The Fall of the Roman Empire: Study Guide
The Fall of the Roman Empire
• Emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned A.D. 161-180) – the end of his reign caused a loss of peace and prosperity: the Pax Romana
• Tribes outside boundaries and pirates in the Mediterranean disrupted trade
• Had no new sources of silver and gold and as a result the government raised taxes
• Government starts minting coins with less silver and made more money with the same amount of metals which caused inflation- a drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise of prices
• Soil in Italy and western Europe became overworked and unfertile, and years of war destroyed much farmland as well- this caused food shortage and disease which caused a population decline
• Soldiers became less disciplined and loyal; they only gave loyalty to their generals- generals eventually have a power struggle to try to claim power
• Government recruits mercenaries, foreign soldiers who fought for money to defend threats. These people would get paid less than Romans, but didn’t have loyalty to the empire like Romans did
• Average Roman citizens also begin to lose their patriotism
• In A.D. 284 Diocletian becomes emperor and restores order and increases strength by doubling the size of the military, setting fixed prices to stop inflation, and claimed he was a decedent of the Roman gods to try to restore prestige of the office of the emperor
• He also realized that the empire was too big to be run by one person and divides into the East(Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt) and the West(Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain)
• He appoints a co-ruler for the west, but still keeps overall power, and his half of the empire had the most wealth and had the greatest cities and trade centers
• Diocletian retired in A.D. 305 because he was ill, and civil war breaks out immediately
• 4 rivals compete for power and Constantine comes out victoriously after what was believed to be a sign of a cross in the sky that prompted him to have crosses painted on his
• Emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned A.D. 161-180) – the end of his reign caused a loss of peace and prosperity: the Pax Romana
• Tribes outside boundaries and pirates in the Mediterranean disrupted trade
• Had no new sources of silver and gold and as a result the government raised taxes
• Government starts minting coins with less silver and made more money with the same amount of metals which caused inflation- a drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise of prices
• Soil in Italy and western Europe became overworked and unfertile, and years of war destroyed much farmland as well- this caused food shortage and disease which caused a population decline
• Soldiers became less disciplined and loyal; they only gave loyalty to their generals- generals eventually have a power struggle to try to claim power
• Government recruits mercenaries, foreign soldiers who fought for money to defend threats. These people would get paid less than Romans, but didn’t have loyalty to the empire like Romans did
• Average Roman citizens also begin to lose their patriotism
• In A.D. 284 Diocletian becomes emperor and restores order and increases strength by doubling the size of the military, setting fixed prices to stop inflation, and claimed he was a decedent of the Roman gods to try to restore prestige of the office of the emperor
• He also realized that the empire was too big to be run by one person and divides into the East(Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt) and the West(Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain)
• He appoints a co-ruler for the west, but still keeps overall power, and his half of the empire had the most wealth and had the greatest cities and trade centers
• Diocletian retired in A.D. 305 because he was ill, and civil war breaks out immediately
• 4 rivals compete for power and Constantine comes out victoriously after what was believed to be a sign of a cross in the sky that prompted him to have crosses painted on his