Ancient Rome 6.4 Chapter Assessment

Inflation - a drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices
Mercenaries - foreign soldiers who fought for money. accepted lower pay than Romans but felt little sense of loyalty to the empire
Diocletian - In AD 284, a strong-willed army leader became the new emperor. Severely limited personal freedoms. Restored order to the empire and increased its strength. Doubled the size of the Roman army and sought to control inflation by setting fixed prices for goods. Claimed descent from the ancient Roman gods and created elaborate ceremonies to present himself in a godlike aura. Devided the respire into the Greek-speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt) and the Latin-speaking West (Italy, Gaul, Britain, Spain) Took eastern half for self and appointed a co-ruler for the west.
Constantinople - the city of Constantine previously called Byzantium. Center of power and capital protected by massive walls.
Attila - a hun and a powerful chieftain. With 100,000 soldiers, he terrorized both halves of the empire.

2. How did inflation, untrustworthy army, and political instability open the empire to invading peoples?
The Roman government was very unstable. Military generals and commanders fought among themselves for the throne, and this also led to an untrustworthy army. There was a strong sense of distrust among the army men, and so there was also feelings of loyalty weakening among average citizens as well. In a desperate effort to reconstruct their army, the government employed mercenaries, although these were also not trustworthy because their loyal lied in whoever paid them. Inflation also caused major problems. A drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices caused famine and increased poverty, leading to the deaths of many and a significant drop in population. All these problems opened the empire to invading peoples.

3. What were the main internal causes of the empire's decline?
The main internal causes of the empire's decline were political, social, economic, and military. Politically, holding office was now seen as a burden, and not a reward. Civil wars and unrest, division of empire, and moving of capital to Byzantium also contributed to the fall of the empire. Socially, there was a decline in interest in public affairs due to low confidence in the empire and disloyalty and corruption. The contrast between the rich and the poor was also too high. In addition, there was a decline in population due to disease and food shortage. Economically, there were poor harvests, disruption of trade, no more war plunder, gold and silver drain and mainly inflation. On the side of the military, there were threats from northern European tribes, low funds for defense, and problems recruiting Roman citizens so they recruited mercenaries. There was also a lack of patriotism, and loyalty among soldiers.

4. How did Diocletian succeed in preserving the empire?
Diocletian succeeded in preserving the empire through many ways. Firstly, he doubled the size of the Roman army. Also, he sought to control inflation by setting fixed prices for goods. In addition, to restore the prestige of the office of emperor, he claimed descent from the ancient Roman gods and created elaborate ceremonies to present himself in a godlike aura. This helped the people of the empire believe once again in the power of the emperor and so they were more inclined to listen to him. He also divided the empire into two halts and appointed another co-ruler for the Western half.

5. Why did so many Germanic tribes begin invading the Roman Empire?
The Germanic tribes had lived on the northern borders of the Roman empire and coexisted in relative peace with Rome since the days of Julius Caesar. But in AD 370, a fierce group of central Asian Huns moved into the region and destroyed everything that was in their way. The Germanic tribes began invading the Roman empire as an effort to flee from the Huns, and kept moving through the Roman provinces of Gaul, Spain, and North Africa, and in 410 they overran Rome itself and plundered it for three days. The Western Empire was unable to field an army to stop them.

6. How do you think the splitting of the empire into two parts helped it survive for another 200 years?
I think that the splitting of the empire into two parts helped it survive for another 200 years because since the empire had grown so vast, it was nearly impossible for just one ruler to rule it successfully. Therefore, when it was split into two parts with two different rulers with one of the rulers being dominant, it helped the empire survive much longer because now each ruler only had to worry about his half of the empire.