2 Main Points: 1) Foreign invasions and political/social/economic problems led to the collapse of the western 1/2 of the Roman Empire.

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2 2 Main Points: 1) Foreign invasions and political/social/economic problems led to the collapse of the western 1/2 of the Roman Empire. 2) As the Western Roman Empire began to fall apart, the Christian religion and Church, which was rapidly gaining strength and influence, replaced many of the Roman Empire s functions.

3 A. Pax Roman (200 year peace started with Caesar Augustus) ends with Marcus Aurielis in 180 CE

4 B. Political problems begin brewing by 200 CE 1. Roman Emperors replaced the Senate as leaders of the Roman empire 2. ambitious generals with loyal Roman legions won rebellions; then were later overthrown a. 26 emperors in 50 years, but only one died of natural causes 3. political order and efficiency was replaced by political violence and instability a. Roman armies fighting other roman legions way too frequently

5 C. Economic and Social Problems 1. business peoples and small farmers were forced to pay heavy taxes to pay for the government and Roman legions a. Rome now had to hire non-romans to help fight in their many battles 2. overworked Italian farmland became exhausted and produced less and less 3. beginning of serfdom

6 C. Economic and Social Problems 3. beginning of serfdom a. poor Romans were forced to seek protection from wealthy landowners b. the wealthy landowners allowed the poor farmers to work a small part of their land, if they worked all of it too c. though technically free, the serfs could not leave and serfdom was similar to slavery

7 D. The Emperor Diocletian 1. in divides the Roman Empire into an eastern and western Roman empire a. appoints a co-emperor for the west who was loyal to him b. keeps the wealthier and easier to govern eastern half c. surrounds the position of Emperor with elaborate rituals and exaltation

8 E. The Emperor Constantine 1. in 312 CE becomes Roman Emperor 2. does 2 things that drastically change western history a. (1) issues the which allows Christianity in the Roman Empire; guarantees success of Christianity

9 E. The Emperor Constantine 1. in 312 CE becomes Roman Emperor 2. does 2 things that drastically change western history b. (2) built a new capital city; i. by doing so, he shifted the capital and heart of the Roman Empire away from the city of Rome and east to the new city of Constantinople with the Greeks

10 F. Foreign Invasions 1. the Romans had always held the east of the river Rhine and north of the Danube River 2. Remember: the Roman armies have hired a huge number of mercenaries troops (mostly Germanic tribes) a. mercenary troops fight for a paycheck and not for an idealistic cause

11 F. Foreign Invasions 3. The reaction set off a major chain a. battles in eastern Asia send the Huns into contact and conflict with Germanic tribes (but not Romans) b. the Huns were very skilled horseriding warriors who could really fight i. the Huns wanted nothing but to conquer and plunder (complete opposites of Romans) ii. led by the infamous ; Scourge of God in 434 CE

12 F. Foreign Invasions 3. The Huns set off a major chain reaction c. by, the Huns entered eastern Europe and i. Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Lombards, Franks and others hope Rome will protect them from the Huns

13 VII. The Long Decline F. Foreign Invasions 5. Roman Defeat a. Romans lose to Visigoths

14 VII. The Long Decline F. Foreign Invasions 4. Rome cannot stop Germanic tribes from entering and first Britain, then France and Spain

15 VII. The Long Decline F. Foreign Invasions 5. Roman Defeat b. in the actual city of (Vae Victus - woe to the vanquished) c. and Carthage d. in...the fall of western Rome was complete P. 150

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17 Divided empire Corrupt officials Erosion of traditional values Heavy taxes Bread and Circuses Military Invasions First the Huns; then the Germans Population decline Self-serving upper-class (patricians) Unstable government full of violence Weakened Roman Legions Reliance on Mercenaries