Roman Rap
Ancient Rome
The Fall of
Rome
Date: 1/20/2012
Daily Question: What caused the fall
of the Roman Empire?
Warm-up Question: Read the “rap” to
the right and answer – what DO YOU
THINK the author of the rap saying
about the Roman Empire?
This is the Roman empire
Hannibal running around setting cities on fire.
Augustus be fighting so hard trying to get his power higher.
He was doing his thing since the start of Pax Romana.
Yeah, get it, we're talkin' bout the Senate.
The branch of government that was here from the beginning.
Be patient, here comes inflation. Engineers are building the city with no
hesitation.
First came the gospel and then the gladiator
Peace maker followed from a dictator
Then Constantine came later
Civil war's about to start Patricians are coming through
Plebians need to group to get their special needs they form assemblies
begging for more money and telling the senate please
Democracy controls the roman empire.
What caused the fall
of the Roman Empire?
• In the third century C.E., Rome faced many problems. In addition to
internal decay (fall apart), the invasion by the German tribes seemed to
sound the death for the Roman Empire. Historians have examined both
the internal conditions that weakened the expansive empire and the
external force of the barbarian invasions and have presented a variety of
explanations for the fall of the Roman Empire.
What caused the fall
of the Roman Empire?
• Assignment:
• We are going to look at, break down and analyze documents (primary
and secondary sources) to answer the question:
• What caused the fall of the Roman Empire?
• We will use the evidence we collect to write a final essay for this unit
on Ancient Rome.
Document 1
• The basic trouble was that very few inhabitants of the empire
believed that the old civilization was worth saving…the
overwhelming majority of the population had been systematically
excluded from political responsibilities. They could not organize
to protect themselves; they could not serve in the army…Their
economic plight was hopeless. Most of them were serfs bound to
the soil, and the small urban group saw their cities slipping into
uninterrupted decline.
• This excerpt is from a textbook, The Course of Civilization by Strayer,
Gatzke & Harbison (1961)
• 1. What were the basic problems facing the Roman Empire
according to the authors?
Document 2
• The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of
immoderate greatness (large size)…The introduction…of
Christianity, had some influence on the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire. The clergy successfully preached the doctrine
(principal) of patience; the active virtues of society were
discouraged; and the last remains of military spirit were buried in
the cloister (sacred religious place); a large portion of public &
private wealth was consecrated (set apart) to the…demands of
charity and devotion…
• This excerpt is from The Decline of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
• 2. According to the excerpt from Gibbon, what were the two
causes for the fall of Rome? Explain both.
Document 3
• First the economic factor…While the empire was expanding, it’s
prosperity (wealth) was fed by plundered (stolen) wealth and by new
markets in the semi-barbaric (savage) provinces. When the empire
ceased to (stopped) expand, however, economic progress soon ceased
(stopped)…The abundance (large quantity) of slaves led to growth of
the latifundia, the great estates that…came to dominate (rule) agriculture
and ruin the free coloni (farmers) who drifted to the cities, to add to the
unemployment there. The abundance of slaves kept wages low.
• This excerpt is from Uses of the Past by Herbert J. Muller
• 3a. What economic issues does Muller identify as causes for decline?
Explain.
• 3b. How was slavery a cause for the decline of the Roman Empire?
Document 4
• …Part of the money went into…the maintenance of the army
and the vast bureaucracy required by a centralized
government…the expense led to strangling taxation…The heart
was taken out of enterprising men…tenants fled from their farms
and businessmen and workmen from their occupations (jobs).
Private enterprise (business) was crushed & the state was forced to
take over many kinds of businesses to keep the machine running.
People learned to expect something for nothing. The old Roman
virtues of self-reliance & initiative were lost in that part of the
population on relief (welfare)…The central government
undertook such far-reaching responsibility in affairs that the fiber
of the citizens weakened.
•
This excerpt is from The New deal in Old Rome by Henry Haskell, blames the
decline on the heavy taxation required to support the government expenses.
• 4a. Why did the Roman government have large expenses?
• 4b. What was the effect of high taxation on the people?
• 4c. What effect did the establishment of a government welfare
system have on the people?
Document 5
• Rome, like all great empires, was not
overthrown by external enemies but
undermined by internal decay…The
military crisis was the result of…proud old
aristocracy’s…shortage of children.
(Consequently) foreigners poured into
the…Roman army [and the army was]
composed [mostly] of Germans.
• This excerpt is from Roman without Laurels by
Indro Montanelli, blames the fall on “internal
decay,” specifically that of the military..
• 5. What does this author identify as the
cause of problems in the military?
Document 6
• This map shows the barbarian
invasions of the Roman Empire
prior to 476 C.E.
• 6a. According to the map
above, what was the cause of
the fall of the Roman Empire?
• 6b. Was this a unified attack?
What caused the fall
of the Roman Empire?
• Political?
• Religious?
• Intellectual/technological?
• Military?
• Economic?
• Social?
PROBLEMS WITHIN THE
EMPIRE
POLITICAL
Beginning about the year 200, the orderly succession to the
throne that had characterized the empire throughout its history
ended. Rival factions of the army fought civil wars and installed
their own candidates as emperor. During one fifty-year period,
twenty-six different emperors ruled from Rome. Of this number,
twenty-five were murdered. Such instability in government
weakened Rome and made it vulnerable to attacks from Germanic
Tribes in the North
PROBLEMS WITHIN THE
EMPIRE
MILITARY
Roman soldiers became less disciplined and loyal. They gave
their allegiance not to Rome but to their commanders, who
fought among themselves for the throne. To defend against the
increasing threats to the empire, the government began to recruit
mercenaries, foreign soldiers who fought for money. While
mercenaries would accept lower pay than Romans, they felt little
sense of loyalty to the empire.
PROBLEMS WITHIN THE
EMPIRE
ECONOMIC
Hostile Germanic tribes outside the boundaries of the empire and pirates on the
Mediterranean Sea disrupted trade.
Having reached their limit of expansion, the Romans lacked new sources of gold
and silver. Desperate for revenue, the government raised taxes.
As a result of a drain of gold and silver, the government also started minting coins
that contained less and less silver. It hoped to create more money with the same
amount of precious metal. However, the economy soon suffered from inflation, a
drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices.
Agriculture faced equally serious problems. Harvests in Italy and western Europe
became increasingly meager because overworked soil had lost its fertility. Years
of war had also destroyed much farmland. Eventually, serious food shortages
and disease spread, and the population declined.
PROBLEMS WITHIN THE
EMPIRE
SOCIAL
Feelings of loyalty eventually weakened among average
citizens as well. In the past, Romans cared so deeply about their
republic that they willingly sacrificed their lives for it.
Conditions in the later centuries of the empire caused citizens to
lose their sense of patriotism. They became indifferent to the
empire’s fate.
Assessment
• Write a 1-2 page in-class essay that answers ONE of these questions
using evidence from what we have been talking about in class.
• What caused the fall of the Roman Empire?
•
•
•
•
Paragraph #1 – Introduction
Paragraph #2 – Explain a first possible cause
Paragraph #3 – Explain a second possible cause
Paragraph #4 - Conclusion
OR
• What are the major accomplishments of the Greek and Roman Empires that
make them important civilizations to study? What inventions of the Greek
and Roman Empires influenced the way we live TODAY?
• Paragraph #1 – Introduction
• Paragraph #1 – Explain the major accomplishments (at least 2) of the Greek Empire
• Paragraph #2 – Explain the major accomplishments (at least 2) of the Roman
Empire
• Paragraph #3 - Conclusion
Assessment
• “The world would not be what it is today without the accomplishments
of the Greek and Roman Empires.”
• AGREE OR DISAGREE? WHY?
• 1 page
• Open-notebook (you can use any notes we’ve taken)
• Thesis – The world would not be what it is today without the accomplishments of
the Greek and Roman Empires.
• Body Paragraph #1 – Accomplishments of the Greek Empire that make the world
the way it is now.
• (at least 10 sentences)
• Body Paragraph #2 – Accomplishments of the Roman Empire that make the
world the way it is now.
• (at least 10 sentences)
• Conclusion – Based on my analysis of the Greek and Roman Empires, the
accomplishments of the [
Empire] were of the greatest use to the world
today.
• (Choose which you think contributed more to fill in the blank)