Fall of rome
FALL OF ROME
What were Rome's problems?
In 180 AD Marcus Aurelius died and his son took over. Commodus was cruel and wasted all of Rome's money. His own body guard killed him and then a dynasty of rulers called the Severeness ruled rome. They protected rome and payed the army well ,but ignored the growing problems. The last Severn ruler then died and Rome's government became very weak. Then for 50 years armies fought each other for the throne. During that time Rome had 22 different rulers. Fewer Romans honored their old traditions of being h0nest. Many government officials even took bribes. Good leaders even stopped working for the government and many wealthy citizens stopped paying taxes. Fewer people attended schools and 40% of Rome were slaves. During the 200s Rome's economy fell. Farmers grew less food and Romans were hungry. Soldiers invaded Rome and destroyed farm land. Artisans produced less and shop keepers lost money and closed a lot of their businesses. A plague spread that killed 1 out of 10 people. Romans also suffered from inflation because of the lack of taxes being payed. One way the government tried to get money was to put less gold in money and make more coins. Coins then lost their value and prices grew. Meanwhile invaders slept through Rome. In the west, germanic tribes raided Roman farms and towns. In the East, Persia pushed into Roman territory.
What changes did Diocletian and Constantine make?
Diocletian became emperor in 284 AD. To stop the Decline of the Empire he split Rome into 4 parts. He named officials to rule these areas but kept authority over all. He also set the prices of goods and the wages to be paid to workers to slow inflation. To make sure goods were produced he ordered workers to remain at the same job till death. His reforms failed and people ignored his rules. In 305 he retired from Emperor. Constantine was appointed emperor in 312 AD. He also issued orders, one of them was that sons most follow the work of their fathers. Constantine's changes did not halt Rome's decline in the west. So he moved the capital east and called it Constanople.
Who invaded Rome and why does it fall?
A new emperor ruled named Theodosius gained control. He split Rome into into 2 parts the Eastern Roman empire and the Western Empire. As Roman declined it was no longer able to hold back Germanic tribes. Many germanic groups existed - Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Angles, and Saxons. They came from the marshes of Northern Europe. Many of which who were fleeing from the Huns who were fierce warriors. The huns defeated the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths feared they'd be next. So the Eastern emperor let them in. It wasn't long before they disagreed. The Visigoths then rebelled and Rome had to surrender land to them. More Germanic tribes crossed the border. They then captured the city of Rome itself! They burned records and looted treasury. This was the first time Rome had been conquered in 800 years. by the mid 400s germanic leaders held high post in Rome's government and army. A germanic leader name Odacer overthrew the western empire. A 14 year old boy name Romulus Augustulus was the last emperor to rule Rome. Odacer controlled rome then the Visogoths killed him and Theodoric ruled. By 550 the Western empire had faded away. The eastern empire however prospered, it would last nearly 1000 years as the Byzantine empire.
What was Rome's Legacy?
Our world would be very different if Rome never existed. We like the early Romans believe that every b0dy is equal under law. And expect equal trials in court and that you're innocent until proven guilty. We also believe that a republic works best if citizens do their duty and participate in government. The latin alphabet influenced our alphabet. English words also come from latin. Every species of plants and animals has a latin name. Also our buildings structure is a lot like the Romans. Christianity was also developed in the Roman Empire which is one of the biggest religions in the world.