The Fall of the Roman Empire:
The Rise of Christianity, Feudalism & Modern Europe
Do-Now
Use Comic Reader p.23-24
Honors- Describe the Roman Republic.
Mr. Barchetto
Notes #3
Fall of Roman Empire (West)

3 Reasons Why the
West Fell!
◦ Internal Problems
◦ Division of Empire
◦ Outside Invaders
The Fall of Rome:
Internal problems
4 Contributing Factors:
◦ Political
 Political office became a
burden, not a reward.
Government becomes corrupt.
◦ Social
 Decline in interest in public
affairs, led to low confidence in
empire. Large contrast b/t rich
and poor.
◦ Economic
 Poor harvest, led to disruption
of trade. Inflation and
crushing tax burdens.
◦ Military
 Military was growing
smaller due to less and less
volunteers, patriotism and
loyalty among soldiers declined.
The Fall of Rome:
The Empire is Split

Two Roman emperors made decisions
which would forever change the empire.
◦ Diocletian- Believed empire had
grown too large for one ruler, so
he divided the empire in half.
◦ Constantine- took control of the
west in 312 A.D. and decided to
move the capital city Rome to the
city of Byzantium
(Constantinople), this would have
great consequence for the empire.
The Fall of Rome:
Outside Invaders

Since the days of Julius Caesar Germanic
people from the north coexisted in
relative peace with Rome. This all
changed around 370 A.D.

Fierce group of Mongol nomads
from Central Asia (led by Attila the Hun),
known as the Huns, moved into the
area destroying everything its path.

This caused the Germanic people to
flee south away from the advancing
Huns.
Fall of Roman Empire (West)
Eastern Roman Empire:
The Byzantine Empire

476 A.D. the Western portion of the Roman Empire Fell, however the east survived for another
1000 years and became known as the Byzantine Empire. (see above picture)

Byzantine Empire- preserved the great heritage of Greek and Roman culture and expanded their
influence across the Mediterranean Sea, and ruled from the city Constantinople. (see above right
picture)
Between Ancient & Modern
“European Perspective”

Historians mark the fall of Rome as the end of ancient history. The next
one thousand years were called the Middle Ages. The Latin term for Middle
Ages is "medieval.“

The beginning of the Middle Ages is often called the "Dark Ages" because
the great civilizations of Greece and Rome had fallen.

Life in Europe during the Middle Ages was very hard.
◦ Very few people could read or write and nobody expected conditions to
improve.
◦ The only hope for most people during the Middle Ages was their strong belief in
Christianity, and the hope that life in heaven would be better than life on earth.
Global Perspective:
“The world after the fall of the Roman Empire”

The Dark Ages:
◦ Were anything but dark in other parts of
the world
◦ Civilization flourished in sub-Saharan
Africa, China, India, the Middle East and
the Americas.