CHAPTER 9 Roman Civilization 317

What’s the Connection?In Section 1, you learned about

Roman life and achievements whenthe empire was at its height. Overtime, however, the Roman Empirebegan to have problems, and itgradually grew weaker. Eventually,Rome fell to outside invaders.

Focusing on the • Poor leadership, a declining economy,

and attacks by Germanic tribes weak-ened the Roman Empire. (page 318)

• Rome finally fell when invadersswept through the empire during the A.D. 400s. (page 322)

• Rome passed on many achievementsin government, law, language, andthe arts. (page 325)

Locating PlacesConstantinople

(KAHN•STAN•tuhn•OH•puhl)

Meeting PeopleDiocletian (DY•uh•KLEE•shuhn)Constantine (KAHN•stuhn•TEEN)Theodosius

(THEE•uh•DOH•shuhs)Alaric (A• luh•rihk)Odoacer (OH•duh•WAY•suhr)

Building Your Vocabularyplague (PLAYG)inflation (ihn•FLAY•shuhn)barter (BAHR•tuhr)reform (rih•FAWRM)

Reading StrategySequencing Information Create adiagram to show the events that ledup to the fall of the Western RomanEmpire.

A.D. 284Diocletian triesto reform empire

A.D. 395Roman Empiredivided into easternand western parts

A.D. 476Rome’s last emperor overthrownConstantinopleRome

SPAINGAUL

BRITAIN

ITALY

GREECE

EGYPT

A.D. 250 A.D. 350 A.D. 450A.D. 250 A.D. 350 A.D. 450

TheThe

ofofFFall all RRomeome

Fall of the Roman Empire

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The Decline of RomePoor leadership, a declining economy,

and attacks by Germanic tribes weakened theRoman Empire.

Reading Focus What do you do when you face a diffi-

cult problem? Do you try to solve it yourself? Do you ask

other people for help? Read to learn about the problems

the Roman Empire faced and how its leaders responded.

In A.D. 180 Marcus Aurelius died. His son, Commodus (KAH • muh • duhs), becameemperor. Commodus was cruel and wastedmoney. Instead of ruling Rome, Commodusspent much of his time fighting as a gladia-tor. In A.D. 192 the emperor’s bodyguardkilled him. Nearly a century of confusionand fighting followed.

After Commodus, emperors called theSeverans ruled Rome. Much of their timewas spent putting down revolts and pro-tecting Rome’s borders. The Severansstayed in power by paying the army well,but they ignored the growing problems ofcrime and poverty.

Political and Social Problems When thelast Severan ruler died in A.D. 235, Rome’sgovernment became very weak. For almost50 years, army leaders fought each other forthe throne. During this time, Rome had 22different emperors.

Poor leadership was not Rome’s only dif-ficulty. Fewer Romans honored the old idealsof duty, courage, and honesty. Many govern-ment officials took bribes. As problems

Weak Roman Government• Dishonest government officials provide poor leadership.

Eastern Roman Empire• Constantinople becomes the new capital.• The empire survives attacks and prospers.

Byzantine Empire• This empire is created from the Eastern Roman Empire and lasts nearly 1,000 years.

Western Roman Empire• Numerous attacks threaten the empire.• Territory is slowly lost to invaders.

Social Problems• Famine and disease spread throughout the empire.

Declining Economy• Income and wages fall.• Wealthy fail to pay taxes.

Reform Fails and Rome Divides in Two• Government fails to keep order.• Violence and tension increase.• Diocletian divides the empire.

Rome Falls• The city of Rome falls in A.D. 476.• The Western Roman Empire is divided into Germanic kingdoms by A.D. 550.

The Decline of RomeThe Decline of Rome

Many issues, including a weak government, lackof food, and fewer jobs, led to Rome’s decline.1. According to the flow chart, what occurs

after reform fails? 2. Cause and Effect What were the final effects

of the Roman Empire being split in two?

318CORBIS

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increased, talented people often refused toserve in government. Many wealthy citizenseven stopped paying taxes. Fewer peopleattended schools, and a large number of theempire’s people were now enslaved. WealthyRomans supported slavery because it was acheap way to get work done.

Economic and Military Problems Duringthe A.D. 200s, Rome’s economy began to fallapart. As government weakened, law andorder broke down. Roman soldiers andinvaders seized crops and destroyed fields.Farmers grew less food, and hunger beganto spread.

As the economy worsened, peoplebought fewer goods. Artisans producedless, and shopkeepers lost money. Manybusinesses closed, and the number of work-ers dropped sharply. Many workers had toleave jobs and serve in the army. A plague(PLAYG), or a disease that spreads widely,also took its toll. It killed one out of everyten people in the empire.

Rome also began to suffer from inflation(ihn • FLAY • shuhn), or rapidly increasingprices. Inflation happens when money losesits value. How did this happen? The weakeconomy meant fewer taxes were paid.With less money coming in, the Romangovernment could not afford to defend itsterritories and had to find a way to pay itssoldiers and officials. One way for the gov-ernment to get the money it needed was toput less gold in its coins.

By putting less gold in each coin, thegovernment could make extra coins andpay for more things. People soon learnedthat the coins did not have as much gold inthem, and the coins began losing value.Prices went up, and many people stoppedusing money altogether. They began tobarter (BAHR • tuhr), or exchange goodswithout using money.

Slavery in the Roman Empire Publicand private slavery were common inRoman society. Public slaves wereowned by the state. They took care ofimportant buildings and servedgovernment officials. Educated publicslaves were used to help organize thegovernments of conquered areas.

Private slaves were owned byindividuals. They were often forced towork long hours and could be sold atany time. Wealthy Romans hadhundreds or even thousands ofenslaved people. Most enslavedpeople worked on farms.

Most enslaved people were men.This was probably because their workrequired great strength. Someenslaved men also became gladiators.Enslaved women made clothing andcooked for their owner’s family.

Connecting to the Past1. What was the main difference between

public and private enslavement?

2. Which jobs were probably considered themost desirable by enslaved people?

Roman slavesat work

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Meanwhile, invaders swept into theempire. In the west, Germanic tribes raidedRoman farms and towns. In the east, armiesfrom Persia pushed into the empire’s terri-tory. As fighting increased, the governmentcould no longer enlist and pay Romans assoldiers. It began using Germanic warriorsin the army. However, these Germanicsoldiers were not loyal to Rome.

What Were Diocletian’s Reforms? In A.D. 284 a general named Diocletian(DY • uh • KLEE • shuhn) became emperor. Tostop the empire’s decline, he introducedreforms (rih •FAWRMZ), or political changesto make things better. Because the empirewas too large for one person to rule,Diocletian divided it into four parts. Henamed officials to rule these areas but keptauthority over all.

Diocletian also worked to boost theeconomy. To slow inflation, he issued rulesthat set the prices of goods and the wages tobe paid to workers. To make sure moregoods were produced, he ordered workersto remain at the same jobs until they died.Diocletian’s reforms failed. The peopleignored the new rules, and Diocletian didnot have enough power to make them obey.

Who Was Constantine? In A.D. 305Diocletian retired from office. After aperiod of conflict, another general namedConstantine (KAHN • stuhn • TEEN) becameemperor in A.D. 312. To aid the economy,Constantine issued several orders. Thesons of workers had to follow theirfathers’ trades, the sons of farmers had towork the land their fathers worked, andthe sons of soldiers had to serve in thearmy.

Constantine’s changes did not halt theempire’s decline in the west. As a result,Constantine moved the capital from dyingRome to a new city in the east. He chose thesite of the Greek city of Byzantium (buh •ZAN • tee •uhm). There he built a forum, anamphitheater called the Hippodrome, andmany palaces. The city became known asConstantinople (KAHN • STAN • tuhn • OH • puhl).Today, Constantinople is called Istanbul.

Explain How did Diocletiantry to reverse the decline of Rome?

320 CHAPTER 9 Roman Civilization

Distrust of Money

As the Roman Empiredeclined, people refusedto trust the value ofmoney issued by eachemperor.“Whereas [because] thepublic officials have assem-bled and have accused thebankers of the exchangebanks of having closedthem because of theirunwillingness to accept the divine coin of theemperors, it has becomenecessary to issue an order to all owners of thebanks to open them and to accept and exchange allcoin except the absolutelyspurious [false] and coun-terfeit—and not alone to them but to those whoengage in business transactions of any kind.”

—“Distrust of Imperial Coinage,”Oxyrhynchus Papyrus, no. 1411, Vol. 2,

A.S. Hunt, trans.

What do you think was happening to theeconomy of the empire as people stoppedusing the official money?

Roman coins

The Newark Museum/Art Resource, NY

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CONSTANTINE THE GREATc. A.D. 280–337

First Christian Roman EmperorConstantine was the first Roman Emperor to become a

Christian, although he was not baptized until near his death in

A.D. 337. He first came to believe in Christianity many years

earlier, when he was a military leader. Constantine believed he

had seen a flaming cross in the sky that said, “By this sign thou

shall conquer.” The next day his army was victorious in an

important battle. He believed that the cross was a call to the

Christian God.

During his reign, Constantine granted new opportunities to

Christians and helped advance the power of the early Catholic

Church. At the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, he encouraged

discussion about the acceptance of the Trinity (Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit). He also boosted the political positions and power of

bishops within the Roman government.

Even though Constantine had many political and religious

successes, his life was filled with controversy and tragedy.

Constantine married a woman named Fausta. His eldest son

from a previous marriage was named Crispus. Fausta accused

Crispus of crimes

and claimed that he was planning

to seize the throne. Constantine was

so shocked that he had his son killed.

Constantine later discovered that

Fausta had lied because she wanted

her own son to be in line for the

throne. He then had Fausta killed.

321

Modern-day Constantinople

Constantine believed freedom of religion was

important for the success of his empire and

made sure that Christians could no longer be

persecuted. What part of the U.S. Constitution

protects freedom of religion?

Constantine

(t)Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey/E.T. Archives, London/SuperStock, (b)C. Boisvieux/Photo Researchers

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Rome FallsRome finally fell when invaders swept

through the empire during the A.D. 400s.

Reading Focus How would you feel if a favorite

place—a shop, park, or recreation center—was closed

after being open for many years? Read to learn how the

Romans had to face an even greater loss when their city

and empire fell.

Both Diocletian and Constantine failedto save the Roman Empire. WhenConstantine died in A.D. 337, fighting brokeout again. A new emperor called

Theodosius (THEE • uh • DOH • shuhs) finallygained control and ended the fighting.

Ruling the empire proved to be difficult.Theodosius decided to divide the empireafter his death. In A.D. 395, the Roman Empiresplit into two separate empires. One was theWestern Roman Empire, with its capital atRome. The other was the Eastern RomanEmpire, with its capital at Constantinople.

Rome Is Invaded As Rome declined, it wasno longer able to hold back the Germanictribes on its borders. Many differentGermanic groups existed—Ostrogoths,Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Angles, andSaxons. They came from the forests andmarshes of northern Europe.

These Germanic groups were in searchof warmer climates and better grazing landfor their cattle. They also were drawn by

Rome’s wealth and culture. In addi-tion, many were fleeing the Huns,fierce warriors from Mongolia inAsia.

In the late A.D. 300s, the Hunsentered Eastern Europe and defeatedthe Ostrogoths (AHS•truh•GAHTHS). TheVisigoths, fearing they would be next,asked the Eastern Roman emperor forprotection. He let them settle just

inside the empire’s border. In return theypromised to be loyal to Rome.

Before long, trouble broke out betweenthe Visigoths and Romans. The empireforced the Visigoths to buy food at veryhigh prices. The Romans also kidnappedand enslaved many Visigoths.

Rome Is Attacked

In this excerpt from oneof his letters, theChristian leader Jeromedescribes attacks on theRoman provinces.“Who would believe thatRome, victor over all theworld, would fall, that shewould be to her peopleboth the womb and the tomb. . . .Where we cannothelp we mourn and mingle with theirs our tears. . . . There is not an hour, not even a moment, when we arenot occupied with crowds of refugees, when thepeace of the monastery is not invaded by a hordeof guests so that we shall either have to shut thegates or neglect the Scriptures for which the gateswere opened.”

—Jerome, “News of the Attacks”

Does Jerome think the gates of themonastery should be shut? Explain.

Saint Jerome

Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 9—Student Web Activity tolearn more about Roman civilization.

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CHAPTER 9 Roman Civilization 323

Finally, the Visigoths rebelled againstthe Romans. In A.D. 378 they defeatedRoman legions at the Battle of Adrianople(AY • dree • uh • NOH • puhl). After that defeat,Rome was forced to surrender land to theVisigoths.

The Germanic tribes now knew thatRome could no longer defend itself. Moreand more Germanic warriors crossed theborders in search of land. In the winter ofA.D. 406, the Rhine River in Western Europefroze. Germanic groups crossed the frozenriver and entered Gaul, which is today

France. The Romans were too weak to forcethem back across the border.

In A.D. 410 the Visigoth leader Alaric(A • luh • rihk) and his soldiers captured Romeitself. They burned records and looted thetreasury. Rome’s capture by Alaric was agreat shock to the empire’s people. It wasthe first time Rome had been conquered in800 years.

Another Germanic group known as theVandals overran Spain and northern Africa.They enslaved some Roman landownersand drove others away. Then the Vandals

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Germanic Invasions of Rome c.c. A..D. 200–500. 200–500

A number of invasions led to thefall of the Roman Empire.1. Who attacked both Britain and

northern France? 2. Why do you think the Eastern

Roman Empire experienced veryfew invasions?

Find NGS online map resources @www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

Western Roman EmpireEastern Roman EmpireBattle

Angles/SaxonsFranksHuns

KEYOstrogothsVandalsVisigoths

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sailed to Italy. In A.D. 455 they enteredRome. They spent 12 days stripping build-ings of everything valuable and burningthem. From these attacks came the Englishword vandalism, which means “the willfuldestruction of property.”

Rome Falls By the mid-A.D. 400s, severalGermanic leaders held high posts in Rome’sgovernment and army. In A.D. 476 aGermanic general named Odoacer (OH•duh•WAY • suhr) took control, overthrowing the western emperor, a 14-year-old boynamed Romulus Augustulus (RAHM • yuh •luhs aw • GUHS • chah • luhs). After RomulusAugustulus, no emperor ever again ruledfrom Rome. Historians often use this event tomark the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Odoacer controlled Rome for almost 15years. Then a group of Visigoths seized thecity and killed Odoacer. They set up a king-dom in Italy under their leader, Theodoric(thee • AH • duh • rihk). Elsewhere in Europe,other Germanic kingdoms arose.

By A.D. 550, the Western Roman Empirehad faded away. Many Roman beliefs andpractices remained in use, however. Forexample, Europe’s new Germanic rulersadopted the Latin language, Roman laws,and Christianity. Although the WesternRoman Empire fell to Germanic invaders,the Eastern Roman Empire prospered. Itbecame known as the Byzantine Empireand lasted nearly 1,000 more years.

Identify Which event usu-ally marks the fall of the Western Roman Empire?

324 CHAPTER 9 Roman Civilization

An image showing the Visigoths invading Rome. Whatleader did the Visigoths overthrow to take control of Rome?

Mary Evans Picture Library

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The Legacy of RomeRome passed on many achievements in

government, law, language, and the arts.

Reading Focus Do you know where the words

“doctor,” “animal,” “circus,” and “family” come from?

These words come from the Latin language spoken by

the Romans. Read to discover other things we have

borrowed from the Romans.

Our world would be very different if theRoman Empire had never existed. Manywords in the English language and many of

our ideas about government come from theRomans. The same is true for our system oflaws and our knowledge about building. Asyou will read in the next chapter, the peaceand order brought by Roman rule alsoallowed the Christian religion to spread.

Roman Ideas and Government TodayRoman ideas about law, as first written in theTwelve Tables, are with us today. We, like theRomans, believe that all people are equalunder the law. We expect our judges todecide cases fairly, and we consider a personinnocent until proven guilty.

Columns, domes, and archesstill appear in many modernbuildings. Banks, homes, and

government buildings often use aRoman style. What Roman architectural

styles do you see in your neighborhood?

Roman and Modern ArchitectureRoman and Modern ArchitectureEarly Romans borrowed architectural ideas

from the Greeks, but they also developed their ownstyle. Roman designs often included vaults,columns, domes, and arches. Newarchitectural ideas meant that buildingscould be constructed in new ways.Because of concrete and a new design,Roman theaters did not have to be builton natural slopes to have tiered seating.

The Pantheon in Rome

The Rotunda at theUniversity of Virginia

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Reading SummaryReview the • A series of weak emperors, inva-

sions by outsiders, disease, and anumber of other factors led to agreatly weakened Roman Empire.

• Numerous invasions by Germanicpeoples led to the fall of Rome inA.D. 476.

• Roman ideas about governmentand Roman architecture are justsome of the legacies of ancientRome.

1. What social problems helpedcause the empire’s decline?

2. Why did the Roman govern-ment use Germanic warriors inits army?

Critical Thinking3. Summarizing Information

Draw a diagram like the onebelow. Fill in details aboutRome’s legacies in the areas ofgovernment, law, and citizenship.

4. Cause and Effect How didinflation affect Rome?

5. Describe Who were theVisigoths, and how did theycontribute to the fall of Rome?

6. Identify Give examples ofRoman ideas in language andarchitecture that exist today.

7. Persuasive Writing Imagineyou are living in Rome aroundthe time of the fall of theempire. Write an editorial for anewspaper identifying whatyou think is the main reasonfor the decline and fall of theempire, and what might havebeen done to prevent it.

What Did You Learn?

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326 CHAPTER 9 Roman Civilization

Roman ideas about government and cit-izenship are also important today. Like theearly Romans, Americans believe that arepublic made up of equal citizens is thebest form of government. We also believethat a republic works best if citizens dotheir duty, participate in government, andwork to make their society better.

Roman Influence on Culture Today thealphabet of the Latin language, whichexpanded from 22 to 26 letters, is usedthroughout the Western world. Latin shapedthe languages of Italy, France, Spain,Portugal, and Romania. Many English wordsalso come from Latin. Scientists, doctors, andlawyers still use Latin phrases. Every knownspecies of plant and animal has a Latin name.Today, we also still admire the works of greatRoman writers such as Virgil, Horace, Livy,and Tacitus.

Ancient Rome also left a lasting markon building in the Western world. We stilluse concrete today for much of our con-struction, and Roman architectural stylesare still seen in public buildings today.When you visit Washington, D.C., or thecapital city of any state, you will see capi-tol buildings with domes and archesinspired by Roman architecture.

Christianity As you probably know,Christianity is one of the major religions inthe world today. Christianity began in theRoman Empire. When Rome’s governmentadopted Christianity in the A.D. 300s, ithelped the new religion to grow andspread. After Rome’s fall, many Romanideas blended with those of Christianity.

Compare Which aspects ofthe Roman Empire are reflected in present-daycultures?

Roman Legacies

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