Chapter 6
Section 4
Vocab
Inflation
 Mercenary
 Diocletian
 Constantinople
 Attila

A Century of Crisis

Rome’s Economy Weakens (3rd century AD)
 Outlying tribes and pirates disrupt trade
 Failure to continue expansion left Rome
needing new source of gold and silver
○ Minted more money with same amount of
silver, led to inflation.
 Food shortages due to over worked and
destroyed farm land
A Century of Crisis

Military and Political Turmoil
 Over time the Roman government resorted
to recruiting mercenaries, to defend the
empire
○ Made less than a Roman soldier, had little
loyalty to the empire
 Citizens of Rome lost their loyalty
○ At one time would give their lives for the
republic, now are indifferent to the empire’s
fate….
Emperors Attempt Reform

Diocletian reforms:
 Becomes Emperor in 284 AD
 Strong ruler; limited personal freedoms and
restored order to empire
 Doubled size of Roman army; controlled
inflation with fixed prices on goods
 Claimed to be a direct descendent of the
Gods
Emperors Attempt Reform

Diocletian Reforms:
 Split the Empire in two
○ Realizes the empire has become too large
○ Splits into the Greek and Latin speaking
empires
○ Greek: Eastern(Greece, Anatolia, Syria,Egypt)
○ Latin: Western (Italy, Gaul, Britain, Spain)
○ Diocletian controls the East, much wealthier
than the West
○ Diocletian retires in 305 AD.
Emperors Attempt Reform

Constantine Moves the Capital:
 Constantine gains control of the Western
Empire in 312 AD
 324 he gains control of the Eastern Empire
as well, restoring single rule to the empire
 330 he moves Rome’s capital to the Greek
city of Byzantium
 Sits on the Bosporus Strait, trade and
defensive purposes
Emperors Attempt Reform

Constantine Moves the Capital
 Center of power in the empire shifted
 New capital was surrounded with high walls
 Took new name Constantinople
The Western Empire Crumbles

Germanic Invasions
 Germanic tribes have lived on Rome’s
northern border in relative peace since the
time of Julius Caesar
 370 AD Germanic tribes are pushing further
and further into Gaul…..why????
Western Empire Crumbles

Germanic Tribes
 Group of Mongol nomads, the Huns, from
central Asia came into the area and were
destroying everything in their paths
 Germanic tribes moved into Rome to get
away from the Huns
Western Empire Crumbles

Attila the Hun:
 444 AD Attlia, unites the Huns and launches
an assault on Rome
 He attacked both the Eastern and Western
Empires, in the East he destroyed nearly 70
cities
 Unable to conquer Rome itself due to famine
and disease, Rome’s troubles did not end
with his death in 453 AD
Western Empire Crumbles

An Empire No More:
 Rome’s last emperor was Romulus
Augustus (14 yrs old)
 476 he was defeated by the Germanic
tribes.
 No other emperor would rule the Western
Empire
 However; the Eastern half which became
known as the Byzantine Empire flourished
for more than a 1,000 yrs after the fall of the
west.