THE FALL & LEGACY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

AN INCREASED EMPHASIS ON THE EASTERN HALF OF THE EMPIRE

• Emperor Diocletian• Divided empire

• Got too big

• Ended up not working- instead created a mental division between East and West

• East began growing stronger

MAP ANALYSIS 1

• Emperor Constantine• Moved the capitol to

Constantinople in the east

• Power shift: west → east

• Christianity• Legalized the Christian church

and ended persecution – Edict of Milan

• Made official religion by Emperor Theodosius

AN INCREASED EMPHASIS ON THE EASTERN HALF OF THE EMPIRE…AND CHRISTIANITY!

MAP ANALYSIS

The old capital was centrally located for

better control

The new capital, while going through fewer problems than

Rome and generally more advanced as a city, was much

further from the center, and things were harder to control in the

empire.

THIS CREATES PROBLEMS…

POLITICAL CAUSES OF ROME’S FALL

• Political office seen as burden

• Bad emperors

• Civil war/rebellion

• Division of Empire

• Moved capital to Constantinople

SOCIAL CAUSES OF THE FALL OF ROME

• Decline in interest in public affairs

• Low confidence in gov’t• Disloyalty• Corruption• Gap between rich and poor

ECONOMIC CAUSES OF THE FALL OF ROME

• Poor harvests/famine

• Disruption of trade

• Lack of war plunder

• Inflation

• High taxes

• Gap between rich and poor

MILITARY CAUSES OF THE FALL OF ROME

• Threat from northern tribes

• Recruiting non-Roman citizens leads to lack of patriotism and loyalty amongst troops

IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF THE FALL OF ROME

• Invasion by Germans and Huns

Important Legacies

• Alphabet and Language• Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian (Romance languages)

• Roman Numerals

• Calendar• Developed by Julius Caesar-JULY!

• Republicanism-the idea of the people playing an active role in the government (similar to Greece; still influences America!)

• Aqueducts• Carried water into the cities

from long distances

• Used the arch

Other Legacies: Engineering and Architecture

• Architecture-columns-dome-concrete