fall of the roman empire

how did the empire work?

44 provinces, 55 million people, 5 million square kilometers

emepror remained the apex of government, but he was supported by an elaborate bureaucracy (provincial governors)

administration was initally sufficient and competent

how did provinces work?

they were classified aseither public or imperial

the number and size of provinces changed often by means of conquest and division of existing provinces

they were garrionsed with legions made up of roman citizen, or auxiliary units made up ofcitizens of the province

what was significant about the forts around Hadrians wall?

after Claudius invaded Britain, eventualy Hadrian (a Roman emperor) built walls and forts aroun them

first 5 forts were constructed from turf and timber with a technique called wattle and daub

materials from early layers normally decomposed quickly and got preserved due to blocked oxygen not reaching those layers

what was significant about the stone forts?

near the end, the cohort stationed at vindolanda built new stone forts and they are the most visible remains on site toda

what did they find at vindolanda?

anaerobic conditions (oxygen blocking decomposition) allowed people to find materials

• wattle and daub houses

• writing tablets (thin sheets of wood with ink and in Latin)

• leather (including shoes)

• organic materials like seeds, nuts, and flower petals

what was the crisis of the 3rd century?

a period from the death of Severus Alexander to the accession of Diocletian

a large number of short-lived emperors

incursions across all fronts of the empire and civil wars

what characterized this crisis?

economic decline (desertion of agricultural land and collapse of silver currency)

plagues, famines, and population decline

what was the problem with the army during this time?

an economic burden with cycles of inflation and they should be able to proclaim the emperor of their choice

what were the external threats during this time?

sassanians in the east captured emperor Valerian and he died in captivity

germanic tribes and incursions

what was the tetrarchy?

a response to the crisis by diocletian that divided the empire in two, each presided over by an agustus and aided by a caesar

rome and constantinople

rise of powerful warlods (Stilchio - the last of the roman generals)

what caused the fall of the roman empire

romulus augustulus died in 475 ce and within a generation of that the western Empire became a series of Germanic kingdoms

it was precipitated by a number of factors (incursions of germanic tribes, plague, crop-failure, decreaseed population, decentralized government, tax burdens)