The Economy

• One of the reasons why Rome fell was the economy.– Rome’s empire grew so vast that it pretty much

eliminated any opportunity to trade. They conquered and took over everyone with whom they traded.

• Expansion caused another problem– Romans lacked new sources of gold and silver, so

they began minting their own money

– The Romans hoped that the new system of money would work with the same amounts of metal They were wrong

• Suffered Inflation (drop of money’s value)

The Military

• Like the times before Julius Caesar, Roman soldiers lost their loyalty to the Empire and pretty much became mercenaries– Mercenary: Soldiers who fought for money

• Many wealthy Romans created their own armies and fought for the Roman throne.

Diocletian divides Rome

• In A.D., 284, Diocletian became the Emperor of Rome

• He noticed the problem with Rome It became to large for one person to rule over.

• Diocletian divided Rome into two halves– East: Greek speaking– West: Latin speaking

• Diocletian took control of the east and appointed a co-ruler in the west.

• Diocletian retired because of ill health in A.D. 305

• Civil war broke out almost immediately after.

• In A.D. 312, Constantine emerged out the Civil War as the ruler of the West*Same Constantine that ended the persecution of the

Christians

• He re-united east and west Rome in 324 became the single ruler of Rome.– In A.D. 330, Constantine moved the capital from

Rome to Byzantium

• With Byzantium as the new capital, the power shifted from the west to the east.

• Byzantium eventually took a new name– Constantinople: The City of Constantine

• Conflicts caused Rome to split again after Constantine’s death.

Germanic Invasions

• Since the times of Julius Caesar, Germanic tribes attempted to enter into Rome

• It wasn’t until A.D. 370 that it became a true problem.– The Romans called the invaders “Barbarians” which

meant non-Roman

• The Germanic people’s efforts became more intense because they were fleeing a brutal wave of destruction.– The Huns.– In A.D. 410, the waves of Barbarians was too

much for the Romans to handle.– The Barbarians purged through the Roman

Empire, destroying everything in their path

• The Huns also raided and plundered western Rome.

• The last Emperor of Rome was a 14 year old boy named Romulus Augustus

– He was killed by a raid of Barbarians in A.D. 476.

• Western Rome fell with the death of the last emperor, but the East evolved.– Constantinople and the rest of Eastern Rome grew into

the Byzantine Empire– This empire lasted until A.D. 1453

• Under the Roman Empire, hundreds of territories were fused into a single state.

• In the second century, Rome conquered and acquired Greece into their enormous empire.– A new culture

Greco-Roman culture

Greek + Hellenistic + Roman

Roman Arts

• Roman artists, philosophers, and writers did not copy the Greek artists, they took the Greeks’ style and created their own.

– Roman art was more realistic than the Greeks.

• Focused more on detail rather than beauty

GREECE

ROME

• Roman artists were particularly skilled at creating mosaics:– Mosaics were pictures or designs made by setting

small pieces of stone, glass, or tile into a surface

• Rome also borrowed much of their philosophy from the Greeks.

• Encouraged virtue, duty, and endurance in Roman thought.– The poet Virgil wrote the Aeneid which was an

epic

**Remember epics?– Similar to Greek epics told by Homer

• The Romans were one of the first cultures to document historical events.– Livy compiled a multivolume history from its origins to

9 B.C. Included myths like Romulus and Remus

– A more accurate and truthful history for Rome was documented by Tacitus

– Tacitus wrote about Roman cruelty.

Tacitus Livy

Rome’s Legacy• Rome’s legacy is still felt today

– Latin (the language of the Romans) remained the language of the west long after Rome fell

• The Greco-Roman Culture• The Catholic Church made Latin its official language

– Latin is in many of the words of the English language

• Roman architecture is mimicked and copied today:

– The arch

– The dome

– Concrete

• One of the most amazing Roman structures that is still used was the aqueduct.– Aqueducts were designed by Roman engineers to

bring water into cities and towns.– Also bridges

• The Romans were also one of the first cultures to have paved roads!

– The army built a huge network of roads out of stone, concrete, and sand.

– Some are actually still used today.

Roman Law

• Roman Law is probably Rome’s greatest contribution to the modern world.

• The U.S.A. and many other countries modeled their legal systems after the Romans

• Some of the most important principles:– All persons had the right to equal treatment under the law.– A person was considered innocent until proven guilty– Proof was up to the accuser NOT the accused– Any law that seemed unreasonable or unfair could be set

aside and taken to a higher court.