The End of The Western Roman Empire

What happened at the Battle of Adrianople in 376?

-At the Battle of Adrianople in 376, the Visigoths beat the Roman army due to the fact that the Visigoths felt the roman officials were mistreating them.

Why did many city councilors no longer want to be councilors anymore? How did Diocletian and Constantine respond?

-City councilors were forced to pay expenses out of their own pockets when the taxes they collect were insufficient which made them no longer want their jobs. -As a result, Diocletian and Constantine issued an edict forbidding people from changing jobs.

To where did Constantine move the capital of the empire to?

-Constantine moved the capital to eastern Rome which he named Constantinople.

Describe the admistrative reforms that Diocletian made. What did he do to the provinces? What were dioceses? What were prefectures?

-Diocletian created a new administrative system where he divided up provinces up into many small districts and each district had its own officials. -Dioceses were what provinces were grouped into and prefectures were what 12 dioceses were grouped into.

What were the Federates?

-Federates were army units made up entirely up of germans.

What happened to the monetary system at this time?

-Gold coins almost disappear from the west and goods began to replace money as a means of exchange.

What is meant by the term Heresy?

-Heresy means teaching that goes against the official church doctrine.

Whom did Marcus Aurelius appoint as his successor? Was this good or bad?

-His son Commodus was Aurelius' successor and this was bad because he was cruel.

In 301, what did Diocletian do in an effort to fight inflation?

-In 301, Diocletian issued an edict that set a maximum price for goods.

What did Alaric and the Visigoths do in 410? How did Rome respond?

-In 410, the Visigoths under Alaric ransacked Rome.

What was the Empire like in the years 235-284?

-In the years 235-284, there were frequent civil wars, and there were 22 in the period but only two of them died of natural causes. There were also foreign invasions bt the Sassanid Persians in the east and German tribes in the west.

Why wasn't it necessarily a good thing that the government began hiring German barbarians to serve in the army?

-It wasn't necessarily a good thing that the government hired German army troops because there was no way to tell if they were loyal and they couldn't speak the language.

Why did more and more Germanic tribes attempt to enter the Roman Empire in the late 300s?

-More and more germanic tribes attempted to enter the roman empire because of the Huns were applying pressure. -In return of the Romans letting the Visigoths in the empire, the Visigoths would provide soldiers to the Roman army.

Who was Septimius Severus? What happened during the Severan Dynasty in terms of the army?

-Septimius Severus was an emperor who was born in North Africa and seized power in 193. Also ended civil wars. -Soldiers' pay increased and military officers were appointed to high government positions.

In Christianity, what were archbishops and dioceses?

-The Archbishops directed the dioceses of each province, and the bishops area of jurisdiction was a diocese.

What the Arian heresy? What happened at the Council of Nicaea?

-The Arian heresy was a doctrine that Jesus wasn't a god but he had been chosen by God to be his son which is why he died. -The Council of Nicaea was a meeting of church representatives that declared Arianism a heresy.

Who were the Burgundians? The Franks? The Vandals? The Angles and the Saxons?

-The Burgundians and the Franks were a german tribal group that had moved into Gaul. -The Vandals drove through Spain and settled in North Africa. -The Angles and the Saxons moved up into Britain.

What was the Edict of Milan? Why did Constantine issue this?

-The Edict of Milan was the official toleration of Christianity due to Constantine converted to Christianity.

Who were the Masters of the Soldiers? Who was Odoacer? Who was Romulus Augustulus?

-The Masters of the Soldiers was a German who controlled the imperial army. -Odoacer was the master of soldiers who killed the last roman emperor in the west, Romulus Augustulus.

Were the Romans and the Germans aware of each other throughout the years of the Roman Empire or was the arrival of the Germans a complete surprise?

-The Romans and the Germans were aware of each other for hundreds of years. -There was frequent trade between the two groups.

What did invasion, civil war, and the plague do to the population trade and farming?

-The population declined, trade and farming went down.

What was the Tetrarchy?

-The tetrarchy was the system where each Augustus was assisted by a chief or vice-emperor lieutenant called a Caesar.

Under the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine, what two groups took most of the public funds?

-The two groups that drained most of the public funds were the army and the civil service.