2. THE FALL OF ROME!
Rome began to decline in the 2nd C. C.E. because of a
series of internal problems
• Rome stopped expanding = no more money to run the country =
higher taxes for the people of Rome = hardship for many people of
Rome
• Many poor Romans found it difficult to pay for education because
the cost of education rose significantly
• Distributing news became more difficult and people became less
informed about civic matters
• Agriculture declined because of over farmed soil and constant
warfare
• Slave labor perpetuated the agricultural problem. The Romans
were less likely to develop new technology to improve farming
• As agriculture declined disease and hunger spread and the
population declined

3. Military Problems
• Over time Rome’s soldiers
became less disciplined and
loyal to Rome and more
loyal to individual military
leaders
• Politics became increasingly
corrupt and politicians
became more interested in
financial gain
• As a result many citizens
lost their sense of pride in
their government

4. The Slow Decline
• Rome continued to decline for another 200
years due to the strong leadership of two
emperors: Diocletian and Constantine
• Diocletian ruled with an “iron fist”
• Constantine succeeded Diocletian and made
two significant changes to the Roman Empire

5. Constantine’s Initiatives
• Constantine took power in 313
C.E. and took two major steps of
significance
• He declared an end to all attacks
on Christians and as a result
spread Christianity
• He moved the capital of Rome
from Rome to the Greek city of
Byzantium, which became known
as Constantinople- this signaled
the shift in power from West to
the East

6. The Last Straw
• In addition to all of the
internal problems that were
facing Rome foreign groups
were biding their time to
attack
• Germanic groups who lived
north of Rome began
pushing into Roman lands.
• In 476, Germanic tribes
conquered Rome – it was
this date that marks the fall
of the Roman Empire and
the beginning of the
Medieval Period in Europe