Title: 
Headings: The Fall of the Roman Empire
The
 
Fall
 
of
 
the
 
Roman
 
Empire

MAIN
 
IDEA
 

WHY
 
IT
 
MATTERS
 
NOW
 

TERMS
 
&
 
NAMES


 
Century
 
of
 
Crisis

TAKING
 
NOTES

Analyzing
 
Causes
 
and
Recognizing
 
Effects

Emperors
 
Attempt
 
Reform

Multiple
 
Causes:
 
Fall
 
of
 
the
 
Western
 
Roman
 
Empire

Political

Contributing
 
Factors

Social
Economic

Military

Immediate
 
Cause

FALL
 
OF
 
ROMAN
 
EMPIRE

SKILLBUILDER:
 
Interpreting
 
Charts

Hypothesizing

TERMS
 
&
 
NAMES

USING
 
YOUR
 
NOTES
MAIN
 
IDEAS
CRITICAL
 
THINKING
 
&
 
WRITING


Content: His
 
half
 
of
 
the
 
empire,
 
the
 
East,
 
included
 
most
 
of
 
the
 
empire’s
 
great
 
cities
 
and
 
trade
centers
 
and
 
was
 
far
 
wealthier
 
than
 
the
 
West. Because
 
of
 
ill
 
health,
 
Diocletian
 
retired
 
in
 
A.D.
 
305. However,
 
his
 
plans
 
for
 
orderly
succession
 
failed. Civil
 
war
 
broke
 
out
 
immediately. By
 
311,
 
four
 
rivals
 
were
 
compet-
ing
 
for
 
power. Among
 
them
 
was
 
an
 
ambitious
 
young
 
commander
 
named
 
Constantine,
the
 
same
 
Constantine
 
who
 
would
 
later
 
end
 
the
 
persecution
 
of
 
Christians. Constantine
 
Moves
 
the
 
Capital
 
Constantine
 
gained
 
control
 
of
 
the
 
western
 
part
of
 
the
 
empire
 
in
 
A.D.
 
312
 
and
 
continued
 
many
 
of
 
the
 
social
 
and
 
economic
 
policies
Multiple
 
Causes: Fall
 
of
 
the
 
Western
 
Roman
 
Empire
Political

Political
 
office
 
seen
 
as
burden,
 
not
 
reward


Military
 
interference
 
in
 
politics


Civil
 
war
 
and
 
unrest


Division
 
of
 
empire


Moving
 
of
 
capital
 
to
Byzantium

Contributing
 
Factors
Social
Economic

Decline
 
in
 
interest
 
in
public
 
affairs


Low
 
confidence
 
in
empire


Disloyalty,
 
lack
 
of
patriotism,
 
corruption


Contrast
 
between
 
rich
and
 
poor


Decline
 
in
 
population

Poor
 
harvests


Disruption
 
of
 
trade


No
 
more
 
war
 
plunder


Gold
 
and
 
silver
 
drain


Inflation


Crushing
 
tax
 
burden

Widening
 
gap
 
between
 
rich
and
 
poor
 
and
 
increasingly
impoverished
 
Western
due
 
to
 
disease
 
and
Empire
food
 
shortage


Military

 
Threat
 
from
 
northern
European
 
tribes


 
Low
 
funds
 
for
 
defense


 
Problems
 
recruiting
Roman
 
citizens; recruiting
 
of
 
non-
Romans


 
Decline
 
of
 
patriotism
and
 
loyalty
 
among
soldiers

Immediate
 
Cause
Invasion
 
by
 
Germanic
 
tribes
 
and
 
by
 
Huns
FALL
 
OF
 
ROMAN
 
EMPIRE
SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting
 
Charts

 
Analyzing
 
Issues
Could
 
changes
 
in
 
any
 
contributing
 
factors
 
have
 
reversed
 
the
 
decline
 
of
 
the
 
empire?