The Fall of Roman Empire

How the Roman Empire divided and the West Roman Empire fell.

1. The Fall of the Roman Empire and Its Implication to Christianity YDG & NAJ Javier Geroy

2. Establishment of the Empire Fall of Roman Republic due to internal turmoil and violence (27 BC) Gaius Octavian Thurinus also known as Augustus Caesar as the First Emperor Brought the Pax Romana

3. Agustus Caesar was followed by Emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD) Christ was executed during this time. After his rule, decades of political instability came. Emperor Diocletian brought back peace and order. In 305 he resigned, Constantine was proclaimed in 306. Emperor Diocletian

4. The Split of the Roman Empire Emperor Diocletian split the empire into two, the west and the east. Both empires are ruled by different emperors of the same powers. In 324, Constantine united both empires. When he died in 337 both empires split again. Cooperation between two empires gradually became less.

5. The Fall of Rome (Western Part of the Empire) In 5 th Century, the Western empire finally collapsed. In 406-407, territory (Gaul) of the Western empire were attacked by the Germanic Tribes. After a few more years, the Vandals also attacked Rome. In 476, Odoacer, a german made himself a king of Italy and deposed the last Roman emperor of Rome. Odoacer the Barbarian

6. The Debated Reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire

7. Migration and Maltreatment of Barbarian Tribal Refugees

8. Overreliance in Slave labour

9. Overexpansion of the Empire

10. Corruption

11. Economic Mismanagement

12. Implication to Christianity

13. Emperor Constantine (313 CE) Ended all persecutions of the Christians and declared toleration for Christianity. Constantine issued an order, called the Edict of Milan . It gave religious freedom to all people and made accepted Christianity. By approving Christianity, the Roman state directly undermined its religious traditions. Before, the Romans considered their emperor a god. But the Christian belief in one god – who was not the emperor – weakened the authority and credibility of the emperor.

14. Emperor Diocletian split the empire into two parts: the West and the East. It was Emperor Constantine who built a new capital in the East that was named after himself, Constantinople .

15. Effects of the Fall of Western Roman Empire After the fall of Rome, the people of Western Europe faced confusion and conflict. As a result, people were looking for order and unity. Christianity helped to meet this need. It spread rapidly into lands that had once been part of the Roman empire. The Eastern Empire would eventually become the Byzantine Empire, while the Western Empire would decline into nonexistence.

16. THE WEST (ROME) The church of Rome survived the fall of the Western Roman empire. Its head, the pope, became the strongest leader in western Europe. Under the pope, the Latin churches of the region became known as the Roman Catholic Church . As a result of the disintegration of the Roman Empire and gradual decline of the imperial power, authority and power were transferred from the palace to the church, and, in course of time, the church involved in politics.

17. The church became the real authority and decisions of all affairs would come from the church. “In the absence of emperor from Rome, the bishop became the most important official in the city, and considerable power of local political administra­tion passed into his hands. Bishop of Rome

18. THE EAST (CONSTANTINOPLE) In the East, however, the Roman Empire continued, it developed into the Byzantine empire. Like the Roman Catholics, they also developed their own form of Christianity, and was known as the Eastern Orthodox Church.

19. The Byzantine Empire (East Roman Empire) Church and government worked closely in the Byzantine Empire. It was the emperor who chooses the patriarch of Constantinople, the leading church official in the Byzantine empire. In this way, the emperor controlled the church as well as the government. Eastern Orthodox Cross

20. Religious Conflicts between the two Churches: Rome vs Constantinople

21. 1. Over the Use of Icons In A.D. 700s, a major dispute divided the Church in the Byzantine Empire. The argument was over the use of icons (images of Jesus, Mary, the saints, or other Christian holy individuals).

22. Some Byzantines wanted an end to the use of icons. They thought that honoring them was a form of idol worship forbidden by God. The supporters however, claimed that the icons were symbols of God’s presence in daily life. Emperor Leo III did not approve of icons and he ordered all icons to be removed from churches. Emperor Leo III of the Byzantine Empire

23. Most Byzantines, many church leaders, and even the pope of Rome opposed the emperor’s order. The dispute over the icons damaged the ties between the churches of Rome and Constantinople.

24. 2. Organization of the Two Churches The pope of Rome claimed that he was the head of all Christian churches. The Byzantines did not accept the pope’s claim. They believed that the patriarch of Constantinople and other bishops were equal to the pope.

25. 3. Each Church Refused to Help One Another In A.D 700’s, the Byzantine emperor refused to help the pope when Italy was invaded. The pope turned instead to a Germanic people called the Franks for help. The Franks were Roman Catholics and were loyal to the pope. The pope was grateful to them for stopping the invasion. In return, he gave the Frankish king, Charlemagne, the title of emperor. This angered the Byzantines because they believed that their emperor was the only true Roman emperor.

26. After centuries of tension, the pope and the patriarch took a drastic step in their ongoing feud. In A.D. 1054, they excommunicated each other. This began a separation of the two most important branches of Christianity. The split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox church has lasted until this day. Excommunicated – declare that a person or group no longer belongs to the church.

27. Christianity Spreads North Byzantine missionaries named Cyril and Methodius carried the Christian message to the Slavs, a people of eastern Europe. Eastern Orthodox missionaries traveled in Northern lands that bordered the Byzantine empire. St. Cyril and St. Methodius

28. Christianity Spreads West In the west, Christian missionaries looked to the islands of Britain and Ireland. In AD 400s, a priest named Patrick bought Christianity to Ireland. He set up a number of monasteries and churches. In AD 597, Pope Gregory I sent about 40 monks from Rome to take Christianity to England. In about 100 years, most of England was Christian. Pope St. Gregory the Great