Fall of the Western Roman Empire

1
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
2
Problems in the Empire

• The Empire was too big to control
• Germanic warriors (barbarians) continued to
  attack Roman territories
• Captured Germanic people moved into the empire
  creating their own system of government thus
  ignoring Roman laws
• Army vs. Farmers Male citizens had to serve in
  the military leaving fewer people to farm less
  food production
• Taxes were growing higher to help pay for the
  military
• Wealth citizen were moving out of the city
  creating their own estates

3
Division of the Empire

• Diocletian Took power in the late 200s.
  Decided that the empire was too big for one
  person to rule, so he divided it into the Eastern
  and Western Empires.
• Eastern
• Ruled by
• Diocletian
• Western
• Ruled by
• Appointed
• Co-Emperor

4
Power Moves to the East

• Constantine Reunited the two halves of the
  Roman Empire for a short time.
• Moved the capital to the east into what is now
  Turkey.
• He called the new capital Constantinople.

5
Ten Theories on Why the Roman Empire Fell

• Excessive Military Spending to Defend the Empire.
• Political Corruption

?
6
The Fall of Rome

• Interior Technology

• Inflation

7
The Fall of Rome

• Unemployment
• Urban Decay

8
The Fall of Rome

• Decline in Morals and values
• Rise in Christianity

9
The Fall of Rome

• Environmental and Public Health Problems
• Barbarian Invasions

10
The Sack of Rome

• Barbarians Invade Rome
• Huns (warriors from Central Asia) invaded from
  southeastern Europe
• Goths (Eastern tribes) who could not defeat the
  Huns and ran into Roman territory
• Vandals (Germanic tribe from Northern Europe)
  invaded Gaul (France), Spain, and North Africa

11
The Empire in Chaos

• The Huns pushed the Goths into Roman territory
  the Goths raised an army and were paid by the
  Romans not to attack.
• However, when the Romans stopped the payments,
  the Goths destroyed Rome in 410.

12
The End of the Western Empire

• During the 400s, Roman Emperors were weak.
• Military leaders took power away from emperor
• Military leaders began fighting for power among
  themselves
• 476 Barbarian general overthrew last Roman
  Emperor and Named himself King of Italy