Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

The most straightforward theory for Western Rome’s collapse pins the fall on a string of military losses sustained against outside forces. Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths had encroached beyond the Empire’s borders. The Romans weathered a Germanic uprising in the late fourth century, but in 410 the Visigoth King Alaric successfully sacked the city of Rome.

• Rome tangled with Germanic forces while being able to keep the Germanic tribes away from Rome's borders

• The most immediate cause for the fall of Rome were the invasions of Germanic forces

• In 410, the Romans weathered a Germanic uprising

• Barbarian groups like the Goths attacked beyond Rome's borders, while causing minimal damage

Identify three of the main reasons for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

• Invasions from Germanic tribes

• An earthquake

• A weakening economy

• Political corruption

• An increase in trade

What would be the best title for the following list?
- The empire was split into two separate empires.
- Political corruption weakened the government.
- High taxes weakened the economy.
- Germanic tribes invaded the western empire.

• The Rise of Julius Caesar

• The Fall of the Roman Empire

• The Spread of Christianity in Europe

• The Growth of International Trade

The purpose of the map above is to describe:

• An economic cause for the fall of Rome

• A social cause for the fall of Rome

• A military cause for the fall of Rome

• A political cause for the fall of Rome

What year do most historians use as the End of the Roman Empire?

• 27 BC

• 476 AD

• 400 AD

• 240 AD

What year did Rome officially fall?

• 500 C.E.

• 0 C.E.

• 450 C.E.

• 476 C.E.

After the western Roman Empire fell to Germanic invaders in the 5th century AD, the eastern part of the empire eventually became known as the

• Byzantine Empire

• Islamic Empire

• Carthaginian Empire

• Persian Empire

How did the division of the empire contribute to Rome's inability to stop invading tribes?

• The city of Rome was left with no strong leader, or military defenses when the capital was moved to the East.

• The city of Rome seceded from the East and had no protection.

• The Roman military had weakened because of the foreign mercenaries in the ranks.

• The Empire was no longer able to feed the people of Rome and they were too weak to mount a defense.

Both the first and second triumvirates were part of what?

• rise of the Roman Empire

• fall of the Roman Empire

• the weakening of the Roman Empire

• the formation of Egypt

The History of Rome, by Livy

Then as the standard of morality gradually lowers, let him follow the decay of the national character, observing how at first it slowly sinks, then slips downward more and more rapidly, and finally begins to plunge into headlong ruin, until he reaches these days, in which we can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies.

Read the excerpt.

How does this statement support Livy’s view that people can learn moral lessons from history?

• It explains the moral effects of ignoring diseases and doing nothing to develop remedies.

• It explains that the moral decline of the people of a nation can lead to the decline of the nation itself.

• It explains how a nation’s history of moral decline can be predicted and therefore avoided.

• It explains how quickly a nation can decline morally and how long it can take to recover.