September 12, 2016
Roman Empire (116 CE - Greatest Extent)
Source: roman-empire.net
Background Info:
Huge Empire
Europe, Asia, N Africa
Conquered with great army
September 12, 2016
Diocletian (Ruled 284-305)
Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Source: roman-empire.net
-Diocletian tried to split the empire into sections
-Easier to manage
-East vs. West (East was wealthier)
September 12, 2016
Constantine (Ruled 306-337)
Source: Capitoline Museum, Rome
-First Christian Emperor
-Freedom of religion law
-Moved capital from Rome to Byzantium
(Constantinople) in Asia Minor
September 12, 2016
Rome began to fall...but why?
1 - Bad Emperors
didn't care about people
greedy --> steal from treasury
2 - Inflation
money loses value
great poor population
people become upset, angry, and scared
3 - Too Big
cannot control and protect borders
losing land to invaders, empire shrinking
4 - Mercenary Army
soldiers that are not Roman
not loyal to Rome
only want money
September 12, 2016
Source: United States Military Academy Department of History
September 12, 2016
Roman Empire Under Attack!
Germanic Tribes (Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals)
from Germany
not Roman citizens
originally from Scandinavia
travel south for several reasons:
1 - warmer climate
2 - better farm land
3 - Roman goods
4 - on the run from the Huns
Huns
led by Atilla
Asian -- Mongolia
Nomadic
fierce warriors
Hun Impact
the Germanic Tribes have no where else to go, so they
force their way into Roman territory all the way to Rome
Visigoths raid the city of Rome
Vandals sack city
September 12, 2016
So what happened?
Western half (Europe) falls to Germanic invaders
and breaks up into little kingdoms
Eastern half (Asia) stays together for about 1,000 more
years
Name changes to Byzantine Empire