1. The Roman Empire

2. What was the Roman Empire?
 vast collection of states and cultures
 extended across Europe, Asia and Africa
 under the control of one ruler: the Roman Emperor
 Augustus was first emperor
 emperors considered to be gods as well as rulers
 Lasted from around 31 BC to 476 AD

4. Key achievements of Roman Empire
 Roman culture unified three continents
 common language (Latin)
 legal principles: impartial justice, trial by jury
 engineering and architecture: great roads and buildings

5. Christianity
 begins as outlaw religion in the far reaches of the Empire
 persecutions begin with the Emperor Nero
 persecution continues for three centuries
 emerges as a major force
 very appealing to Rome’s common people, the poor, slaves
 different values from those of Rome

7. Christianity
 from illegal to accepted religion
 Constantine: first Christian emperor
 Edict of Milan (313 AD): permitted Christians to practice
their religion
 from accepted religion to official religion of the Empire
 Theodosius: made Christianity the state religion in 380 AD

10. Problems in the Empire
 too big and too diverse
 corruption in the army
 constant civil war, often between people competing to be
emperor
 some really awful emperors
 increasing slavery led to greater unemployment
 large gap between rich and poor (as in the Republic)
 inflation: value of money decreased, prices went up

trade declined
 declining population
 failure to protect borders: “barbarians” migrated into
Empire

11. Division and Decline
 problem: Empire is too big and diverse
 attempted solution: divide the Empire
 Diocletian: Emperor who split the Empire into west and
east in 285 AD

13. Decline of Rome
 Constantine: emperor who moved the Empire’s capital
away from Rome
 temporarily reunited the two parts of the Empire
 established new capital in the eastern part of the Empire in
330 AD
 capital city was renamed Constantinople
 empire was divided permanently in 395 AD

16. “Fall” of the Roman Empire
 What do we mean by “fall”?
 generally refers to the abdication (giving up the throne) of
the last Roman emperor: Romulus Augustus in the year
476 AD
 the city of Rome was invaded by the Germanic tribes, led by
a chief named Odoacer
 Only the western part of the Empire “fell”
 eastern part of the Empire became the Byzantine Empire
 it lasted for another thousand years