THE DECLINE OF ROME

Social Studies for 9th EGBTeacher: Mauricio Torres

Introduction

• As you have read, foreign tribes had settled along the Roman Empire’s northern borders in the 200s.

• A century later, these bands began raiding deep into the heart of the empire.

Early Invasions

Early Invasions

• The source of these raids were a group of people called the Huns, fierce warriors from Central Asia. – They first invaded southeast

Europe, pushing another group, the Goths (Visigoths and Ostrogoths). Unable to defeat the Huns, they fled into Roman territory.

Clashing with Goths

• Roman leaders feared that the Goths would destroy Rome’s land and property. They fought hard to keep them out.– Eastern armies were successful and pushed them towards the

west.– As a result, the western armies were defeated by the Goths. In

this way, many Goths moved into the Roman Empire.

Desperate Fighting

• The Romans fought desperately to keep the Goths away from Rome. Even as far as paying them not to attack.– In 408 Rome stopped making

payments, and later in 410 an army of Visigoths invaded Rome!

The End of the World

• This invasion devastated the Romans, because their city had not been invaded in 800 years!– The now Christian Romans thought it was the end of

the world.

The Fall of the Western Empire

More Barbarians

• The Gothic victory inspired more foreign warriors to invade the western half of the empire.– The Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Franks all

launched attacks.– Meanwhile, the Huns, with Attila as a leader,

raided territory in the east.

Attila the Hun

Power Vacuum• Rome needed strong leaders to survive these attacks, and by now

emperors were weak! Therefore, military leaders took power away from emperors.– Conflict with one of these foreign generals gave way to a situation in which

one of them (Odoacer) overthrew the emperor and declared himself King of Italy.

– This event is considered as the end of the Western Empire.

FACTORS IN ROME’S FALL

• The Empire’s vast size1

• Political crisis and corruption2

• Wealthy citizens with independent armies3

Main Factors

The Empire’s vast size

• Communication among various parts of the empire was difficult, specially during conflict.

• It just became to big to govern.

Political crisis and corruption

• By the 400s, corruption (a decay of people’s values) had become widespread in Roman government.– Corrupt officials used threats and bribery to achieve

their goals, often ignoring the needs of Roman citizens.– As a result, government was no longer efficient.

Wealthy citizens with independent armies

• Wealthy Romans fled from the city to their country states and created their own private armies for protection.– Some of these men, used their

armies to overthrow emperors and take power for themselves.

• For those who stayed in the city, life became more difficult:– Rome’s population decreased,

schools closed, taxes soared, making many Romans poor.

Fun Fact• Among the many threats

posed to the Romans, one of the most serious came from a group called the Vandals. A Germanic tribe, they attacked Spain, Gaul, north Africa before they sacked Rome itself.

• Today’s use of the word vandal comes from the damage and destruction Vandal raids caused in the Roman Empire.

Ask Yourself• Recall

How did Romans deal with Goth invaders?

• SequenceWhat sequence of events led to the sack of Rome in 410?

• IdentifyWhat factors weakened the Roman government?

• Cause and EffectWhat were the effects of wealthy citizen’s leaving Rome?

• ElaborateWhich factor do you think played a major role in the downfall of Rome?