Fall of Rome

Open Ended

With all of the great things Rome accomplished, why do you think the empire fell? List two reasons and write in complete sentences.

THE FALL OF ROME

​Rome is Split into two parts...

Fall of Rome

Lesson Objective:I will be able to write a summary explaining the fall of Rome
and the social, political, and economic impacts it had on the world.

Demonstration of Learning: I will be able to write a summary explaining the fall
of Rome and the social, political, and economic impacts it had on the world.

Open Ended

1. What were some of the reasons listed for the fall of Rome? (List 3)

2. How many years does the video say it took for Rome to fall?

3. What was the issue with Christianity?

Political and Military Issues

●Emperors who were deemed good and able declined

●Government Corruption

●Civil Wars led to a near collapse

○Order was restored by military regime

●Overexpansion (empire was too big)

●Invasions from outside tribes due to a divided Rome (West was weaker than East)

●Rome also hired mercenaries or non Roman armies to help defend its territory, but these groups had no loyalty to Rome or their traditions

Social Issues

●Breakdown of the Caste Hierarchy

●Civil Unrest within the classes

●Slaves were vast (ALOT)

●Spread of Christianity

○Becomes the official religion of Rome in 380 A. D.

●Traditional Roman values declined as non-Italians gained prominence in the empire.

●Lead poisoning through leaden water pipes and cups caused a mental decline in the population.

Economic Issues

●Inequitable spending (more money was spent on military upkeep than infrastructure)

●Over reliance of slavery

○Slaves had many jobs

○Lower classes couldn't find work, so relied on government help

●Government Spending

○Due to slavery, gov’t provided “welfare” assistance, so many people didn’t see need to work

○Overspending

○Taxes and inflation

○Money was running low, people were not working

●Failure to advance technology

●Unsafe water systems

○Mental decline

• There were slave revolts in Rome, the most famous was Spartacus. His uprising took two years for the Romans to stop. 

• The slave demand in Rome was very high because they used slaves for everything! A large number of slaves came from captured enemies during wars.

• Slaves in Rome were used for lots of different things and their quality of life depended on what their job was. 

• Household slaves were usually treated well and were given the right to own property and could sometimes buy their freedom. 

Slaves in Rome

Open Ended

Why would relying on slaves cause problems in the Roman empire?

(Think bigger picture)

Rise of Christianity in Rome

• Romans were polytheistic and even considered the emperors to be gods

  • Religion in Rome was state-sponsored meaning the government supported it. 

  • During Pax Romana, Rome was more tolerant and open to other religions as long as it did not conflict with their own

• Christianity 

  • Begins with the teachings of Jesus  deemed the “Messiah”

  • Attracts many followers because it gives hope to ALL people, no matter social status 

  • Provides meaning and guidance for everyday life 

  • Conflicts with Roman religion 

  • Many are persecuted

Open Ended

1. What is happening at the beginning of the video?

2. Why did Romans see Christianity as a threat?

3. What does it mean to be a matyr?

Effects of Christianity on Roman Empire

●Spreads by missionaries establishing churches in major cities

●Was first viewed as harmful and treasonous due to
Christians refusal to worship Roman gods

●Became more prominent and structured by 3rd
century even with attempts to persecute believers

●By the 4th century, emperor Constantine issued the
edict of Milan, claiming official tolerance of the
religion

●By 395 A.D., it was the official religion of Rome.

Fixing the Issues within the Empire

Diocletian and Constantine

●Tried to fix the issues within the empire

●Established social and economic reforms

●Diocletian, believe empire had grown too large, split the empire in
two, east and west.

○Created a tetrarchy-ruled by four people each half was split again

○Diocletian still had majority power (had the army)

●Constantine expanded on Diocletian’s policies, and built a new
capital in the East

●Enlarged the civil service and the army

●Constantine also managed to unite the empire until his death

○Empire continued to split even more, and the west became invaded by other groups of people

The Division of
the Roman
Empire

In 285 CE, Emperor
Diocletian divided the
Roman Empire into East
and West. Which half of
the Empire did
Diocletian rule and from
where?

​Write on your note guide?

Open Ended

 What was the impact of invasion? 

Western Rome falls in 476 CE

Although the Western Roman empire does cease to exist in 476, The Eastern
Roman Empire continued to thrive for hundreds of years.

It became known as the Byzantine Empire and its capital was Byzantium
(Constantinople).

Fill in the Blanks

Demonstration of Learning:

I will be able to write a summary explaining the fall of Rome and the social,
political, and economic impacts it had on the world.

Sentence Stem: The fall of Rome was caused by….

The social impacts include…

The economic impacts include…

The political impacts include…

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