The Fall of the Roman Empire

End of the Pax Romana

• Marcus Aurelius was the last of the five good emperors and died in A.D. 180. A period of conflict followed.

Military Conflicts

• Starting in A.D. 235 whoever had military strength ruled Rome (22 emperors in 50 years!!!)

• Rome was invaded by many German tribes• The Empire didn’t have enough money to pay

for a defending military• The state had to hire soldiers from outside the

Empire who had little loyalty to the empire

Economic Conflicts

• Decline in trade and small industry• Labor shortage created by plague (fast

spreading, deadly disease)• Decline in farm production• Roman money began to lose its value

(inflation)

The Late Roman Empire

• Believing the empire had become too large, emperor Diocletian divided it into four units, each with its own ruler.

• Diocletian issued a price and wage freeze to combat the poor economic climate in which Roman money was becoming worthless (inflation)

• Constantine began his reign in A.D. 306• He constructed a new capital city in the East

called Constantinople (modern day Istanbul in Turkey) for defense and trade.

• Rome now had two capitols, one in the East (Constantinople) and one in the West (Rome)

The Fall

• A series of military defeats against Germanic Tribes (Huns, Visigoths, Vandals)

• These tribes took control of regions that were previously part of the Roman Empire

• The Eastern part of the Empire, Byzantine continued to prosper

Works Cited

• Usu.edu• Nndb.com• Rome.mrdonn.org