the decline of rome. main idea: poor leadership, a declining economy and attacks by germanic...

The Decline of Rome

The Decline of Rome

Main Idea:

Poor Leadership, a declining economy and attacks by Germanic Tribes weakened the Roman Empire.

The Decline of Rome

What do you do when you face a difficult problem?

Do you try to solve it yourself? Do you ask other people for help?

The Decline of Rome

In this lesson we will learn about the problems the Roman Empire faced and how its leaders responded.

The Decline of Rome

In 180 C.E. Marcus Aurelius died.

His son, Commodus became Emperor.

The Decline of Rome

Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic (patient) philosopher and one of the 5 “Good” Roman emperors.

His Stoic philosophical writings are known as the Meditations of

Marcus Aurelius, which were written in Greek.

It was during the reign of Marcus Aurelius that the Marcomannic War broke out at the northern

frontier of the empire.

The Decline of Rome

The Romans fought the Marcomannic War campaigns against a coalition of German tribes from 168-175…they were on the verge of total

victory when news arrived of a rebellion in the east.

The Decline of Rome

Marcus Aurelius’ son, Commodus became Emperor after his father died and was very cruel and wasted much of Rome’s resources…

Commodus was one of the excessive emperors who ate, drank, and spent too much money and really offended the Romans.

The Decline of Rome

Commodus spent much of his time fighting as a Gladiator in the Arena.

He was involved in possibly as many as 1000 gladiatorial contests where his opponents had blunted weapons.

The Decline of Rome

Towards the end of his reign he renamed the months of the year for aspects of himself.

He began claiming to be a god… when he was killed, his body was hooked and dragged into the Tiber River, but his successor had him buried properly.

The Decline of Rome Finally in 192 C.E. Commodus was strangled to death in his own bath tube.

He had made himself unbearable on the eve of an appearance in the arena where he was to fight as Hercules, his ministers had him strangled in his bath by his

wrestling partner and personal trainer, Narcissus.

The Decline of Rome Nearly a century of Confusion and fighting for power followed Commodus’ death.

After Commodus, Emperors called the Severan’s ruled Rome.

The Decline of Rome There were five Severan Emperors in the Severan Dynasty

The Severan Age was a time in the Roman Empire between 193 and 235...the dynasty was founded by the Roman general Septimius Severus, who rose to power as the victor

of the civil war through 193.

The Decline of Rome Much of the Severan’s time was spent putting down revolts and protecting the Roman borders

from envisions.

The Severan’s stayed in power by paying the army well, but they ignored the growing problem of crime and poverty. (Part of the Imperial Palace complex on the Palatine Hill overlooking the

Circus Maximus)

The Decline of Rome

Circus Maximus - is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy

The Decline of Rome

Questions:

1) Who was Marcus Aurelius?

2) What did his son Commodus spend much of his time doing?

3) How was Commodus killed?

The Decline of Rome

Questions:

1) Who was Marcus Aurelius?

Roman Emperor, regarded as the Scholar Emperor

2) What did his son Commodus spend much of his time doing?

Fighting as a Gladiator

3) How was Commodus killed?

Strangled in the bathtub by his wrestling partner

Political and Social Problems When the last Severan ruler died in 235 C.E., Rome’s government

became very weak.

For almost 50 years, military leaders and generals fought each for complete control over the Roman Empire.

Political and Social Problems

During this time of civil war Rome actually had 22 different Emperors.


Poor leadership was not Rome’s only difficulty…fewer Romans honored the old ideas of duty, courage and honesty.

Many politicians and government officials began taking bides.

Political and Social Problems As problems increased, well educated people often refused to serve in the

government.

Many wealthy people citizens even stopped paying their taxes.

(Wealthy Roman Home)

Political and Social Problems With the government in shambles, fewer people attended schools and a

large number of the Empire’s people were enslaved

Wealthy Romans supported slavery because it was a cheap way to get work done…as you can tell Rome was quickly falling apart.


Questions: 4) How many Emperors did Rome have in a 50

year period after 235 C.E.? 22 Emperors during a 50 year period5) What were many government politicians

and employees taking during this time of chaos?

Bribes 6) Why would Romans support slavery? It was a cheap form of labor

Focus on Everyday Life: Slavery in the Roman Empire

Public and Private slavery were common in the Roman society.

Public slaves were owned by the state…they took care of important buildings and served government officials.


Some educated public slaves were used to help organize the governments of conquered areas.


Private slaves on the other hand were owned by individuals, they were often forced to work long hours and could be sold at any time.

(Roman slave collar, slave masters put these on their slaves to make sure they did not “get lost”)


Wealthy Romans had hundreds or even thousands of enslaved people…most enslaved people worked on farms.

Most enslaved people were men…most likely due to great strength…some became gladiators…enslaved women made clothing and cooked massive

meals.


Connecting to the Past Questions:7) What was the difference between public

and private enslavement?Public Slaves were owned by the state

and private slaves were owned by an individual.

8) Which jobs were probably considered the most desirable by enslaved people?

Answers may be different, however jobs such as groundskeepers or personal assistants would have been easier.

Economic and Military Problems

Around 200 C.E., Rome’s economy began to severely fall apart.

As government weakened, Rome’s law and order broke down.

(Roman Moneychanger with his "bank" (bench) for counting)


Invaders began spilling into the lands, sacking farms, seizing crops and destroying the homeland.

Farmers grew less food and hunger began to spread throughout the Empire…even the Roman military was unable to help.


As the economy worsened, people bought fewer goods…Artisans produced less and shopkeepers lost money.

Many businesses closed and the number of workers dropped sharply.


Many workers had to leave jobs and serve in the army.

Then Rome was hit with a plague.


Plague – is a disease that spreads very fast through an area, country or continent.

This particular plague killed one out of every ten people in Rome.


Between 166 and 266 C.E. the Roman Empire was hit by two separate plagues, each one nearly as deadly as the more famous Black Death of the Middle Ages.

The first one, known as the Antonine Plague, which lasted eighteen years and killed millions of people all over the empire…it may have even killed the famous Marcus

Aurelius the last of the Good Emperors. (Antonine was similar to Smallpox)


The second Plague broke out in 251 C.E. and raged for fifteen years right in the middle of the dreadful Economic and Military crisis that we are discussing.

It is believed that the two diseases were Smallpox and Measles, both potent killers.


Roman also began to suffer from inflation…which is the rapidly increasing of prices on all goods.

Inflation happens when money losses its value … How do you think this happened in Rome?


The weak economy meant fewer taxes were paid to the Roman government.

With less money coming in, the Roman government could not afford to defend its territories and had to find a way to pay its soldiers and officials.


One way for the government to get the money it needed was to make their gold coins using less gold...they would actually use other metal

instead of actual gold.

By putting less gold in each coin, the government could make extra coins and pay for more things.


People soon learned that the coins did not have as much gold in them, and the coins began losing value.

Prices ended up going up and many people stopped using money altogether.


They began to barter or exchange goods without money.

Barter – is a system of trade based around needing items…no money is ever exchanged. For example if I grow apples and my neighbor grows

pears…instead of buying them off each other we would just trade for them!


Meanwhile, invaders swept into the Empire.

In the west, Germanic tribes raided Roman farms and towns.


In the east, armies from Persia pushed into the empires territory.

As fighting increased, the government could no longer enlist and pay Romans as soldiers.


They began using Germanic warriors in the Roman Army.

However these Germanic soldiers were not loyal to Rome or its leaders and would often times fly from battles


Questions:

9) What does the term plague mean?

A disease that spreads very fast through an area, country or continent

10) What is inflation?

Rapidly increasing of prices on all goods.

11) What does the term barter mean?

A system of trade based around needing items

12) What was Rome doing with its gold coins?

Made gold coins with smaller amount of gold in them

What were Diocletian’s Reforms?

In 284 C.E. a Roman General names Diocletian became Emperor.

To stop the Empire’s decline, he introduced reforms, or political changes to make things better for everyone in Rome!


The Empire was just too large for one person to rule, Diocletian divided the land into four different parts.

The idea was to have appointed officials in charge of these four different areas, while he kept supreme authority over the entire Empire.


Diocletian also worked to boost the economy.

To slow down inflation, he issued rules that would set prices of goods and the wages of all Roman workers.


To make sure more goods were produced, he ordered workers to remain in the same jobs until they died…almost like slavery but with money.

Diocletian’s reforms were a complete disaster and failed.


The people ignored the new rules and Diocletian did not have enough power to make the Roman citizens obey.


Questions: 1) Who was Diocletian?

A Roman General who became Emperor 2) Why did he want to create reforms in Rome?

These political changes were going to make things better in Rome

3) How did he divide the Roman Empire?He divided the Empire into 4 different parts

to make it easier to control 4) How did Diocletian try to reverse the decline of

Rome? He issued rules that stated how much

items cost and how much workers could be paid.

Who was Constantine?

In 305 C.E. Diocletian retired from his position of Emperor.

After a period of great conflict, another general names Constantine became Emperor in 312 C.E.


To aid the economy, Constantine issued several orders.

The sons of workers had to follow their fathers’ trades.

The sons of farmers had to work the land that their fathers worked

The sons of soilders had to serve in the army.

Who was Constantine? Constantine's changes did not halt the empire’s decline in the west.

As a result Constantine moved the capital of the empire from the dying city of Rome to a new city in the east.

Who was Constantine? He chose the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium.

There he built a Forum, a large amphitheater called the Hippodrome and many other lavish sites.


The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a spectacle that was the sporting and social center of Constantinople


The city became known as Constantinople…named after Constantine.

Today the city is located in modern day Turkey and has been renamed to Istanbul.


Questions:1) Who was Constantine?A former Roman General who became

Emperor of Rome2) What were some of the changes that

Constantine made in order to aid the economy?Sons of workers, farmers and soldiers all had

to follow in the footsteps of their fathers3) What ancient Greek city did Constantine make

the new capital of his Empire and what did he rename it?

Greek city of Byzantium and he renamed it Constantinople

Biography of Constantine The Great

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to become a Christian, although he was not baptized until near his death in 337 C.E.

He first came to believe in Christianity many years earlier, when he was just a military leader.


Constantine believed he had seen a flaming cross in the sky that said, “By this sign thou shall conquer.”

The next day his army was victorious in a major battle and he believed that the cross he saw was a call to the Christian God.


During his reign, Constantine granted new opportunities to Christians and helped advance the power of the early Catholic church.

He encouraged discussion about the acceptance of the holy Trinity and boosted the political positions and power of bishops within the Roman Government.


Even though Constantine had many political and religious

successes, his life was filled with controversy and tragedy.

Constantine married a woman named Fausta and his eldest son

from a previous marriage was named Crispus.


Fausta accused Crispus of crimes and claimed that he was planning to seize the throne for himself.

Constantine was so shocked that he had his son killed.


Constantine later discovered that Fausta had lied because she wanted her own son to be in line for the throne.

Constantine then had his wife, Fausta killed.


Then and Now:Constantine believed that freedom

of religion was important for the success of his empire and made

sure that Christians could no longer be persecuted.

What part of the United States Constitution protects freedom of

religion?

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