Transition of the Roman Empire

HowWhatWhen Where Why

This PowerPoint is presented by:

• Tanner Maydak

• Joseph Othman

• Jacob Zak

• Briaunna Coleman

Dismemberment of Roman Empire

Plague

The Plague of Galen

• The Plague of Galen was active from 165-180 C.E, right before the reign of Commodus.

• The plague killed 1/3 of Romans during the time

The Plague of Cyprian

• Pandemic of an outbreak of smallpox and measles from 250-270 C.E

• No one had natural immunities against these diseases

• In total, around 6,000 people died at the height of the plague

Third-Century Crisis: Series of Invasions

• The Germanic Wars were fought between the Romans and Germanic tribes, located south of the empire.

• Between 235-284 C.E, Rome had more than two dozen different rulers, most of whom died violently.

• In battle, the start of the decline for the Romans was probably at Mediolanum in 259 C.E.

• Since the battle, the Romans shot at winning a battle again was about 25.5%

Division Into Eastern and Western Empires• In the year 285, the Roman Empire

was divided into the Eastern and Western Empires.

• The Eastern Roman Empire later became known as the Byzantine Empire, which fell in 1453

• Instead of the Western Empire, the Eastern still continued to fall and dwindle due to Germanic tribes plumbing in and also diseases.

Eastern and Western Empires (cont.)

• In the year 330 C.E., the Eastern Roman Empire declared Constantinople the capital.

• By the turn of the 4th Century C.E, Rome was already in chaos and in serious need of keeping bay of northern and southern neighbors

Eastern and Western Empire Comparison

Western Roman Empire

• Capital: Rome

• Lasted for: 285-476 C.E.

• Who conquered them: Germanic tribes

Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire

• Capital: Constantinople

• Lasted for: 285-1453 C.E.

• Who conquered them: Ottomans

Settlement of Germans within Empire

• The settlements of Germanic tribes started in the British Isles region in the 4th century C.E.

• During the height on the empire, the Romans “kicked” out the Germans early on. But over time, these tribes further understood their military strategies and grew stronger while the Romans got weaker.

The Sack of Rome

• This incident happened on August 24, 410 C.E

• The Western Romans only had about 400 soldiers, but the forces lead by Alaric I, had more than 40,000

• This was the first time since 800 years, that Rome had lost to a foreign country

• This as seen as one of the most memorable moments in history of the fall

476: The Result of the End

• In the year 476, the emperor at the time was Romulus Augustulus, who at the time was only 16.

• A Germanic tribe lead by Odoacer conquered into Rome

• On September 4, 476 Augustulus surrendered to Odoacer and Roman rule ended on behalf.

CAUSES FOR THE "FALL"

Military

• At the same time the population of Rome and it's army rises the price of everything also rises. Inflation occurred once the population increased.

• Around the time of Emperor Nero, he decided to debase the currency of the coins. He reduced the purity of the coins by reducing the amount of precious metal in them. He did this gradually, thinking that the coins would still be accepted by their original value, but instead this caused inflation.

• The coin debasement became a tendency with the following emperors. During the 150 years prior Diocletian's edict, the value of silver increased 86 times and gold, 45.

• While at this period, the price for wheat and other foods also increased in their trade. This became harder for them to feed soldiers and the gradual increase in population.

No fixed system of imperial succession

• Augustus the first roman emperor did not establish a clear imperial succession system. When it was time to replace the emperor for the throne there were may rivals.

• Sometimes the potential emperor had an incentive to end the service the ruling emperor so they could have the throne to themselves. This is part of the reason behind the long history of imperial assassination.

• This was a fragile system, for the past 200 years of imperial tradition, only one person, Titus ( r. AD 79-82) was the only emperor to succeed his father, Vespasian, and Commodus AD 161 was the first emperor to be born into a ruling emperor, MARCUS AURELIUS (r. AD 161-180)

IT’S THE GERMANS! Of course........ <3 to anyone who sees this ;D~~ ya boy joseph :)))))))) - bre

• On September 4, AD 476, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was deposed of, Romulus Augustus, by Odoacer, a German chieftain. He served the Roman army for many years and received the title of general.

• An emperor being deposed of by a military leader was not new in Rome. This meant that nobody else was named emperor after Romulus Augustus's deposition and that Odoacer was now king of Italy.

• After Romulus's death the western empire dissolved and turned into many different and smaller political units ( kingdoms and city-states)

• But the east stayed until its fall in 1453.

Primary Source

• St. Jerome was born around the year 340. He came to Rome and was baptized there around 360. He devoted the rest of his life to scholarly pursuits and the translation of the Bible into Latin. He died in 420. He wrote the following observations describing the devastation of the Empire around 406:

• "Nations innumerable and most savage have invaded all Gaul. The Whole region between the Alps and the Pyrenees, the ocean andthe Rhine, has been devastated by the Quadi, the Vandals, the Sarmati, the Alani, the Gepidae, the hostile Heruli, the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Alemanni, and the Pahnonians.

• Oh wretched Empire! Mayence [Mainz, Germany], formerly so noble a city, has been taken and ruined, and in the church many thousands of men have beenmassacred. Worms [Germans] has been destroyed after a long siege. Rheims, that powerful city, Amiens, Arras, Speyer[Germans], Strasburg, - all have seen theircitizens led away captive into Germany. Aquitaine and the provinces of Lyons and Narbonne, all save a few towns, have been depopulated; and these the swordthreatens without, while hunger ravages within.

• I cannot speak without tears of Toulouse, which the merits of the holy Bishop Exuperius have prevailed so far to save from destruction. Spain, even, is in daily terrorlest it perish, remembering the invasion of the Cimbri; and whatsoever the other provinces have suffered once, they continue to suffer in their fear.

• I will keep silence concerning the rest, lest I seem to despair of the mercy of God. For a long time, from the Black Sea to the Julian Alps, those things which are ourshave not been ours; and for thirty years, since the Danube boundary was broken, war has been waged in the very midst of the Roman Empire. Our tears are driedby old age. Except a few old men, all were born in captivity and siege, and do not desire the liberty they never knew.

• Who could believe this? How could the whole tale be worthily told? How Rome has fought within her own bosom not for glory, but for preservation - nay, how shehas not even fought, but with gold and all her precious things has ransomed her life...

• Who could believe that Rome, built upon the conquest of the whole world, would fall to the ground? That the mother herself would become the tomb of herpeoples? That all the regions of the East, of Africa and Egypt, once ruled by the queenly city, would be filled with troops of slaves and handmaidens? That to-dayholy Bethlehem should shelter men and women of noble birth, who once abounded in wealth and are now beggars?"

• References:This eyewitness account appears in Robinson, James Harvey, Readings in European History (1906); Duruy, Victor, History of Rome and of the Roman People, vol

VIII (1883).

SOAP

• SPEAKER: St Jerome was born in the year 340 he went to Rome and was baptized in 360 he then devoted the rest of his life to scholarly so he was a priest in Rome during its fall and he wrote a few books and this came from a little part from one of his books he later died in Rome at the year 420.

SOAPS:• OCASSION: How I know this is in the text he is very descriptive about the

conquering and destruction of cities

• St Jerome's road to writing this was because of his sins . While he was not studying, Jerome pursued pleasure especially in women.

• He punished himself every Sunday at crypts pretending he was in hell even though he wasn’t Christian.

• Became a Christian to change his ways.

SOAPSAUDIENCE: I feel as if its mostly directed to people who lived within the areas of Rome so they knew what was going around at this time in Rome and it was also wrote for the world to see the situation that was currently happening

SOAPS• PURPOSE: the reasoning behind the text is to inform about the roman

empires fall. Also to show who was attacking Rome and how the people in Rome felt about the situation

• He makes the audience really think asking question and answering them with a question

SOAPSSUBJECT: is about the devastation of the empire and how it slowly it fell due to the Germanic tribes and plague

Reasoning :Cities losing people and soldiers to plague then the Germanic tribes would sack the cities

SOAPSTONE: the writer is speaking is devastation. He feels upset that the empire is falling apart. He also shows shock because he surprised that such a big empire could come to a fall.

Citations

Facts about St. Jerome

• http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=10

• Causes of the fall

• http://listverse.com/2016/10/13/10-dying-symptoms-of-the-roman-emp

• By Cristian Violatti

• Studies archaeology, free lancer writer and editer.