10.5 A Weakening Empire

What advice did Septimus Severus give his sons before he died?

• Build more roads and bridges.

• Make the soldiers rich and don’t worry about the rest.

• Always listen to the Roman Senate.

• Conquer new lands to expand the empire.

The text says that in the 200s CE, Rome had enemies in the east, south, and north. Which of these was NOT one of Rome's enemies?

• The Germanic peoples

• The Parthians (Persians)

• The Egyptians

• The Berber tribes

How did emperors get money to pay their soldiers and the tribes?

• They asked other countries for loans.

• They sold land to wealthy citizens.

• They raised taxes on the people of Rome.

• They found new mines with gold and silver.

What did the Romans call people who were not part of their empire?

• Romans

• Celts

• Barbarians

• Huns

Why did the Romans start letting some Germanic tribes live in Roman lands?

• The Romans wanted to learn new languages from the tribes.

• The Romans hoped the tribes would help protect the empire's borders.

• The Romans thought the tribes would bring new types of food.

• The Romans wanted the tribes to build better roads.

Why did Diocletian divide the Roman Empire into two parts, with two emperors?

• Because he wanted to make it easier to rule such a big area.

• Because he wanted to start a war with the other emperor.

• Because he did not like the people in the Western Roman Empire.

• Because he wanted to make the empire smaller.

What action did Diocletian take that was considered unusual for an emperor at the time?

• He decided to share power with the Senate.

• He chose to give up his power and retire.

• He decreased the size of the army.

• He stopped collecting taxes.

Why did Constantine move the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium?

• Because the city of Rome was growing too quickly and was overcrowded.

• Because he believed the empire's future was in the eastern territories.

• Because he wanted to be closer to the Huns to form an alliance with them.

• Because Byzantium had better schools and more educated people.

Why did people stop caring about Roman culture?

• Because the emperors gave them too much freedom.

• Because they were happy with the new city of Constantinople.

• Because they felt increasingly controlled by the government.

• Because they started to speak a different language.

According to the text, how did the Romans treat the Visigoths after allowing them into their territory?

• They treated them as honored guests and gave them plenty of land.

• They treated them fairly and helped them build new homes.

• They treated them as equals and shared their riches.

• They treated them poorly, seizing their weapons and selling them spoiled grain.