Transformation of the Roman Empire

BY: DEMI PSYHOGIOS, GRACE GAIRANI, AND ADAM ZIELINSKI

The People Inside the Roman Empire

• CELTS

• GERMANS

• STEPPE PEOPLES, THE HUNS

CeltsCELTIC SOCIETY WAS DIVIDED INTO FOUR MAIN GROUPS: CHIEFTAINS, NOBLES AND WARRIORS,

FARMERS AND METALWORKERS, AND LEARNED MEN INCLUDING DOCTORS, DRUIDS AND BARDS.

MOST RULERS OF CELTIC TRIBES WERE NOBLES OR WARRIORS. THE RULER WAS CALLED THE KING

OR THE CHIEFTAIN. CHIEFTAINS COULD INHERIT THEIR TITLE FROM THEIR FATHERS, OR COULD BE

NOMINATED BY A COUNCIL OF NOBLES. THEY HAD THE DUTY TO LEAD MEN INTO BATTLE, INSPIRE

LOYALTY AMONG THE WARRIORS AND MAINTAIN PEACE AND PROSPERITY. CHIEFTAINS WERE OFTEN

ACCOMPANIED BY A PARASITE, A FOLLOWER WHOSE DUTY WAS TO PRAISE THE CHIEFTAINS' HEROIC

ACTS IN WAR. NOBLEMEN AND WARRIORS OFTEN HELPED THE CHIEFTAINS AND COULD HAVE THEIR

OWN ARMIES.

WARFARE WAS AN INTEGRAL PART OF CELTIC CULTURE, AND MANY TERRITORIES WERE OBTAINED

MANY THROUGH WARS. AS A RESULT, WARRIORS WERE CONSIDERED AN IMPORTANT PART OF

CELTIC SOCIETY AND WERE USUALLY WEALTHIER THAN OTHER CLASSES. THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE

FOR PROTECTING THE TRIBE, AND THEY REPRESENTED QUALITIES THAT THE CELTS WERE PROUD OF:

STRENGTH, HEROISM AND VALOR.

Druids and Bards

Bards were Celtic poets who performed songs and recited poems on

special occasions. They were required to be able to read and write,

compose poems, play instruments and memorize hundreds of legends and

songs. They were also responsible for learning their tribe's history and passing

it on to the next generation.

Druids were key figures in Celtic culture. They acted as priests, political

advisors, teachers, healers, and arbitrators (people who resolved

arguments). Although they were considered religious leaders they were also

influential in tribal politics. They were responsible for all Celtic religious

ceremonies, where they sometimes made human and animal sacrifices to

the gods. They had the right to speak before the king on certain occasions

and sometimes held more authority than the king. They acted as

ambassadors in times of war and upheld the law.

German's religion

Consisted of 12 principal deities, had Woden(Odin) as its chief god. Other important deities were Tiw(Tyr), Thor (Donar), Balder, Frey, Freyja, and Frigg. The gods dwelled in Asgard, where each deity had his or her own particular abode. The most beautiful of the palaces was Valhalla; there Woden, attended by the Valkyries, gave banquets to the dead heroes. The ancient Nordic gods, however, unlike the gods of most religions, were not immortal. They continually renewed their youth by eating the apples of Idun, but they were doomed, like mortals, to eventual extinction.

Mythical founding fathers

Burgundus - Burgundians

Cibidus - Cibidi

................................Dan - Danes

.........................Francio - Franks

.......................Nór - Norwegians

............................Gothus - Goths

........................Ingve - Ynglings

.......................Irmin - Irminones

.................Gambara - Lombards

.......................Seaxnēat - Saxons

....Valagothus - Valagoths

............Suiones - Suiones (Svear)

.................Thüringer - Thuringii

German Hierarchy

The German tribes were altogether a tribal based society, meaning

they have chiefs

These were similar to the Celts however there were no Druids

Huns

The most well known of the Hunicleaders as Attila who was given the title of "The Hun"

He was what many people consider a huge factor in the capitulation of the romans

The Huns were very well known for their use of cavalry in tactics

The huns were namadic people who had a "King"

The Huns had a government based around an almost dictatoral system

Transformation of the Roman Empire

- Plague

- Third-Century Crisis: Series of Invasions

- Division Into Eastern and Western Empires

-Settlement of Germans Within Empire as Federates

-410 Sack of Rome

-476 Abdication of Last Western Emperor

Plague

- The plague is an infectious disease that is caused by the

bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is an extremely contagious disease that was spread throughout the population of Rome

- The expansion of the Plague occurred around 165-180 C.E and ended up taking the lives of almost a quarter of the population

in some areas.

- the pride of the Roman population began to diminish after the losses of a majority of their people.

- as a result of the plague, Rome was considered to be more vulnerable at the time to invaders.

Third Century Crisis: Series of Innovations

- The third century crisis was a time in which the Roman Empire was almost destroyed under a series of innovations, the plague, etc.

- The Goths, the first Germanic people to become Christians, were one of many groups during this time period, they were defeated by Emperor Decius, but soon advanced further into the Balkans and into Asia Minor, where their goal was to cut of a large part of Rome's Grain supply by invading their ships and attacking Black Sea commerce

- Gallienus, Aurelian, and Valerian were all Emperors part of the Third century crisis.

- In Gallienus time as Emperor, he moved from Rome to Milan to better confront invaders into Italy. Aurelian protected Rome's western and northern boarders. Valerian was unfortunately captured (and was believed that after his death, he was stuffed/preserved in Persia) Temple ).

Division into Eastern and Western

Empires - By 285 CE diverged into two empires,

the Eastern Empire ( it was ran by the Byzantium )

- And the Western Empire ( ran by Rome ), both were known has the Roman Empire

-The East lost a majority of the Roman Empire traits, and soon adopted Greek culture instead.

- Both of the separate empires, eventually, what is to be belied the end of the Roman Empire. At the battle of Adrianople in 378 CE, The eastern empire was defeated by Fritigern of the Goths.

-The Gothic war of 376-382 CE, ended in the Western Empire being defeated.

Settlement of Germans Within Empire as "Federates" The Goths- an array of Germanic peoples

They settled at first in Northern Europe outside the Celtic and Roman strongholds.

By 600 B.C.E these Germanic peoples had established small villages, and by about 500 B.C.E they had began to work with iron.

They discovered rich iron deposits and had contact with Greek and Roman technology which led to that the Goths had more sophisticated tools and weapons.

Romans and Germans had faced each other along the Rhine river since Julius Caesar had conquered Gaul.

They had skirmished, traded, and at times passed through each others territories.

Also, the leaders of the Germans adopted for themselves many of the tools, weapons, and luxury goods of the conquering Romans.

Settlement of Germans within Empire as

"Federates" (contd.)

Soon after steppe nomads started invasions across central Asia, they brought pressure to the entire whole of Europe.

Because of this, the Goths began to migrate westward, pushing more into Roman territories.

These huge invasions upset the rough balance of power that was existent between Rome and the Goths, so the Goths started forming their own states.

Floods in Northern Germany and Denmark caused more Germanic emigration around 500 B.C.E.

Hunswere the steppe people who invaded Europe from central Asia.

Later the Huns arrived in Europe around 370 C.E and defeated and displaced the Alans, Ostrogoths, and Visigoths.

410 Sack of Rome

Alaric, the Visigoth, invaded Italy in 401

So the Emperor, Honorius, removed the capital from

Milan to Ravenna (a city on the east coast of Italy

that was more defensive).

Alaric invaded Italy again in 407, but in 410 he sacked

Rome.

At first they sacked, looted, and burned, but within a

few years they established their own settlements and

local kingdoms, displacing or merging with Roman landlords.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyjPGUGUznQ

476 Abdication of Last Western Emperor

In 476, the German general Odoacer deposed the last Roman

emperor in the west, Romulus Augustus.

Odoacer was a leader in the Roman imperial army when he launched his mutiny against him.

Odoacer captured the city of Ravenna and forced Romulus to

resign on 476 A.D.

He forced Romulus Augustus to abdicate and abandon the title of Emperor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6jPzN_LjAk

S.O.A.P.S Tone Document Analysis

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

Speaker

Priscus

He was a diplomat for the Eastern Roman empire and was at a feast for Atilla, he was also a historian and made many books including the history of the eastern roman empire and was important,

"We set out with the barbarians, and arrived at Sardica, which is thirteen days for a fast traveller from Constantinople. Halting there we considered it advisable to invite Edecon and the barbarians with him to dinner. The inhabitants of the place sold us sheep and oxen, which we slaughtered, and we prepared a meal. In the course of the feast, as the barbarians lauded Attila and we lauded the Emperor, Bigilas remarked that it was not fair to compare a man and a god, meaning Attila by the man and Theodosius by the god. The Huns grew excited and hot at this remark. But we turned the conversation in another direction, and soothed their wounded feelings; and after dinner, when we separated, Maximin presented Edecon and Orestes with silk garments and Indian gems.

Occasion

The Huns and Eastern Byzantium were going to trade some prisoners,

and have a feast and political talks, the author most likely wanted to write this to kepp the history intact and glorify the empire.

Audience

The audience was the people of the eastern Roman empire and

around the "world", the audience are eastern Romans and the eastern territory they own. This also supports the emperor faction and strengthens their hold as they are glorified in this piece, and he

uses god in a weird form in the opening paragraph " man and a god, meaning Attila by the man and Theodosius by the god. " This shows that they had philosophers with them and were almost

provoking the Huns.

Purpose

The purpose was just to preserve history, the way he conveys this is

by having multiple books on history and him also using very vivid detail, the speaker uses words like barbarians to show that the empire is superior to the Huns and to promote fanaticism against the

Huns.

Subject

The subject of this document is the recount of the meeting between

two "Countries", the author present this almost like a story or person recounting a very vivid dream

Tone

The serious presents this in a very serious manner and objective, like a story teller telling a very vivid story, as there are many details in the text describing everything as vivid as possible. "It was made of polished boards, and surrounded with a wooden enclosure, designed, not for protection, but for appearance.The house of Onegesius was second to the king's in splendour, and was also encircled with a wooden enclosure, but it was not adorned with towers like that of the king. Not far from the enclosure was a large bath which Onegesius--who was the second in power among the Scythians-- built, having transported the stones from Pannonia; for the barbarians in this district had no stones or trees, but used imported material. The builder of the bath was a captive from Sirmium, who expected to win his freedom as payment for making the bath. But he was disappointed, and greater trouble befell him than mere captivity among the Scythians, for Onegesius appointed him bathman, and he used to minister to him and his family when they bathed."

Work Cited

- Western Roman Empire, Joshua. J.

Mark, December 2012, https://www.ancient.eu/Western_Roman_Empire/

-The Visigoths Sack Rome, Richard Cavendish, August 2010, http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/visigoths-

sack-rome

-Emperor Romulus Augustus, www.roman-empire.net/collapse/romulus-index.html.

Western Roman Empire Falls. History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/western-roman-empire-falls.