THE TOP THREE REASONS ROME FELL

MARCUS AURELIUS/ GERMANIC TRIBES

• A.D. 180- Marcus Aurelius, the last of the 5 good emperors died.
• 3rd Century- Romans hired Germans to fight under Roman commanders.
• The soldiers did not understand Roman traditions andhad little lotalty to the empire or emperor.

DIOCLETIAN AND CONSTANTINE

• Diocletian and Constantine enlarged 2 institutions
• The Army and the Civil service. These both drained most of the funds
• Because of this, the 2 emperors issued edicts that forced people to pay taxes.
• Affected free tenant farmers, which because of the edicts, found themselves bound to land by landowners.
• Landowners took advantage of the depressed agriculture conditions and enlarged land estates.

HUNS AND VISIGOTHS

• The Huns came from Asia and moved into the eastern empire, which put pressure on the Germanic Visigoths.
• Because of the Huns, the Visigoths moved into Rome and settled as Roman allies.
• They then revolted
• A.D 378- Romans attempted to stop revolt and Adrianople got defeated

HUNS AND VISIGOTHS CONT.

• A.D. 410- The Visigoths overruled and sacked Rome
• A.D. 455- The Vandals, a group from Spain crossed into Italy.
• They also sacked Rome
• A.D. 476- Romulus Augustus was deposed by the Germanic army.
• This was known as the Fall of the Western Empire.

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