Today you’ll participate in a

simulation designed to show you how the size of the Roman Empire

and Germanic Barbarians led to the Fall of Rome and the birth of the Middle

Ages in Europe! You will be given a grade

based on how well you follow the specific

directions given to you on this simulation.

Sit in any seat starting with a

seat with a white paper!

Explain how Germanic invasions helped to break up the Roman

Empire and set the stage for the development of feudal and manorial

systems. Write down what this target means in your

own words.

At the end of class, you’ll need to score yourself on your ability to answer this question after participating in the simulation.

HMK: Explain the simulation to your parents and practice vocab for ten minutes. With your parents, set a goal for your continued vocab practice.

First, let’s review the geography of Rome at it’s height.

Rome Geography Review On how many continents

did the Romans have territory?

What body of water was surrounded by Roman territory?

Historians have described the shape of the Roman empire as a donut, why do you think that is?

How would you defend an empire of this size?

How is the like the shape of our classroom today?

You will be assigned one of four roles.

Roman – Control a powerful army from the capital of Rome.

Provincial – The people who live in the Roman provinces and need to supply Rome with goods.

Germanic Barbarians – People from the Northern tribes that lived outside of Rome past the Rhine River.

The Pope – Comfort and guides those in needs. Can also convert people to their religion.

Read your role card and quickly tear

out your tokens.

Round 1

Any questions about the cards? Barbarians you won’t play in the first round – you should be

watching, planning your attack, looking for resources you want to plunder.

Romans – Only you may get up and move. You will each try to gain as many resources as you can. You will exchange troops to protect the provinces in return for

goods. (Each Army Card = 600 troops) Each Army Card is exchanged for 2 resources. Provinces must accept the trade.

Pope – Feel free to get up and walk around and visit with your followers to offer relief and suffering.

Round 1

Keep in mind: Each Roman wants a variety of goods. Provinces want lots of troops to protect themselves from

invasion. Romans also want to protect themselves from invasion. Romans need to give a tenth of their goods to the Catholic

Church.

You will now have 5 minutes to trade. Only Romans are allowed to move around the room. Failure to follow rules will result in a natural disaster

hurting your province or resources.

Round 1

How did it feel being a Roman during this activity?

How did it feel to be a province during this activity?

How did it feel to be a barbarian?

What did the provinces provide for the Romans during this activity?

What did the Romans provide for the provinces during this activity?

What role did Church provide to the Romans?

Round 2

All Romans must give the Pope one trade good.

Barbarian troops have been spotted heading towards the Roman Empire. Now is your last chance to plea for help from the Romans

for protection.

Romans have one more chance to trade with the provinces. This time, the Romans are limited to sending 1 additional troop to a province.

Romans can be attacked as well, so don’t leave yourself undefended.

Debrief Round 2

What do you think the trade goods to the Pope represents?

The two Romans with the most trade tokens move to Constantinople. You are safe from attack. What do you think this represents?

Around this time Barbarians began invading the weakening empire. Barbarians – only a few more moments until you may attack.

Prepare for Invasion!

Round 3 Barbarians prepare to invade.

Each Barbarian tribe can attack any province or Roman. Only Barbarians can move.

Whoever has the greatest military wins. (Cards are equal to each other.)

If it is a tie the Barbarian loses. Army tokens are used up during a battle are

thrown in the trash win or lose. If a Barbarian wins, then the person they

attack should sit on the floor and die gracefully while the Barbarian gets their land and resources.

The Pope should try to comfort people as they are die. They should also try to convert the Barbarians and promise them salvation by protecting the Church as well as their newly won land.

Debriefing- As a group first, then whole class

How did the Romans profit from their empire in the beginning?

What do you think caused the barbarians to attack the Roman Empire?

To each group: how did you feel as you watched the Romans lose control of their empire?

Why do you think it was so easy for the barbarians to take control of different parts of the Roman Empire?

What do you think the Rome’s leaders could have done to preserve their empire?

How might these Barbarian invasions impact the centralized government of the Roman Empire?

As the Germanic tribes settled into the western half of the Roman Empire, what would the people still there worry about?

Thought question….

How will these Germanic

invasions impact the politics of

medieval Europe?

Compare the Class Experience to the Historical Reality

1. Kids who played Romans received tokens from the provinces just like….

2. The kids in the provinces got army/cohort cards in exchange for their trade goods just like….

3. The student playing the Pope received a % the Roman wealth just like…

4. The Roman students who had the most wealth moved to Constantinople and survived the invasion….

5. Kids who played barbarians defeated most of the Roman and provincial students just like…....

Compare the Class Experience to the Historical Reality

1. The students in what was the capital city of Rome in the west almost all died….

2. There was no centralized leader in our classroom just like….

3. The student playing the Pope had the most wealth left at the end just like…

4. The students still alive at the end were scared about another round of attacks…..

Life After the Fall of Rome

Germanic Barbarians destroyed the city life and centralized government of the Roman Empire.

Trade Declined – resources vandalized and no army to protect their provinces

Cities, Colloseum, bridges, and roads fell into disorder and disuse

Law and order vanished

Life After the Fall of Rome

Education almost completely disappeared

Money was no longer used

Most people would never leave the manor or village they were born in for fear of attack.

This period was so bad, it became known as the Dark Ages (Early Middle Ages)

A short review video of the Fall of Rome…

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-fall-of-rome.html#lesson

So after the Germanic invasions, in Europe…

The Roman Empire and its centralized government disappeared.

Tribal/Germanic kings still fought for power

Europeans had no government protection

Europeans had no where to live because cities were destroyed.

Europeans had few resources including little food

And feudalism develops.

The kings give their trusted nobles land called “fiefs” in return for their loyalty.

The nobles set up castles and farms on land in the country called manors.

The nobles hired knights to live on their manor and protect their farms, castles, and farmers. The knights could also be sent to protect the king who had given them the land.

The peasants agreed to farm the land and give at least a third to the noble. In return, he gave them a place to live, access to much need resources and protection from attacking tribes.

Life on the Manor

Take a quiz to show what you know…

Complete the quiz independently or with one partner. You will both get

the same grade if you work together.

Rome

Vatican Cityin the

Papal States

Constan-tinople

Province of Britain

Province of Thrace

Province of Africa

Province of Gaul(modern France)

Province of Egypt

Province of Greece

Province of Asia Minor

Province of Syria

Province of Raetia

Province of Illyricum

Province of Mauretania

Province of Spain

Huns(Barbarian)

Visogoths(Barbarian)

Ostogoths(Barbarian)

Lombards(Barbarian)

Angles(Barbarian)

Franks(Barbarian)

Vandals(Barbarian)

Vandals(Barbarian)