Rome's empire declines and fell.

Commodus: Aurelius's son. He was an irresponsible Emperor. He became a cruel ruler and in A.D. 192, he was strangled in his bath. The decline of the empire, however, continued for almost 300 years. 


Diocletian- a strong willed army leader and son of a slave, became that new emperor in AD 284. He tried to restore order in the empire and increase its strength. 


Constantine- marched to the Tiber River to hight his cheif rival


eastern empire: Greek speaking, Greece, Asia, Minor, Syria and Egypt. Included most of the great cities and trade centers of the empire. 

western empire: Latin speaking, Italy, Gaul, Britannia,  and Spain.

Edict of Milan: man who made Christianity a religion that was approved  by the emperor. 

Constantinople: thus, the center of empire shifted from west to east, there was a new capital that was protected by massive walls and gleamed with stately buildings. They city even had a new name Constantinople. 

Huns: central people from Asia.

Attila:  under this new leader, The Huns became more dangerous. 

Leo I: the first powerful pope of Rome.


1. The economic problems the empire faced in the third century was  that trade was disrupted by barbarian raids and by bands of pirates on Mediterranean sea lanes. 


2. Rome's army changed since the days of the republic because Roman soldiers now fought strictly for money, not for patriotism. 


3a. The important religious change Constantine brought about in the empire is he out a Christian symbol on his soldiers' shields. 
3b. He brought about the end to the persecution of Christians. From Milan, he granted both to the Christians and to all men freedom to follow the religion that they choose. In 395, the emperor theodosius made christianity the empire's official religion. 

4a. The Germanic tribes invaded the empire in the 400's because  the Germanic tribes were terrified of the Huns, a nomadic people from central Asia. 

4b. When the Huns began to move west, they began the massive movement of Germanic peoples that eventually destroyed the western half of the Roman empire. 

5. Diocletian should be considered a successful emperor because he double the size of the Roman armies. He might be considered a failure because the wages for the new troops added to the already crushing load of taxes, price controls failed and even when he lived, his plans failed.