Sit in any seat
starting with a
seat with a white
paper!
Explain how Germanic invasions helped to break up
the Roman Empire and set the stage for the
development of feudal and manorial systems.
 Write down what this target means in your own words.
 At the end of class, you’ll need to score yourself on
your ability to answer this question after participating
in the simulation.
 HMK: Explain the simulation to your parents and
practice vocab for ten minutes. With your parents, set
a goal for your continued vocab practice.
First, let’s review the geography of
Rome at it’s height.
Rome Geography Review
 On how many continents
did the Romans have
territory?
 What body of water was
surrounded by Roman
territory?
 Historians have described
the shape of the Roman
empire as a donut, why do
you think that is?
 How would you defend an
empire of this size?
 How is the like the shape of
our classroom today?
You will be assigned one of four
roles.
 Roman – Control a powerful
army from the capital of Rome.
 Provincial – The people who
live in the Roman provinces
and need to supply Rome with
goods.
 Germanic Barbarians – People
from the Northern tribes that
lived outside of Rome past the
Rhine River.
 The Pope – Comfort and guides
those in needs. Can also
convert people to their religion.
Read your role
card and quickly
tear out your
tokens.
Round 1
 Any questions about the cards?
 Barbarians you won’t play in the first round – you should be
watching, planning your attack, looking for resources you want to
plunder.
 Romans – Only you may get up and move.
 You will each try to gain as many resources as you can.
 You will exchange troops to protect the provinces in return for
goods. (Each Army Card = 600 troops)
 Each Army Card is exchanged for 2 resources.
 Provinces must accept the trade.
 Pope – Feel free to get up and walk around and visit with your
followers to offer relief and suffering.
Round 1
 Keep in mind:




Each Roman wants a variety of goods.
Provinces want lots of troops to protect themselves from invasion.
Romans also want to protect themselves from invasion.
Romans need to give a tenth of their goods to the Catholic Church.
 You will now have 5 minutes to trade.
 Only Romans are allowed to move around the room.
 Failure to follow rules will result in a natural disaster hurting your
province or resources.
Round 1
 How did it feel being a Roman during this
activity?
 How did it feel to be a province during this
activity?
 How did it feel to be a barbarian?
 What did the provinces provide for the Romans
during this activity?
 What did the Romans provide for the provinces
during this activity?
 What role did Church provide to the Romans?
Round 2
 All Romans must give the Pope one trade good.
 Barbarian troops have been spotted heading towards the
Roman Empire.
 Now is your last chance to plea for help from the Romans for
protection.
 Romans have one more chance to trade with the provinces.
This time, the Romans are limited to sending 1 additional
troop to a province.
 Romans can be attacked as well, so don’t leave yourself
undefended.
Debrief Round 2
 What do you think the trade goods to the Pope
represents?
 The two Romans with the most trade tokens move to
Constantinople. You are safe from attack.
 What do you think this represents?
 Around this time Barbarians began invading the
weakening empire. Barbarians – only a few more
moments until you may attack.
 Prepare for Invasion!
Round 3
 Barbarians prepare to invade.
 Each Barbarian tribe can attack any province
or Roman. Only Barbarians can move.
 Whoever has the greatest military wins.
(Cards are equal to each other.)
 If it is a tie the Barbarian loses.
 Army tokens are used up during a battle are
thrown in the trash win or lose.
 If a Barbarian wins, then the person they
attack should sit on the floor and die
gracefully while the Barbarian gets their land
and resources.
 The Pope should try to comfort people as they
are die. They should also try to convert the
Barbarians and promise them salvation by
protecting the Church as well as their newly
won land.
Debriefing- As a group first,
then whole class
 How did the Romans profit from their empire in the beginning?
 What do you think caused the barbarians to attack the Roman Empire?
 To each group: how did you feel as you watched the Romans lose
control of their empire?
 Why do you think it was so easy for the barbarians to take control of
different parts of the Roman Empire?
 What do you think the Rome’s leaders could have done to preserve their
empire?
 How might these Barbarian invasions impact the centralized government
of the Roman Empire?
 As the Germanic tribes settled into the western half of the Roman
Empire, what would the people still there worry about?
Thought question….
How will these
Germanic invasions
impact the politics of
medieval Europe?
Compare the Class Experience to the
Historical Reality
1. Kids who played Romans received tokens from the provinces
just like….
2. The kids in the provinces got army/cohort cards in exchange
for their trade goods just like….
3. The student playing the Pope received a % the Roman wealth
just like…
4. The Roman students who had the most wealth moved to
Constantinople and survived the invasion….
5. Kids who played barbarians defeated most of the Roman
and provincial students just like…....
Compare the Class Experience to the
Historical Reality
1. The students in what was the capital city of Rome in the
west almost all died….
2. There was no centralized leader in our classroom just like….
3. The student playing the Pope had the most wealth left at the
end just like…
4. The students still alive at the end were scared about another
round of attacks…..
Life After the Fall of Rome
Germanic Barbarians destroyed the city
life and centralized government of the
Roman Empire.
Trade Declined – resources vandalized
and no army to protect their provinces
Cities, Colloseum, bridges, and roads fell
into disorder and disuse
Law and order vanished
Life After the Fall of Rome
Education almost completely disappeared
Money was no longer used
Most people would never leave the manor
or village they were born in for fear of
attack.
This period was so bad, it became known
as the Dark Ages (Early Middle Ages)
A short review video of the
Fall of Rome…
 http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-fallof-rome.html#lesson
So after the Germanic
invasions, in Europe…
 The Roman Empire and its centralized government
disappeared.
 Tribal/Germanic kings still fought for power
 Europeans had no government protection
 Europeans had no where to live because cities were
destroyed.
 Europeans had few resources including little food
And feudalism develops.
 The kings give their trusted nobles land called “fiefs” in
return for their loyalty.
 The nobles set up castles and farms on land in the country
called manors.
 The nobles hired knights to live on their manor and protect
their farms, castles, and farmers. The knights could also be
sent to protect the king who had given them the land.
 The peasants agreed to farm the land and give at least a
third to the noble. In return, he gave them a place to live,
access to much need resources and protection from
attacking tribes.
Life on the Manor
Take a quiz to show what
you know…
Complete the quiz
independently or with one
partner. You will both get the
same grade if you work
together.
Rome
Vatican City
in the
Papal States
Constantinople
Province of Britain
Province of Thrace
Province of Africa
Province of Gaul
(modern France)
Province of Egypt
Province of Greece
Province of Asia
Minor
Province of Syria
Province of Raetia
Province of
Illyricum
Province of
Mauretania
Province of Spain
Huns
(Barbarian)
Visogoths
(Barbarian)
Ostogoths
(Barbarian)
Lombards
(Barbarian)
Angles
(Barbarian)
Franks
(Barbarian)
Vandals
(Barbarian)
Vandals
(Barbarian)