Chapter 7Section 6

The Fall of the

Western Empire

Troubled Times Arise

• After Marcus Aurelius died in 180AD the empire quickly slid into crisis.

• Invaders threatened the borders and civil war tore at the empire

• The defense of frontiers and civil war were costly. As a result there was a shortage of silver. Silver coins contained very little actual silver, so merchants had to raise prices.

• {the rise in prices due to devalued money is called inflation}

Two Able Emperors Attempt Reform

• Diocletian, a general in the Roman army, was made emperor in A.D. 284

• He appointed a co-emperor and 2 Caesars because of the realization that the empire was too large for one person to rule alone

• He ruled the East and the co-emperor ruled the West

• They were able to drive out the invading tribes • Diocletian and his co-emperor retired leaving the

Caesars to become co-emperors with their sons as the new Caesars

Continued….• When the western emperor died his son

Constantine took his place as emperor• The eastern emperor refused to recognize

Constantine and the divided rule failed• Civil war broke once again• In the end Constantine won and became sole

emperor in A.D. 324• After Constantine died the empire remained

stable but the government was inefficient and corrupt.

• {As the western empire grew weaker, the eastern empire became the center of power and wealth}

The Final Invasions

• Although Diocletian and Constantine were able to hold the empire together through effort and reforms the threat of invasion from the north and east was never gone

• The most troublesome of the invaders were the {German tribes called the Goths} and the Vandals who were fleeing the advancing Huns

• In the shadow of defeat, Rome allowed the Goths to settle in the empire, in return for the Goths joining the Roman army

• But is was not enough, the Visigoths took Rome and the Vandals took N. Africa then moved on to Rome

Continued…

• The Huns, nomadic people from Asia, then took the opportunity to move in

• Led by Attila the Huns launched an attack on Gaul

• Attila was defeated by an army of Romans and Visigoths but it was too late to save the Western Roman Empire

• A barbarian commander overthrew Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor in the West

Attila

Causes of the Decline

• The most obvious cause for the collapse of the empire was the German invasions

• But also {the Western empire suffered from rapid and abundant growth} in an age of slow transportation

• Rome tried to control this vast area with the same government designed to rule a city-state. It did not work

More Causes of Decline

• Strains on the economy were also a cause for the fall of the empire

• Heavy taxes crushed the citizens and the taxes still could not provide enough money

• Because the empire was no longer expanding it did not have the in-pour of gold and goods that were plundered

• As the empire grew so did the number of poor citizens and these citizens lost their patriotism

Review

• the rise in prices due to devalued money is called?

• As this empire became weaker, the eastern empire became the center of power and wealth

• What were the German tribes called?

• Who did the Romans fear would lead to an uprising?

This is a deep sea Frilled Shark found off the coast of Japan by a fisherman. Although not a new discovery they are very rare. It

resembles an eel but because of its gills is classified as a shark.