The Fall of Western Rome

1. The Fall of Western Rome

2. Group Investigation • Using the provided texts, identify the causes leading to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. • Texts: • “Decline of the Roman Empire” • “The End of the Roman Empire” • Prologue to the Present pp. 217, 218 • World History pp. 174-177 • Search for factors of deterioration and decay within the following categories: • Geography • Economics • Society • Politics • Military

3. Politics • Several incompetent emperors squandered tax dollars, failing to build and maintain vital infrastructure such as roads and aqueducts. • No structure to appoint a successor to the emperor • Constant disputes and civil wars over who would succeed as the next emperor led to assassinations and political instability (the barracks emperors). • After Trajan (Spanish) became emperor, the struggles for the title of emperor increased because now you did not need to be an Italian to take power.

4. Economics • It was too expensive to run such a large empire. Taxes could not offset this expense. • People start to leave their homes, farms and businesses to avoid paying the high taxes. • The government was forced to take over businesses to keep them running. This effort was costly and inefficient. • The government started printing more money. The value of the money went down and resulted in inflation. (The price of goods and service soared, but people were not getting paid any higher wages). • Trade greatly declined due to fear of marauding legions. • The Romans didn’t develop new technologies to help improve the economy. They were dependent on slaves to do their work

5. Society • Bread and Circuses: money spent to feed the poor and distract them with games (170 days per year!) • Roman education system focused on public speaking rather than on practical useful skills. Therefore, they had no goods to sell or trade • Lead poisoning from plumbing and plague may have caused a decline in population

6. Military • Defending such a vast empire with such long borders was almost impossible. • Citizens no longer wanted to serve in the army. • The army began to appeal only to criminals. Also, many of the soldiers were of German ethnicity. • The government had to hire troops or mercenaries to keep the army going. • Many different “barbarian” groups began to invade the Roman empire. Many had been displaced by the Huns and now pushed into the frontiers of the Roman empire seeking a new home. These groups included the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths.

7. Military/Geography

8. Geography • Empire divided by Emperor Diocletian • Natural resources such as silver depleted