Diocletian splits the empire- 285 AD
- 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 two
- Greek- speaking east (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt)- Byzantine empire
- Latin- speaking West (Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain)
- He took the eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler for the West
Constantine
- Constantine took control of the western part of the Roman Empire in 312 AD and also took control of the eastern part in 324 AD
- United the empire during his reign and moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium (330 AD) changing the name of the citry 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 known as Istanbul
- The Byzantine Empire would last until 1453 when the Ottoman Turks took the area over
Downfall of Roman empire
Political problems: lack of motivation to be involved in gov't, military involved in gov't, civil war and unrest, division of the empire, moving of the capital to Byzantium
Social problems: People are losing interest in public affairs, low confidence in empire, disloyalty lack of patriotism, growing gap between rich and poor, decline in population due to disease and population
Economic problems: poor harvests, disruption of trade, no more war plunder, gold and silver drain, inflation, crushing tax burden, widening gap between the rich and poor
Military problems: threat from northern European tribes, low funds for defense, problems recruiting roman citizens; recruiting of non Romans, decline of patriotism and loyalty among soldiers
German invasions
- Germanic tribes moved into the roman empire due to the Huns moving into their territory around 370 AD
- the Germanic tribes attacked and took over areas all throughout the empire and eventually sacked Rome itself in 410 AD
Huns
- In 370 AD the Huns moved into Europe from Central Asia and battled the Germanic tribes
- in 444 AD, under Attila, the Huns invaded both parts of the Roman Empire
- The Huns attacked over 70 cities
- Couldn't get past walls of Constantinople
- invaded Rome in 452 AD but failed
- Attila the Hun died in 453 AD and so did the Hun's power
The last roman emperor and the end
- The last western roman emperor was Romulus augustulus, a 14 year old
- he was ousted by German forces in 476 AD and Rome fell
- The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) continued and flourished until the Ottoman Turks took them over in 1453
- After Rome fell, Europe fell into the Dark Age from around 500-1500 AD
The legacy of Rome
- The Latin language
- the basis of many future languages- French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian
- many English words have their root in Latin
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 seemed unreasonable or grossly unfair could be set aside
- Roman law served as a basis for the law of many European countries in the future as well as the united states
Tuesday-
Test
Wednesday
Test
Thursday-
New project
My group has section 11.3
Friday-
Work day
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