Roman Empire
The Decline
Following a series of civil wars, a military
government under Severan rulers
restored order.
 Septimius Severan told his sons “to pay
the soldiers, and ignore everyone else,”
this set the tone for the new dynasty.
 For the next 50 years the Roman throne
was occupied by whoever had military
strength to seize control.
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Invasions
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At the same time, the empire was
troubled by a series of invasions.
 In the east the Persians made inroads into
Roman territory.
Germanic tribes poured into the
Balkans, Gaul and Spain
 Invasions, civil wars, and plague almost
caused an economic collapse in the 3rd
century.

Economy
decline in trade and small industry.
 Farm production declined as crops were
ravaged by invaders.
 Armies needed more than ever, but financial
strains made it difficult for men to enlist and
pay more soldiers
 By mid 3rd century the state had to hire
Germans to fight.

 What problems might this present?
New Life
At the beginning of the 4th century, the
Roman Empire gained a new lease on life
through the efforts of Diocletian and
Constantine.
 The empire changed into a new state

 new governmental structure
 rigid economic and social system
 new state religion.

Believing that the empire had grown too
large for a single ruler, Diocletian divided it
into four units each with its own ruler
Constantine
Ruled from 306-307 AD
 Expanded policies of Diocletian
 Built new capital city in east:
Constantinople

 Became center of eastern Roman world
 One of greatest cities in world
Problems and Solutions?

Diocletian’s and Constantine’s political
and military reforms enlarged two
institutions-- the army and civil service
 drained public funds
 population was not growing so the tax base
could not be increased to pay for the army
and bureaucracy
Leads to more problems…
To ensure the tax base and keep the
empire going despite the labor shortage,
the emperors issued edicts forcing
workers to remain in their vocations.
Hence jobs such as bakers and shippers
became hereditary. Large landowner
took advantage of depressed
agricultural to enlarge their estates
 Temporarily successful

The Fall
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The Huns who come from Asia moved into
eastern Europe and put pressure on the
Germanic Visigoths.
The Visigoths in turn, moved south and
west, crossed the Danube River into
Roman territory, and settled down as
Roman allies.
In 410 A.D the Visigoths sacked Rome.
Another group, the Vandals, poured into
southern Spain and Africa.
In 476 the western emperor, Romulus
Augustulus was deposed by the Germanic
head of the army.
Theories
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Many theories have been proposed to explain the
decline and fall of the Roman empire they include:
Christianity’s emphasis on spiritual kingdom
weakened Roman military virtues.
Traditional Roman values declined as non-Italians
gained prominence in the empire.
Lead poisoning through leaden water pipes and
cups caused a mental decline in the population.
Plague wiped out one-tenth of the population.
Rome failed to advance technologically due to
slavery.
Rome could not create a workable political
system.