CH 6: Rome – Section 4, “The Decline of the Roman Empire” Textbook, p. 158; Packet p. 12 1....

CH 6: Rome – Section 4, “The Decline of the Roman Empire” Textbook, p. 158; Packet p. 12

1. What were the causes of each condition that led to the decline of the Roman Empire?

a. Disruption of trade Raids from hostile tribes / pirates on the Mediterranean.

CONDITION CAUSE

Rome’s over-dependence on foreign grain was no secret – even to Rome’s enemies.

“Choking off” that supply /Disrupting that trade…

…had devastating consequences.

PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.

From what foreign territories was Rome getting it’s grain

from?




CONDITION CAUSE

Rome’s over-dependence on foreign grain was no secret – even to Rome’s enemies. “Choking off” that supply had devastating consequences.

Today, is there a resource that the United States is over-dependent on that comes mainly from foreign sources?

What is that resource?


According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2003, the United States consumed 19.656 million barrels of petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) per day, or about one-quarter of total world oil production. More than half (62%) was imported oil.

As sources of domestic oil supplies disappear, the nation's increasing reliance on imported oil makes the United States vulnerable to oil supply disruptions, and threatens America's economic and energy security.

U.S. Military and Oil U.S. dependence on the oil supplies and production facilities concentrated in the Persian Gulf make defense of this area a high priority for the U.S. military. There is no doubt that a portion of the U.S. military budget is used in large part to protect our access to Persian Gulf oil.

~ U.S. Department of EnergyU.S. forces aim a howitzer at Iraqi forces during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/national_energy_security.html#imports




CONDITION CAUSE


b. Gold & Silver drain Frequent wars cost millions. Lavish spending by the rich on foreign-made luxury items meant silver & gold was being spent outside of Rome…not in Rome.

What comparisons can be made here to the United States?

What costly wars has the United States engaged in recently?

What types of items do Americans purchase that are produced mainly in foreign countries?

http://www.costofwar.com/




CONDITION CAUSE


b. Gold & Silver drain Frequent wars cost millions. Lavish spending by the rich on foreign-made luxury items meant silver & gold was being spent outside of Rome…not in Rome.THINK

ABOUT IT

PPI | Trade Fact of the Week | January 14, 2004

The U.S. Trade Imbalance Has Grown From $100 Billion to $500 Billion Since 1997

Likely U.S. Exports, 2004: $1.0 trillion Likely U.S. Imports, 2004: $1.5 trillion

TRADE IMBALANCES were a Problem in Rome Too!The first writer to complain about trade deficits seems to have been Pliny the Elder in 75 A.D. Gloomily cataloguing luxury imports -- Persian perfumery, Chinese silks, Indian diamonds, Arabian incense and pearls -- he blamed Roman women for costing the Empire 100 million sesterces a year. Pliny, apparently a bit of a kill-joy, considered silk immoral -- "we seek this material from the end of the earth, so Roman ladies can show off their see-through clothes in public" -- and called perfume "the most pointless of all luxuries."




CONDITION CAUSE



c. Inflation To pay off debt, the gov’t. raised taxes and coined more money but with less silver content. This “devalued”

currency led to a rise in prices, or inflation.

Budget office projects U.S. deficit to hit $477 billionWASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal deficit will hit a record $477 billion this year and get worse if lawmakers cut taxes or increase spending, the Congressional Budget Office projected Monday in a report sure to become ammunition

in the election-year fight over red ink….




CONDITION CAUSE



c. Inflation To pay off debt, the gov’t. raised taxes and coined more money but with less silver content. This “devalued”

currency led to a rise in prices, or inflation.

d. Decline of loyalty and discipline in the military.

The large Roman empire struggled for sufficient troops for it’s thinned and spread out military. Rome began to

recruit mercenaries – soldiers for hire – who had little loyalty to Rome. There was frequent fighting among military commanders for the throne of Rome.



CONDITION CAUSE



The large Roman empire struggled for sufficient troops for it’s thinned and spread out military. Rome began to recruit mercenaries – soldiers for hire – who had little loyalty to Rome. There was frequent fighting among military commanders for the throne of Rome.

THINKABOUT

IT

Do you find any similarities here to the present Pax Americana?

“U.S. forces proved quite sufficient to conquer Afghanistan and Iraq, but may be too small to keep the peace once the tyrants are gone… Deep inside the Pentagon, where young colonels arrive before dawn to revise once more the short list of available combat units ready to deploy overseas, a nightmare scenario hangs in the air, unmentioned but unmistakable. With 140,000 U.S. troops tied down stabilizing Iraq, 34,000 in Kuwait, 10,000 in Afghanistan and 5,000 in the Balkans, what good options would George W. Bush have if, say sometime next spring, North Korea's Kim Jong Il decided to test the resilience of the relatively small " trip-wire" force of 37,000 American troops in South Korea? Where would the Pentagon turn if it had to rush? The answer may be the draft…

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,1101030901,00.html



CONDITION CAUSE



The large Roman empire struggled for sufficient troops for it’s thinned and spread out military. Rome began to recruit mercenaries – soldiers for hire – who had little loyalty to Rome. There was frequent fighting among military commanders for the throne of Rome.

e. Citizen indifference and loss of patriotism.

Corruption and scandals in Rome, the weak economy, crumbling infrastructure, military and social conditions, all contributed to cynicism and apathy among Romans.

U.S. Voter Turnout

“Panem et circenses”- the Roman poet Juvenal

As things grew worse in the Empire, the Roman citizens were fed their regular “bread and circuses”

- kept “pacified” or “placated” with entertainment and the dole (welfare) In this way it was hoped they were less likely to think about or discuss

the serious problems facing the empire.



2. What steps did Diocletian take to restore order and reform the empire?


Doubled the size of the army, fixed prices, ordered farmers to stay on their lands, claimed he descended from the gods (to restore respect to his office),

And he divided the Empire into two parts:In the West the capital would remain Rome.In the East the capital would be Byzantium.

Diocletian284-305 A.D.

Read “History Makers,” Text p. 159


3. What did Constantine do to reform the empire?


Extended the reforms of Diocletian but restored the concept of One ruler and moves the capital to Byzantium – renaming the city Constantinople.

Constantine“First Christian

Emperor of Rome”284-337 A.D.

Read “History Makers,” Text p. 159

The Arch of Constantine in Rome Italy today.

Which two tribes actually

made it to Rome?


3. What caused the final collapse of the western Roman Empire?


The Germanic tribes (Visigoths) and the Huns invaded. As things grew worse in the West, the wealthier Eastern half broke away and became the new Byzantine Empire.

B. Identify:

Attila – leader of the Huns, an Asiatic tribe.Alaric – leader of the VisigothsOdovacer – German general who overthrew the last Roman emperorRomulus Augustulus – the last Roman emperor, 14 years old.

"The western Empire of the Roman people, which first began with Octavian Augustus, the first of the emperors, perished with this

Augustulus.... From this point on Gothic kings held power in Rome.“ ~ Count Marcellinus, 5th c. A.D.

The FALL of the Western Roman Empire – 476 A.D.


CH 6: Rome – Section 4, “The Decline of the Roman Empire” Textbook, p. 158; Packet p. 12 1....

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