The Decline of the Roman Empire

The Decline of the Roman Empire

Roman capital moved to Constantinople

Constantine became emperor

Third Century Crisis

The Empire splits in half

The Pax Romana

Civil Wars

27 BCE to 180 CE

235 to 284 CE

286 CE

306 to 324 CE

324 CE

330 CE

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Empire splits again

Foreign groups attack Rome

Eastern Roman Empire continues on as the Byzantine Empire

476 CE

395 CE

300 to 400s CE

476 -------------------------------------------------------> 1453 CE

Directions: Go through the timeline to learn more about Rome's slow decline. Complete the classkick questions.

Constantine valued the Eastern empire more than the Western. He moved the capital city of the empire from Rome to Byzantium (an ancient Greek city). He renamed the city Constantinople. Today, the city is called Instabul. Why there?

1. Geographically advantageous (trade)
2. Easier to defend (it was closer to water, had a city wall, and moat)
3. Trade
4. Set it up to be a "new Rome"

The Western Roman Empire was weaker than the Eastern Roman Empire. After the capital moved to Constantinople, Constantine and later emperors focused more on the east and moved military forces from the west to the east. The west weakened even further.

Emperor Constantine

One of these leaders was Constantine, who claimed the position of the emperor. He will unite the two sides of the empire back to one empire. Remember, we talked about him in our Christianity lesson. He was the first Christian emperor and put a stop to the persecution of Christians within the empire.

The empire split into two sections: The Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The two sections were part of one larger Roman Empire, with co-rulers governing different sections to make governing more efficient. This system was called the tetrarchy. Emperor Diocletian made this decision. Diocletian ruled the Eastern Empire and appointed his friend Maximian (mak SIM ee an) to rule the Western Empire.

The Third Century Crisis

For 50 years, from 235 to 284 CE, the empire went through a period of chaos that historians call the Third Century Crisis. Rome experienced significant problems during this time.

Civil Wars

Economic Trouble

The Empire was too big!

The army became divided as different Roman generals led their own troops in battles for power. Instead of defending the empire from outside threats, they fought each other in these internal wars.

The Roman Empire had grown too large to govern effectively. It was difficult to rule over many diverse cultures located far from each other.

The empire heavily taxed people.. Wars interrupted trade and were expensive.Roman coins were manufactured with less metal, which led to inflation.

Unstable Rule

MIlitary Threats

Social Unrest

During the 50 years of crisis, around 50 people claimed to be the emperor. Many were overthrown or killed by others. This caused constant changes in leadership and made it hard to have a strong government.

Various groups attacked the empire in different areas. Germanic tribes came from the north near the Danube River, while the Parthian Empire attacked from the east. The Roman Empire struggled to defend itself against these attacks.

Poor conditions led to riots. . People began to focus more on themselves instead of honoring the Roman values that had guided their civilization for generations.

Fall of the West

The Western Roman Empire also faced threats within its own area. These threats were difficult for the empire to survive.

• In constant warfare, which is costly.
• Loss of agricultural land, they weren't producing enough to feed its people.
• There were not enough soldiers and not enough money to pay soldiers.
• Corrupt leaders/rulers.
• Rome faced viruses that killed many people.

Civil Wars

Diocletian created the tetrarchy system to help keep the large Roman Empire united. However, the Eastern and Western Roman Empires became quite different. The Eastern Roman Empire under Diocletian had a stronger economy and richer people, while the Western Roman Empire under Maximian had more invasions and used a less organized military. These differences led to ongoing struggles between the two regions regarding their needs and priorities. After 20 years of ruling, Diocletian & Maximian retired willingly. Afterwards, civil wars broke out. Four leaders and their armies fought civil wars for control. From 306 to 324 CE, rivals fought for the title of emperor.

Historians call the surviving Eastern Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire, named after Byzantium, Constantinople’s original name. This side of the empire will continue on for another 1000 years! The people of the Byzantine Empire considered themselves Roman. They were part of the same Roman Empire that began with Augustus, Rome's first emperor.

Western Roman Empire falls

In the 300s CE, the Huns moved into the Germanic people’s territory. The Germanic peoples were pushed into the Roman Empire. When the Germanic peoples needed more land, they conquered Roman territory. The Western Roman Empire lost more and more territory to Germanic groups and the Huns. In 476 CE, a Germanic military leader removed the last western Roman emperor from the throne. The Western Roman Empire had fallen.