The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire Why a Roman “Fall”
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Instability caused by no real plan of succession
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Generals fought for power
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In one 50­year period there were 26 rulers
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Trouble on the borders
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Morally bankrupt leadership
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High cost to maintain Army led to high taxes
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Farmers left land and the middle classes fell into poverty
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Moral decay of culture
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Loss of faith in Rome
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Values such as patriotism, discipline, and devotion to duty declined Attempts at Reform
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Diocletian
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Divided the empire into Eastern and Western regions so it would be easier to govern
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Fixed the prices of goods and services so people could afford them Attempts at Reform
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Constantine
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Religious toleration of the Christians
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Built a new capital at Constantinople
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Diocletian and Constantine slowed decline but could not stop it. Other hypotheses for the collapse
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Lack of innovation. Best indicator, the total lack of interest in geography.
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Slavery. The attitude that any services could be bought, and therefore Romans need not bother with practical matters.
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Religious cultism and mysticism
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Lead poisoning? (not from lead pipe but from lead­based ceramic glazes) The Barbarians at the Gates
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Pressure from Germanic tribes looking for safety
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Huns pressured the Visogoths­410­ ran into the empire
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Vandals­ 455­ sacked Rome
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Series of invasions­ physical damage, but also intellectual
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The East survives­ becomes Byzantium­ keeps the learning from the ancient world Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
, 1782
Edward Gibbon suggested four reasons for fall of Rome:
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“Immoderate greatness”­­growth of bureaucracy and military
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Wealth and luxury

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Barbarian invasions (cause or symptom?)
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Spread of Christianity Gibbon's errors
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Too rosy a view of 2nd century A.D. conditions
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Pushed notion of "decline" too far
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Cultural biases (against Byzantines and monasticism)
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Despite his errors, Gibbon's work has endured as few works of history have An Alternate View of the Fall of Rome
● Americans often idealize ancient Rome
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We are impressed by its monuments.
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It's the first ancient state that looks like a modern nation­state on the scale of the U.S.
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Latin was used as the intellectual language of Europe until recent times
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Many "religious" films about the life of Christ are actually films about Rome with a pious veneer. Reality Check Rome was a stagnant, corrupt, brutal and petty society Two suggested antidotes to the romantic view of Rome: o
Robert Graves'
I, Claudius o
H.G. Wells
Outline of History Not once did the local populace ever rise up to oppose the barbarian invaders. Legacy of Rome
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Republic Government
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Roman Law
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Latin Language
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Roman Catholic Church
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City Planning
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Romanesque Architectural Style
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Roman Engineering
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Aqueducts
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Sewage systems
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Dams
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Cement
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Arch The Byzantine Empire ­ Rome Has Fallen! Umm…. Not quite. Sure, Rome is sacked by the Vandals. But only the Western Empire crumbles! The Eastern Empire exists for 1,000 more years.

Capital is Constantinople Called the Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire (340­1453) The eastern half of the Roman Empire o
Consisted of southern Europe, Anatolia, Palestine, and Egypt o
Capital at Constantinople since 340 CE Named after “Byzantium” o
The old name of Constantinople o
To distinguish from the Western Roman Empire Emperor Justinian Comes from poor family. Fabulous emperor. He retakes some Roman provinces. Is a good manager. Builds the Hagia Sophia. Justinian’s