Wednesday May 25, 2011

Commodus- Marcus Aurelius's son and the Roman empire began its decline while he was in rule
Diocletian- a strong-willed army leader and a son of a slave and in 284 he became the new emperor
Constantine- a young commander who was one of the 4 rivals competing for power when the civil war broke out
Eastern Empire- the wealthier half of the empire and was ruled by Diocletian
Western Empire- not as wealthy as the east and was not ruled by Diocletian
Battle of Milvian Bridge- the clash between Constantine and his rival fought near the bridge which is 2 miles outside of Rome and Constantine won
Edict of Milan- when Constantine announced an end to the persecution of Christians and their religion was approved by the emperor
Constantinople- the capital which was given its new name of Constantinople after the center of the empire shifted from west to east
Germanic Peoples- one of the people the Huns raided, they lived near the Rhine River
Huns- people who were feared and as they moved west the Germanic People moved too and eventually destroyed the western half of the empire
Alaric- was the king of the Visigoths in 410 and he marched across the Alps towards Rome
Gaiseric- king of the Vandals in 455 sailed to Rome from north Africa and was a ruthless leader
Attila- one the the Huns leaders that made them seem more dangerous
Leo I- the Pope of Rome in 452
Romulus Augustus- the last Roman emperor who was 14 years old
Odoacer- a barbarian general who took the throne from Romulus Augustus

1. In the third century they had economic problems such as poor harvests, disruption of trade, no more plunder from wars, gold and silver drain inflation, and crushing tax burden.
2. Their military had changed because their soldiers only fought so they could earn money so therefore they had to find barbarians who would accept lower pay.
3. The religious change that Constantine brought was when he ended the persecution of Christians. The political change he brought was when he gained control of the western and eastern empire and changing the capital.
4. Germanic tribes invaded the empire because the Huns were moving and they felt threatened and moved west just like the Huns. The empire was unable to drive invaders out because their army wasn't very strong.
5. Diocletian should be considered a successful emperor because he made the empire stronger, he divided the empire into two parts, and he was ranked as one of the greatest emperors. Three reasons why Diocletian could be known as a failure is because not 100% of the reforms were a success, taxes were higher because of him having to pay the soldiers more, and when he tried to control the prices that mission failed.