Defense and security of the empire came first. Individual freedom was second. Diocletian ended lawlessness within the empire by driving out the invading barbarian tribes. He also tried, although unsuccessfully, to improve the economy by controlling prices and wages. Diocletian and his co-emperor retired in A.D. 305. Their caesars now became co-emperors, with their sons as caesars. When Constantius, the new emperor in the West, died suddenly in A.D. 306, his son Constantine took his place as emperor. The emperor in the East, however, refused to recognize Constantine as co-emperor. The divided rule Diocletian had created quickly broke down. Civil war once again racked the empire. - **Constantine:** In the end Constantine won out and became sole emperor in A.D. 324. Constantine is remembered for many things, including supporting Christianity throughout the empire. According to the historian Eusebius, Constantine began supporting Christianity after receiving a vision the day before his victory over his rival for emperor: > Around noontime, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw before him in the sky the sign of a cross of light. He said it was above the sun and it bore the inscription, 'Conquer with this'. The vision astounded him, as it astounded the whole army that was with him." - Eusebius, quoted in Readings in the Classical Historians by Michael Grant Constantine is also remembered for creating a new capital city in the East called Constantinople. The new capital served as a base from which to defend the eastern empire. After Constantine died in A.D. 337, the empire was stable for about 50 more years. The government, however, was inefficient and corrupt. By A.D. 400, two empires existed, one in the West and one in the East. As the western empire grew weaker and weaker, the eastern empire became the center of power and wealth. ### Reading Check: Analyzing Information What reforms and other actions did Diocletian and Constantine introduce that helped delay the decline of the Roman Empire? ### Invasions into the Roman Empire, A.D. 340-A.D. 481 By the A.D. 300s invading tribes were attacking the Roman Empire on most of its frontiers. This contributed greatly to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. ### The Final Invasions Diocletian and Constantine were able to hold the empire together through their efforts and reforms. The threat of invasion from the north and east never disappeared, however. The most troublesome of the invaders were the Germans. These tribes - the Goths (made up of the western Visigoths and eastern Ostrogoths), Vandals, Franks, and others - lived north of the Rhine and Danube Rivers. - **The Goths and the Vandals:** By the late A.D. 300s large numbers of Goths were flooding into the empire in an attempt to escape invaders from the east. The Romans treated them badly. In response, the Goths revolted in A.D. 378. The heavily armed Goths quickly crushed the large Roman army when they met in battle at Adrianople. Among the dead was the eastern emperor Valens. The Romans no longer had the upper hand against the invaders. In the wake of the defeat, the Romans allowed the Goths to settle in the empire under their own leaders. In return, the Goths agreed to join the Roman army. The peace this brought was short-lived. In A.D. 410 the Visigoth king Alaric and his troops sacked Rome. It was the first time Rome had been sacked in 800 years. While the Romans were busy defending themselves against the Visigoths, the Vandals crossed the border with little opposition. They proved to be a serious threat to the empire. In A.D. 429 the Vandals invaded North Africa, quickly conquering the area. In A.D. 455 they returned to Europe to sack Rome. Today's use of the word "vandal" suggests the terror and destruction that accompanied these continuing invasions. - **The Huns:** The Goths had moved into the empire to escape the advancing Huns. The Huns were nomadic peoples from Asia who lived by raiding and plundering. The Greek historian Ammianus Marcellinus described the Huns in vivid detail: > They have squat bodies, strong limbs, and thick necks.... They wear garments of linen or of the skins of fieldmice stitched together, and there is no difference between their clothing whether they are at home or abroad. Once they have put their necks into some dingy shirt they never take it off or change it until it rots and falls to pieces from incessant [constant] wear. .. Buying or selling, eating or drinking, are all done by day or night by horseback, and they even bow forward over their beasts' narrow necks to enjoy a deep and dreamy sleep." - Ammianus Marcellinus, quoted in Readings in the Classical Historians by Michael Grant By the mid-400s the Huns were led by the fierce Attila. In A.D. 451 Attila launched an attack on Gaul. His troops were defeated by an army of Romans and Visigoths in a great battle near Châlons-sur-Marne. After invading Italy, Attila's army withdrew and broke up, but the Western Roman Empire soon fell. In A.D. 476 a barbarian commander overthrew Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor in the West. - **Results of the invasions:** The Germans who invaded the West were made up of many different tribes. Thus, they set up separate tribal kingdoms once they were in power. This made it impossible for them to rule a united empire. In many areas, people left the cities in search of food and greater safety. In the country, soldiers often trampled crops during battles, and weeds choked the fields. Learning declined as schools and libraries were destroyed. Over time, knowledge of the world and the past declined. ### Reading Check: Drawing Inferences What roles did the Goths, Vandals, and Huns play in the decline of the Roman Empire in the West? ### Causes of the Decline People sometimes refer to the overthrow of Romulus Augustulus as the "fall" of the Roman Empire. Actually, no such thing as a single fall occurred. Instead, the empire in the West gradually declined. The empire in the East would remain until A.D. 1453. For centuries historians have debated how this mighty empire could disappear. The most obvious cause of the final collapse is the mass of German invasions triggered by the Huns pushing westward from Asia. This put a terrible strain on Roman resources, already spread too thin. Overwhelmed and short on Roman recruits, the army became dependent on German troops, who gained more and more power and freedom. But this was simply the last blow. It took centuries to set the stage for the final outcome. Between the A.D. 200s and the A.D. 400s almost no part of Roman life - political, military, economic, or social - escaped decay. - **Political and military weaknesses:** In an age of slow transportation, the Roman Empire grew too fast and too large. Rome tried to control this vast empire with a government designed for a small city-state. Faced with governing the entire Mediterranean world, the system failed. Competition for power, oppressive public service, and corrupt courts added to the problems. The army also contributed to the decline by interfering with the choice of emperor and making the government unstable. ### Skill-Building Strategies: Making Generalizations and Predictions: Why the Western Empire Fell - **A Historian's View:** Historian Edward Gibbon summed up his view of the causes of the fall of Rome: "This long peace, and the uniform government of the Romans, introduced a slow and secret poison into the vitals of the empire. The minds of men were gradually reduced to the same level, the fire of genius was extinguished, and even the military spirit evaporated." - **Economic:** High taxes, high inflation, loss of war loot, decline of manufacturing, decline of agriculture. - **Social:** Growing divisions between rich and poor, loss of values, loss of patriotism. - **Military:** German invasions, high cost of defense, dependence on German troops, loss of soldiers' loyalty to Rome, military interference in government. - **Political:** Ineffective city-state system, division of empire, growing power of Eastern Empire, corruption and unstable leadership, burden of public service. ### Skills Reminder - A generalization is a broad statement about a subject based on a variety of facts. The statement may not be exactly true for all cases, but represents a safe assumption given the existing facts. - A prediction is a statement about what might happen based on certain events or conditions. To make predictions, examine existing information and suggest possible outcomes. ### Skills Practice - **Making Generalizations:** Examine the written and visual information above. Based on this information, write a general statement about the causes of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. - **Making Predictions:** Use the same information to write a short essay predicting how the Romans might have prevented the decline by avoiding or changing one or more of the factors. ## Rome: An Enduring Legacy The Roman Empire collapsed more than 1,500 years ago. Even so, the Roman influence still survives. The letters you see on this page are a gift from the Romans. Roman numerals are still used. Also, our calendar is based on the one developed by Julius Caesar in A.D. 46. Roman influence is also evident throughout the world. Two key influences are Roman law and Christianity. In addition, Roman bridges and Roman roads remain today. The ruins of many Roman buildings continue to inspire people. In these and many more ways, Rome lives on. Can you identify evidence of Roman influence in the photograph of St. Peter’s Basilica? ### Section 6 Review 1. Define and explain the significance: inflation 2. Identify and explain the significance: Diocletian, Constantine, Goths, Vandals, Huns, Attila 3. Evaluating: Use the following graphic organizer to outline the factors that led to the rise and fall of the Western Roman Empire. 4. Finding the Main Idea: - What problems faced the Roman Empire during the A.D. 200s? - How did invasions by the Visigoths, Huns, and others contribute to the problems in the Roman Empire? 5. Writing and Critical Thinking: Problem Solving: Write a brief newspaper editorial expressing your opinion about what Rome might have done differently to solve some of its problems and lessen its decline. Consider: problems within the empire, solutions tried by Diocletian, forces outside the empire.