The Decline of Rome

1
The Decline of Rome

• The Late Empire, Its Challenges, and the Emperors
  that Pulled it Down

2
Pax Romana

• Augustus is the end of the Republic and the
  beginning of the Pax Romana
• The world had never seen such a long period of
  peace, order, effective organization, cultural
  diffusion, and prosperity
• The Julio-Claudians (14-68 AD) were marked by
  corruption, conspiracies, decadence, and
  straight-up lunacy, but they maintained the
  essence of Augustus achievements
• The Flavians got off to a good start but started
  to lose control
• Built the coliseum
• Destroyed the temple at Jerusalem
• Domitian assassinated leading Romans and was
  himself assassinated
• The 5 good emperors led Rome through it
  pinnacle
• The Pax Romana was a Time of Happiness and
  Rome mission was fulfilled to create a
  world-state without needless fighting and
  excessive use of military force

3
Time of Happiness

• Constructive rule- Romans were tremendous
  engineers
• Built 53,000 miles of roads from Scotland to the
  Euphrates
• Goods were carried through a sea that was safe
  from pirates
• A stable currency kept a thriving economy
• Citizenship extended to almost everyone after 212
  A.D.
• Improvements for Slaves and Women
• Freeing slaves became common and less conquests
  meant less slavery
• Status of women also improved during this time
• An orderly world community-
• Romans solved the problems of the Greek
  city-state civil war, intercity warfare,
  attitude the divided Greeks from non-Greeks
• The world community was global- it preserved the
  Greco-Roman culture but broke down the barriers
  between nations
• Universalism and cosmopolitanism

4
Roman Culture in the Late Empire

• Literature and History
• Virgils Aeneid- National glory- religion, civic
  pride, family
• Livys History of Rome- Glorified Rome
• Horace- joy of wine, value of moderation, beauty
  of friendship
• Ovid- romance and humor
• Tacitus- denounced roman emperors and imperialism
• Juvenal- attacked evils of Roman society
• Philosophy
• Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius- stoics
  who saw the universe as governed by reason
• The gap between Greek philosophy and Christianity
  was narrowing
• Science
• Ptolemy- geocentric theory- math, geometry,
  astronomy
• Galen- dissection, medicine

5
Roman Entertainment

• Rome presents a paradox here because they had a
  high standard of civilization yet their
  entertainment was barbaric
• Battles to death
• Animal fights (ex. tigers and elephants)
• Animals tore apart men dressed in animal skin
• Women fighting
• Dwarfs fighting
• Few questioned the barbarism

6
Trouble on the Horizon

• Uprisings in Egypt, Gaul, and Judea
• Native loyalties begin to emerge
• The economy had problems too- only a small
  portion of the population was reaping the
  benefits of the empire
• Bread and Circus kept the rest quiet
• Discontent was growing as the economic and
  cultural gap increased

7
A Spiritual Awakening

• Spiritual stagnation- a change in values marked a
  decline in the Greco-Roman world
• The value of humanism was challenged by
  mythic-religious movements
• Greek rationalism never completely subdued the
  influence of mythic-religious mentality
• Religious cults promised immortality and the
  proliferation of these cults is an expression of
  the transformation of classical values
• Like mystery religions looked for something
  beyond this world

8
Neo-Platonism

• Replaced stoicism and transcended reason
• Subordinated reason to mysticism
• Plotinus (205-270)- most influential
  neo-Platonist
• Retained elements of Plato's rationalism but was
  intrigued by Platos otherworldliness
• He desired union with the One, or the Good-
  sometimes called God
• He believed that the One transcended all human
  knowledge and required a mystical leap
• Purification of the soul
• Mystery religions intoxicated the masses and
  classical civilization was being transformed
• Quest for the divine

9
The Decline

• The 3rd century brought crises
• Degeneration of the army
• Soldiers waged war on civilians for loot
• They made and unmade emperors
• Germanic people took advantage of the weakened
  military and crossed the Rhine-Danube to loot and
  destroy
• Economy is stricken
• Ruined farms, taxation, trade disrupted, debased
  coinage, inflation, disrupted transportation,
  damaged middle class, forced labor, famine

10
The Emperors of the Late Empire

• Septimius Severus
• Caracalla and Elagabalus
• Diocletian
• Constantine
• Julian
• Claudius Julianus
• Theodosius

11
Septimius Severus

• When Commodus died each of the 3 major armies
  (Syrian, Danube, British) appoints an emperor and
  once again civil war ensues
• Severus established a military autocracy
• Decisions were made for the good of the troops
• He was African therefore he held no loyalty
  toward Italy
• Focused all attention on the provinces
• Removed the tax break that the Italians had
• Allowed tribesman to join the military and rise
  to the highest positions

12
Caracalla and Elagabalus

• Caracalla (MARCUS AURELIUS SEVERUS ANTONINUS) was
  made emperor with his brother Geta as assistant
  emperor by Septimius
• He kills Geta
• Believed he was Alexander the Great reincarnated
• spent large amounts of money on ridiculous wars
• extended citizenship to all who lived in the
  Roman Empire
• Elagabalus killed Caracalla with the help of
  Alexander Severus
• Elagabalus ends up being murdered by Alexander
• Rome is busy with it's civil wars and multitude
  of leaders for 50 years meanwhile the rest of
  Europe is building up their troops

13
Rumors

• He would wear a tunic made wholly of cloth of
  gold, or one made of purple, or a Persian one
  studded with jewels, and at such times he would
  say that he felt oppressed by the weight of his
  pleasures. He even wore jewels on his shoes,
  sometimes engraved ones - a practice which
  aroused the derision of all, as if, forsooth, the
  engraving of famous artists could be seen on the
  jewels attached to one's feet. He wished to wear
  also a jeweled diadem in order that his beauty
  might be increased and his face look more like a
  woman's and in his own house he did wear one.
  Historia Augusta Life of Elagabalus XXIII
• Brothels and Taverns
• ...And even at Rome he did nothing but send out
  agents to search for those who had particularly
  large organs and bring them to the palace in
  order that he might enjoy their vigor. Life of
  Elagabalus V VIII

14
Diocletian

• Born poor
• Joined the army started at the very bottom and
  worked his way up to becoming emperor
• Establishes an autocracy
• Led successful campaigns against the Franks and
  the Bergandians
• Divides the empire into west and east sections
• Each section will have an Augustus and a Caesar
• He becomes the Augustus of the east with Galerius
  as Caesar
• Maximian becomes Augustus of the west with
  Constantius as Caesar
• Both the east and west are broken into 4
  Prefectures
• Each of these is broken into 12 diocese
• Each diocese is headed by a vicar
• Once again imposed paganism and outlawed
  Christianity
• After 20 yrs he passes the thrown to his Caesar
• Constantius dies immediately after he is appointed

15
Constantine

• Appointed by the army
• Civil war ensues again
• Built a new capital- Constantinople
• Byzantine, present day Istanbul
• Called the most important emperor of Late
  Antiquity
• His victory at the Milvian Bridge counts among
  the most decisive moments in world history, while
  his legalization and support of Christianity and
  his foundation of a 'New Rome' at Byzantium rank
  among the most momentous decisions ever made by a
  European ruler. (http//www.roman-emperors.org/con
  niei.htm)
• Milvian Bridge Constantine was commanded in a
  dream to place the sign of Christ on the shields
  of his soldiers.
• Converts to Christianity

16
Arianism and Nicaea

• Controversy over the relationship between the God
  the father and Jesus
• Arius said that Jesus was a lesser God than the
  father
• Constantine summoned the First Ecumenical Council
  on 20 May 325
• Arius was condemned
• Other matters were solved as well (canon)

17
Constantines Death

• Dies from illness and his sons inherit the empire
• Constantine II, Constantius, Constans
• Civil war once again ensues and all 3 brothers
  die
• Julian takes over when the brothers die
• Executes Christians again
• Flavius Claudius Julianus reigned from 360 to 26
  June 363
• Dies fighting the Persians

18
Invasions in the West

• Theodosius I dies in 395 and leaves the west to
  his son Honorius and the East to his son
  Arcadius both were considered equal
• Goths Vandals and Huns begin to tear down the
  western empire
• The Visigoths under King Alaric had settled in
  the Balkans but saw an opportunity to invade
• 410 Rome was sacked
• Vandals had swept through Spain and came to
  Occupy Roman Africa they sacked Rome in 455

19
476

• Odoacer (a barbarian) and his troops were
  mercenaries in the service of Rome
• In 476 his men revolted and proclaimed Him king.
• Odoacer defeated the Romans at Piacenza and
  Ravenna (the West Roman capital).
• Finally he deposed the last Roman emperor of the
  West Romulus Augustus in 476
• Eastern Emperor Zeno sent Theodoric the Great,
  King of the Ostrogoths to fight Odoacer in 488
• They agree to share authority in Italy but
  Theodorics men assassinate Odoacer
• Theodoric Names himself Master of Italy, ruler of
  Goths and Romans

20
Decline of Rome

• Why did Rome Decline?
• Lost a strong and effective emperor
• Lost disciplined military
• Lost a strong senate
• The economy collapsed
• Bread and circus made people lazy
• Bread and circus is basically food and
  entertainment
• There was a shortage of silver
• Collapse of civil service
• No city officials
• Lack of efficient administration

21
The Fall

• 1- The process lasted hundreds of years
• 2- only the western half fell the eastern half
  endured as the Byzantine empire until the mid
  15th
• 3- No single explanation is sufficient for Romes
  decline

22
Perrys Reasons

• The role of the Germanic Tribes
• Their pressure aggravated Romes internal
  problems
• The Romans had to impose heavy burdens on its
  people to maintain the armed forces
• The Roman spirit had turned to apathy and a lack
  of interest in public life
• Even though the Romans far outnumbered the
  barbarians
• Political and Military Considerations
• Sapped the initiative and spirits of the citizens
• The state became more of an enemy than the
  Germans
• Quality of Roman soldiers deteriorated
• Large numbers of barbarians were recruited
• No loyalty to Greco-Roman civilization
• Economics
• Population shrank while costs to run the empire
  shot up
• Fewer workers were available for agriculture
• Manpower for the army dwindled
• Cities lacked industry
• People began to abandon their farms for the
  safety of the latifundia
• Others turned to banditry

23
The Roman Legacy

• The center of gravity shifted from the cities to
  the landed estates in rural areas
• Local aristocrats gained in power
• Rome left an important idea the idea of a world
  empire united by common law
• By preserving and adding to the Greek culture,
  Rome strengthened the foundations of Western
  Civilization
• The Latin language
• Christianity developed within and was a product
  of the Roman culture