Topic: The Crisis and Collapse of the Roman Empire

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

I. Ancient civilizations. Pupil:

2. locates in time and space (...) the civilizations of the ancient (...) Rome;

3. characterizes the structure of society in (...) Rome;

4. situates in time and knows various systems of governance and organization of society in (...) Rome.

General aim of education

Students will learn about the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to define the causes of the crisis of the Roman Empire in the third century CE;;

• telling who Diocletian was and what he did to stop the crisis;

• to describe when was the Roman Empire divided into the East and West Empires;;

• characterize what the great migration of peoples was and how it influenced the decline of the Roman Empire;

• to define what point in history the Antiquity ended and the Middle Ages started.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students should know why there has been a change in the regime from a monarchy to a republic, who and when introduced the Principate and what it was characterized by.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher, starting the lesson, asks students what forms of power were present in ancient Rome until the second century AD,and what were they characterized by. Students should list and describe the monarchy, republic and empire (the Principate).

Realization

1. The teacher reminds the students that since the reign of Emperor Augustus, * pax romana * allowed the state to achieve the status of a great empire and to maintain relative internal peace and borders. Unfortunately, when crisis occurred (called the crisis of the third century), it caused weakness and dissolution. It happened due to the entry of Germanic peoples into the empire, the weakness of the government and the economic and administrative crisis.

2. The teacher talks about Emperor Diocletian, who managed to rebuild the position of the empire and stop the crisis. The teacher explains what the Tetrarchy was, and then starts a discussion, on why Diocletian decided to make such a move and agreed to divide the power? Students indicate the reasons and types of introduced changes (** Exercise 1 **) and perform ** Exercise 2 **, in which they assign tetrarchs to the lands they managed. The teacher makes sure that the task has been carried out correctly and then provides feedback.

3. The teacher tells the students about the rest of the Diocletian reforms that have helped to overcome the crisis. Students carry out ** Exercise 3 **. The teacher makes sure that the exercise has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

4. Unfortunately, towards the end of the 4th century, the Roman Empire slowly fell into decline and did not manifest unity as it did several centuries earlier. The teacher explains the division of the Roman Empire (the development differences of latin and greek world, the rise of Christianity, etc.). The reasons can be found as soon as in the decision of Diocletian to divide the power and establish the four capitals. Students perform ** Exercise 4 ** and discuss it with the teacher.

5. The teacher writes down the slogan „Migration Period” on the board and asks students to list their associations with this concept. Then he asks students what they think it is. Asking the questions, the teacher remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions. The teacher explains the impact of this process and its influence on the history of not only the Roman Empire, but also the rest of Europe. Students, analyzing the map (** Exercises 5 **), list the that tribes settled within the Empire. At the end of the exercise the teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

6. The definitive end of the West Empire was sealed by the invasions of barbarian peoples. The teacher gives students examples of such invasions: Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals and threats by the Huns. He also lists their consequences: the Battle of Adrianople (378); the Sack of Rome, the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (451); re‑sacking of Rome and its final fall (476). Students get acquainted with the timeline in ** Task 1 **.

Summary

1. To sum up the lesson, students carry out ** Exercise 6 ** and then discuss it with the teacher.

2. At the end of the lesson, the teacher asks the students why the fall of the Roman Empire is considered to be the ending date of antiquity. What could be the reason?.

3. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: Find information about the reasons for the fall of Rome. They have long been discussed and are very mysterious, after all the great Roman Empire was not conquered and defeated by another power. What do researchers consider to be the cause of the fall of the empire?.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The Crisis and Collapse of the Roman Empire

The period of “Roman Peace”, ushered in by Emperor Augustus, brought the Empire peace and prosperity. Halfway through the second century CE the Roman Empire reached the peak of its power and greatness. The provinces thrived, undergoing the process of romanization, i.e. the spread of Roman models and customs. It was, however, not an easy task to maintain peace and power in such a large area. In order to keep the borders safe, the construction of the border fortification system, known as the limes was undertaken. Its most widely‑known portion – the over 120 kilometer‑long Hadrian’s Wall – is still present in Britain. That notwithstanding, the Empire was facing ever greater inner problems. Especially in the third century, the state’s wellbeing was marred by numerous civil wars, usurpations, and an economic crisis. The situation was exacerbated by power struggles, joined by the legion commanders and the Praetorian Guard ever more often. Those problems resulted in the need to make changes that would restore Rome’s might.

Relative peace was brought by the rule of the Emperor Diocletian at the turn of the third century. Despite his absolutist ambitions (the Emperor demanded, for example, to be worshipped as a god) he was well aware that such a large area could not be efficiently ruled by one person. A move that was meant to save Rome was the introduction of a new system of rule – the collaborative rule of four Emperors – two of them of the superior rank of Augustus, and two of the inferior rank – the Caesars. This system was called tetrarchy. Every ruler oversaw a different part of the Empire, and it was established that the Emperors of the superior rank would pass their power onto the Caesars after 20 years, and those would in turn choose their successors. The military power of the Empire was increased as well by increasing the legions’ numbers, strengthening the borders, fortifying the cities and enacting fiscal and administrative reform. That notwithstanding, the city of Rome lost its significance, especially when in 330 CE the Emperor Constantine the Great founded the opulent city named after himself – Constantinople. It quickly became the main capital of the Empire, heralding its looming division. The empire was divided in 395 CE, in accordance with the will of Theodosius the Great – at the moment of his death. The Roman Empire became permanently divided into the Western Empire with its capital in Ravenna, and the Eastern Empire with its capital in Constantinople.

By the end of the fourth century, the Empire experienced a period of mass migration, later known as the Migration Period. The Empire’s borders started experiencing an influx of numerous barbaric peoples. The Germanic Visigoths entered the area of Italy, sacking and burning the city of Rome in 410 CE. Subsequent Germanic tribes settled in Gaul and Spain (initially as allies), the Vandals seized part of North Africa. This led to the loss of control of the emperors over the key provinces of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, the Empire’s worst moments were only yet to come. At the beginning of the fifth century Attila, the ruler of the Asian Huns, together with the tribes subject to him, attacked Gaul. In the great battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, he was stopped by the united forces of Roman Gaul and the barbarians inhabiting the Empire’s territory. The peace, however, did not last long, and Rome was still threatened by the Vandals, who, led by Genseric, sacked the city again in 455. Since then, the power in the Western Empire was effectively held by the Germanic leaders, which in turn led to the deposition of the young Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, in 476. This event is considered the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire and became the point in history that marked the end of Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages.