Ancient RomeThe Fall of

Rome

Roman Rap

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.

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?

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

POLITICALBeginning 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

MILITARYRoman 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

ECONOMICHostile 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

SOCIALFeelings 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)