European History Roman Empire

European History: Course Study Guide Roman Monarchy: 753- 509 BC ● 753- Romulus first King ● 509 Last Kings of rome- Tarquis- expelled Roman Republic: 509- 27 Bc ● Ruled by two elected consuls, legislative bodies of senators, popular assemblies Powerful generals disrupt Republic ● 82 BC Sulla marches with army to Rome, declared dictator for life ● 50 BC Julius Caesar marches on Italy with the army ○ 44 B.C dictator for life, assassinated ● Augustus (adopted son of Caesar) wins civil war between Caesar’s followers and his opponents Roman Empire (27 BC- 476AD) Diocletian: (284-306 BC) - splits empire up into East and West because he believes it will be easier to maintain, persecuted Christianity ● Governed by multiple emperors Constantine: (305-337) - converts Empire into chrisitanity in 312 AD ● Makes Eastern capital at Byzantine, calls in Constantinople ● Edict of Milan- 313 AD- legalizes Christianity in Europe Visigoths- threatened by the Huns because they have a long relationship with Rome Barbarians- a member of a community or tribe not belonging to one of the great civilizations (Greek, Roman, Christian). Huns: Nomadic people from Central Asia Entry of Visigoths into Empire ● Huns threatened Visigoths in 376- force them to seek asylum in Rome ○ In Rome they were mistreated ● Visigoths - Sack of Rome 410 AD- viewed as the start of the end of the Roman EmpireAlaric was their leader- under him they started demanding land ● Visigoths pressured by the Huns, ask for permission to cross the Rhine, Rome says no, they do so anyway. The Romans treated them poorly. Would enslave Visigoths and sell their kids as slaves. Led to the battle. ● Battle of Adrianople- 378 AD- battle between Roman army and Goths army. The Visigoths won ultimately leaving Eastern Roman Empire basically defenseless and established the supremacy of cavalry over infantry that would last for the next millennium. ● 418- Visigoths finally settled in Gaul (Southern France) ○ Helps Romans defeat the Huns Attila the Hun- Also known as Scourge of God- said that he was sent by God to punish them ● 434- becomes leader of the Huns ● 451- defeated by the Romans and Visigoths at the Battle of Chalons under Attila ○ Turns on Rome, negotiated peace with Pope Lee I - 452 ● 453 dies- of suffocating on vomit from partying How Rome lost the West ● Abandon Britain ○ Pull troops from Rome-410 ○ Angelo Saxons- take control Vandals cross Rhine (406) ● Sack of Rome - 455 9 emperors (455-476) - taken out by Barbarian generals Odoacer- Barbarian general in Roman army with followers- disposed of the last Roman Emperor ( Romulus Augustus) in 476. - Calls Himself King of Italy- although no one recognized him as such Why did Rome Fall? - Weak emperors- appointed kids as young as 8 years old - Civil Wars- Emperors and Usurpers- multiple King makers (generals, barbarian commanders) - Dependence on Barbarians in the military Western Territorial Collapse (Loss of territories) ● 408- Vandals take Spain ● 410- Abandon Britain ● 418- Visigoths take Aquitaine - 213 landlord estates + political control ● 439- Vandals take North Africa - food/grain ● 455- Vandals sack Rome a second time ● 486- Franks take Northern Gaul Losing Territory= loss of revenue and people, which led to them not being able to support the army. Became a cycle. Justinian ● Builds the Hagia Sophia- destroyed in Nika revolt 532 ● Makes law code - serve as a basis of later European law systems - compilation of earlier laws ● Takes back Italy from the Ostrogoths for a time, Southern Spain from Visigoths ● Takes back Africa from Vandals ○ Eastern Roman Empire keept it until Muslim conquest Natural disasters (during Justinian reign) ● 542- Black Plague - kills 33-50% of Europe’s population Nika Revolt- 532 ● Mobs in Constantinople who revolted because of high taxes, burned half of city, sieged part of palace, burned Hagia Sophia ● Justinian sends army - kills 30,000 people Franks ● Rise of the Franks in Gaul ○ 507 pushed Visigoths, South into Spain ○ Clovis- first Catholic King of France and the Merovingian Ostrogoths ● Theodoric ○ Sent him to recover Italy in 493 in the name of Eastern Europe ○ Takes Italy back from Odoacer ○ Theodosian code 438- all laws since Constantine Council of Nicea-325 Heresies: Arianism, Miaphysitism