Fall Of Rome
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The Fall of Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages.
description
For use in Western Civ Class
Transcript of Fall Of Rome
The Fall of Rome and the beginning of the Middle
Ages.
The Greatness of the Roman Empire
Rome was the most powerful empire Europe had ever seen.
Roman Empire at its height 117 C.E.
The Contribution of Rome
Roman legal accomplishmentsRome had a republican democracy- sometimes
Had a senate where patricians (upper class) could represent people
Nobody is above the law, not the emperor, not the senate, not the people, not the police.Laws are written down and must be respected
Great RulersJulius Caesar – “et tu Brute?”Augustus Caesar – increased Caesar's empireDiocletian – Split the empire into two partsHadrian – Hadrian's wall in EnglandTrajen – The forum, rebuilt RomeMarcus Aurelius= last good emperor
Among others – of course there were some terrible ones too!
• Nero
Art/Architecture
Art/Architecture
Roman Arch
The Pantheon – first dome
The Coliseum
Its architecture was Hellenistic (meaning
“Greek inspired”)
TechnologyRoman Roads, Concrete
“All roads lead to Rome”
City planning
Technology:Aqueducts
Science
Ptolemy – hypothesized about the makeup of the universe.
Geocentric (earth centered universe)
(Will later be proven wrong)
Language
Latin (the language of Rome) evolves into the Romance Languages
French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese
Latin is still the official language of the Roman Catholic Church
Military MightSpread of the Pax Romana (Peace of Rome)
The empire is peaceful because if you mess with it, they kill you.
Decline of RomeLong period of decline
Example: at one point they had 22 emperors over a 50 year period, 20 died violently
Persians and Germans move into empireCivil war and plague hurt empireMoney Troubles
Trade /industry declined.Labor shortage due to diseaseFarm production declinedMoney became short and soldiers were scarce
• Had to hire Germanic soldiers = who had no loyalty to Rome and did not understand tradition
Overall decline in society, morals, education, businessRemember what we said about civilizations needs
Roman Coliseum
Gladiators
Decline in morals
Ever see the movie? Think about its central theme – decline of morals
A New ReligionRise of Christianity
Christianity spreads through Roman EmpirePreaches monotheistic (one god) religion grew because it was more appealing to the poor because it viewed everyone as equal
Romans paid little attention to Christianity at first then began to see it as a threat to society
Persecuted Christians Persecution strengthened Christianity forcing it to become more organized
Eventually, Romans give in“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”Constantine =first Christian Emperor of Rome
Archbishop / CardinalIn charge of an Archdiocese in big city
Bishop/DioceseIn each big town / small city
Priest/ParishIn each town / village
PopeIn charge of whole Church
Christian Church moves headquarters to Rome
Church very organized – hierarchical system
Fall of Rome
Rome was besieged by various tribes from modern day Germany and France.
Huns from Russia / central Asia invaded
eastern Europe and forced the German Visigoths into
Roman territory.
Fall of Rome
Eventually Visigoths destroyed Rome and took control
Vandals invaded southern Spain and Africa/ eventually crossed over into Italy from Northern Africa and sacked Rome also
Fall of Rome
In 476 Western Roman Empire FallsThe “Dark Ages” falls upon Western Europe
Eastern Roman empire became known as the Byzantine Empire and thrived around Constantinople.
Constantinople: The “New Rome”Built by Roman Emperor Constantine
Today it is called Istanbul
Although the fall of the Roman Empire did not happen overnight, many consider its fall the beginning of the Middle Ages or Dark Ages.
Summary
SummaryThe Roman Empire fell due to outside attacks and disease (brought on by trade)
The Middle Ages began as the Christian Church replaced governments as the central authority.
Bibliographical informationhttp://www.worldofteaching.com
