The Roman Empire – Leadership and Decline
Leadership For A Strengthened Identity
Most people fail to appreciate how a common leader is often the face of the society and a symbol
for it. When people elect a leader they are proud of, or they are placed under the care of a leader
who does a good job, there is a sense of pride and identification with the individual that also ties
the society together. An effective leader is one that people of the society are happy to call their
own, and in turn, the leader ends up bringing the society together and giving them a common,
positive identity that the people are all happy to have. Societies are often remembered by their
remarkable leaders and not the people, and it is a unique social phenomenon that one man or
woman can not only shape the future of several people but can also make them feel closer to one
another and strengthen their bonds with each other and with a common identity by virtue of being
an effective leader.
Rome was no different. In 500 years, Rome had 42 Emperors. Each leader left his mark on
Roman and in some cases world history.
Task I. – Investigating Leadership. Describe each Emperor below using information either
found on the full resource link listed below or through your own investigation of available on-line
databases or open source internet pages. Please use your paraphrase skills if you find any
valuable information from the internet. If you are using a resource that is different than the one I
provided, you must cite that resource using MLA formatting.
Here is the full resource link: http://findfunfacts.appspot.com/world_history/romanempire.html
Marius - The great Man of the Army Caesar - General, Politician, StatesmanAugustus - The first EmperorNero - The Madman of RomeTrajan - The kind-hearted SoldierConstantine the Great - Unifier of the divided EmpireJustinian - The last 'Great' Emperor-
Task II. – Leadership Game
Now it is your turn! Click on this link to start your adventure as the leader of the
Roman Empire.
You should have the opportunity to be each of the three emperors provided.
Augustus
–
Claudius
-
Nero
A. In a short response, please describe each of the leaders and the impact they
had on Roman society.
B. Describe one of the scenarios you face when you had to make a difficult
choice. What were your options and explain why you chose the path you
chose.
Task III. – Fall of Rome
To prepare for tomorrows discussion, please list the eight major causations for the
fall of the Roman Empire using the resource link below.
Link - http://findfunfacts.appspot.com/world_history/romanempire.html