Warmup
• Why were Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus,
and Julius Caesar all killed?
The Roman Empire
Augustus Caesar
• Not officially emperor
– Consul – highest patrician office
– Tribune – Highest plebian office
– Imperator – Temporary military dictator
– Princeps civitatis – first citizen
• Senate powerless
• Army loyal to Augustus, not to Rome
Roman Empire, 31 BCE
Pax Romana
• War with Germanic tribes along border
• Army became defensive
• Rome = largest world city
– 500,000-750,000 people
– Citizens entertained to keep rebellions in check
• Trade between China and Rome
Diocletian’s Reforms
• 293 CE
• “Third Century Crisis”
– Civil Wars
– Skirmishes with German tribes
• Diocletian divided the empire in two and created
the tetrarchy
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–
–
–
Western and Eastern Empire
Price fixing
Occupation fixing
Persecution of Christians to regain favor of the gods
RIP
476 CE
RIP
1453 CE
Constantine
• 321 Constantine converts to Christianity
– Battle of the Milvian Bridge
– “In this sign conquer”
• Turns Byzantium into Constantinople
– Moves emperor’s palace there
– Trade capital of Rome
• 380 CE: Theodosius makes Christianity the
official religion of the Roman Empire
Contrast the Two Regions
Western Empire
• Civil wars common
• More pressure from
barbarians
• Latin Based
• Catholic church
Eastern Empire
• Older tradition, older
civilizations
• Greek based
• Eastern church
• More trade
• Wealthier
• More skilled bureaucracy
Rome 321 BCE
The End of the West
• 400 CE: Huns invade
– Drive Germans into Roman Empire
– Man soldiers were already Germanic anyways
• 410 CE: Rome sacked (again)
– By the Visigoths
– Population of Rome now below 200,000
• 476 CE: Last western emperor sent out of
Rome (Romulus Augustulus)
Extra Credit
• Find the tomb of Alaric the Visigoth
• 100 for a daily grade
• Try to do it in the next few weeks so I can put
in in on your 2nd 6 weeks average
Wait…
• So did the Huns destroy classical civilization?
– Attila and his Huns drive out the German tribes
which destroy the western Roman Empire
– The White Huns pressure the Gupta Empire until
it collapses after defeating them
– The Han Chinese are financially ruied by the
Xiongnu, who many historians believe are a group
of
– wait for it…
– The Huns
Why the End of the West?
1. Barbarian invasions
2. Unclear succession of emperors
3. Declining Roman identity
Also maybe…
1. Lead pipes?
2. Christianity?
CCOT Tomorrow!
What the I don’t even…
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Thesis
Changes
Continuities
Outside influence
Analysis
Restate thesis
Fake CCOT
Analyze changes and continuities in the Greek
Empire from 800 BCE to 100 BCE.
Thesis
From 800 BCE to 100 BCE, the Greek civilization
experienced many changes and continuities.
Changes included the organization of political
power and the balance of power on the Greek
peninsula. Continuities included the spread of
Hellenism and military expansion.
Listing and Explaining
• 1 point for listing changes
• 1 point for listing continuities
• 1 point for explaining changes (1-2 sentences
each)
• 1 point for explaining changes (1-2 sentences
each)
Outside Influence
During this era, the Persians attacked from
Central Asia. This attack united Greeks in the
short term, but drove a wedge between the citystates of Athens and Sparta in the long term.
The defeat of the Persians, such as at Marathon,
led to the rise of Athens as a naval power and
the trade that came with dominating the
Aegean Sea.
Analyze
“_______ happened because _________”
The buildup of political unity in Greece was a long
process. The formation of the polis was because of the
population buildup from earlier agricultural
developments. City-states formed temporary alliances,
for example during the Greco-Persian war, in order to
defeat common enemies. The entire region of Greece
was forced to take sides in the Peloponnesian War
between Athens, as exemplified by the Melians, who
were forced to choose. Finally, Philip of Macedon
conquered and united Greece under one government,
and this led to his son, Alexander, spreading Greek
government and culture throughout the Middle East and
Central Asia.