Rome (Day 6)

- Faced many problems in 300 AD that came from inside and outside the empire
- End of the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius
- Ended the Pax Romana
- Leaders that followed didn't know how to deal with the empire

- Tribes in Mediterranean Sea disputed trade
- Romans lacked new sources of gold and silver
- Gov raised taxes cause they needed money
- Made coins containing less silver
- Economy suffered from inflation
- Harvests in Italy/Western Europe lost its fertile soil due to being overworked
- Years of war destroyed farmland
- Food shortages and disease spread made population decline

- Roman soldiers were less disciplined and not loyal
- Gave allegiance to commanders instead of Rome
- Gov defended against threats with mercenaries
- Accepted little pay but were not loyal to empire
- Citizens became less loyal
- Stopped caring about the fate of the empire

- Survived intact for 200 more years because of good emperors and empires division into 2 parts
- 284 AD- Diocletian became emperor
- Limited personal freedoms
- Restored empire and increased strength
- Doubled the size of army
- Set fixed prices for goods to control inflation
- Claimed he descended from Roman Gods
- Divided empire east and west
- East spoke Greek, west spoke Latin
- Controlled eastern half and appointed co-ruler for west but kept overall control
- East more wealthy than west
- Retired in 305 AD due to bad health
- Cicil war broke out right after

- 311 AD- 4 rivals fought for power
- Constantine gained control of western empire in 312 AD
- 324 AD- Secured control of the east and was now single ruler
- Moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium (now Turkey)
- Center of power shifted to the east
- City took new name of Constantinople
- Constantine died and the empire divided again
- East survived, west fell

- Collapse took place over many years
- Collapse the result of internal problem, separation of western empire, and outside invasions
- 370 AD- Mongol nomads, the Huns moved into region and began destroying everything in sight
- Germanic people pushed into Roman lands
- Western Empire could not get an army together to stop them
- 410 AD- Germans overran Rome

- 444 AD- Huns united under powerful chieftain named Attila
- 100,000 soldiers terrorized all of the empire
- Armies attacked 70 cities
- Couldn't conquer the city because of famine
- Attila died and the Huns were no longer a threat
- Germanic invasions continued

- Emperor was 14 year old boy, Romulus Augustulus
- Ousted by German forced in 476 AD
- No more rulers or emperors after that
- No more Roman power in the western half
- Eastern half came to be called Byzantine Empire
- Preserved Greek and Roman heritage for another 1000 years
- Empire lasted until 1453 when it fell to Ottoman Turks

1. Inflation- A drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices
Mercenaries- Foreign soldiers who fought for money
Diocletian- Strong-willed army leader who became emperor of Rome in 284 AD
Constantinople- Byzantine's new name when it became the capital
Attila- Powerful chieftain who united the Huns in 444

3. The main causes of the empires decline were inflation, the growing population, loss of loyalty, and economy fall. There were many other reasons as well but those were the main reasons.

4. Diocletian succeeded in preserving the empire because he fixed many problems and he split the empire in half,  making it smaller and easier to control.

5. Germanic tribes began invading the empire because they were fleeing the Huns. They ran from them through the provinces of Gaul, Spain, and North Africa.