1. The Fall of Rome
There are many reasons why historians think
the Roman Empire fell.
2. Political Instability
● In the 50 years after Marcus Aurelius (the
last of the 5 good emperors), there were 22
emperors of Rome - and almost all of them
had a very violent death
● Ineffective and inconsistent leadership took
its toll on people's sense of civic duty and
trust of political leadership
3. External Invasions
● Germanic tribes invaded the West
● Sassanid Persians invaded the East
● Both sides were later invaded by the Huns
● Wars are costly, and the economy was
tanking, partially due to the plague
4. The Plague
● Killed off thousands of people
● Reduced number of laborers which led to a
decline in agricultural production and trade,
as well as monetary issues (inflation)
● Reduced number of soldiers which led to
conscription of barbarians
5. Military Problems
● Loyalty of barbarian troops was to the
highest bidder ($$$), not to Rome or Roman
traditions
● Paying these soldiers became increasingly
difficult in a bad economy
6. Agricultural Problems
● Loss of land from invasions/wars led to less
arable land for farming
● Soil soon became overworked, which also
contributed to reduced agricultural output
and a tanking economy
7. Overexpansion
● Despite excellent roads and infrastructure,
the Roman empire has simply become too
large to administer effectively.
● As Rome had to spend more money fighting
Germanic invasions and paying soldiers, the
Empire had less funds for maintaining
infrastructure, which eventually fell into
disrepair
8. Christianity(one theory, albeit not a super popular one among historians)
● The trust lost due to Rome’s political
corruption was worsened by Christianity’s
contribution to the deterioration of traditional
Roman values. Rome could not be trusted,
and therefore, Roman religion was not worth
following. Trust in Rome continued to
decline.
9. Diocletian
● In 284 A.D., Diocletian, a strong-willed army leader,
became the new emperor.
Diocletian accomplished many reforms:
1. Doubled the size of the Roman armies
2. He divided the empire into Greek-speaking East,
and Latin-speaking West
3. Diocletian took the Eastern Empire and appointed
General Maximian ruler of the Western Empire
10. Constantine
● Gained control of the Roman empire after Diocletian’s death (he
briefly ruled both East and West)
● Moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium in the Eastern portion
of the empire
○ He renamed it “Constantinople”, which is modern day Istanbul,
Turkey
○ The movement of the capital furthered the divide between the
East and West which were already splitting apart due to their
cultural differences (Greek in East, and Latin in West)
● Constantine tried to continue the restorative efforts of Diocletian,
but they failed
11. Divide and Fall
After Constantine’s death, the empire would once again be
divided; the East would survive as the Byzantine Empire, the
West would fall into disarray amidst various invasions.
408: The Visigoths, led by Alaric, destroyed Rome in three
days.
444: The Huns, led by Attila, attacked both sides of the
empire.
455: The Vandals invaded Rome, thus ending the Roman
Empire forever.
12. What’s to come ---
Western Europe will fall into
disarray. Lacking any centralized
authority (amidst continued
invasions by various groups),
Western Europe will develop into
Feudal states. This era, called
“Medieval Europe”, will see the
rise of the Catholic Papacy and
the conflict between it and its
Christian Eastern counterpart.
Eastern Europe will survive under
the new name, The Byzantine
Empire. It will continue
developing under it’s cultural
foundations of Greek (language,
ideas, philosophies, and
Christianity. It will conflict with the
rise of Catholicism in the West.
13. Activity
Use your notes over section 5, as well as this
powerpoint, to create a Haiku Deck in which
you identify and EXPLAIN what you think are
the Top 3 (rank them) reasons that the Roman
Empire fell.
More details on the next page
14. Steps to Complete
1. Use your knowledge of social studies to rank your top three reasons why the Roman
Empire fell (there is no right or wrong answer here. This is your argument which you
will back up with evidence and support).
2. Create your Haiku Deck (individually). Title it “The Top Three Reasons Rome Fell”
and include your name and class period on the title slide.
3. Within your Haiku deck, Identify your three reasons (they should be ranked in your
haiku Deck as 3, 2, and then 1)
4. Elaborate upon your three reasons (explain how each reason contributed to the fall
of Rome and why that reason is ranked 3rd (or 2nd or 1st) on your list).
5. Be sure to enhance your Haiku Deck with visuals, but make sure that I can read the
text.
6. Submit the link to your Haiku deck in the discussion board on Blackboard. (click on
the collaboration tab to access the discussion board and copy/paste your link in a
reply).
