Nov 28-
Fall of the Roman Empire
Internal Problems and Conflicts
Civil Wars and unrest
People didn’t care about politics
Low confidence in Empire
Contrast between rich and poor
Poor harvests
Trade was disrupted
Separation of the Roman Empire into East and West
Diocletian was a strong ruler that brought law and order back to the Empire
He believed that the empire had grown too large and too complex for one ruler
He divided the empire into 2
Greek- speaking East (Byzantine Empire)
Latin- speaking West
He took the eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler for the West
Constantine took control of the western part of the Roman Empire in 312AD and also took control of the eastern part
United the empire during his reign and moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium, changing the name to Constantinople
Huge walls were built around Constantinople to protect it from barbarians
After his death, the empire was split in two again
Today the city is Istanbul
The Byzantine Empire would last until 1453 when the Ottoman Turks took over the area
Outside invasions
Defense was weak, low funds
Decline of loyalty among soldiers
Germanic tribes moved into the Roman Empire due to the Huns moving into their territory
They attacked and took over areas all throughout the empire and eventually sacked Rome itself
The Huns moved into Europe from Central Asia and battled the Germanic trives
Under Attila, the Huns invaded both parts of the Roman Empire
The Huns attacked over 70 cities
Couldn’t get past the walls
Invaded Rome but failed
Attila the Hun died and so did the Hun’s power
The last Western Roman emperor was Romulus Augustulus, a 14 year old
He was ousted by German forces and Rome fell
The eastern Roman Empire continued and flourished until the Ottoman Turks took them over
After Rome fell, Europe fell into the Dark Age
The Legacy of Rome
The Latin Language
The basis of many future languages- French, Spanish, English, Italian
Roads and aqueducts
Important Roman Laws
All persons had the right to equal treatment under the law
A person was considered innocent until proven guilty
The burden of proof rested with the accuser rather than the accused
A person should be punished only for actions not thoughts
Any law that seems unreasonable or grossly unfair could be set aside
- Roman law served as basis for the law of many European countries in the furure as well as the United States
Nov 29- Test
Nov 30- Test
Dec 1- Project and Semester Test discussion
Dec 2- Gone
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