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=__//**The Decline of the Roman Empire**//__=

**//__Conflicts in Rome__//**

We found our information [|here]. In 77 B.C., Rome sent one of its leading generals, Pompey, to put down an uprising in Spain. Only a few years later, Pompey had to rush back to Rome in order to deal with a new force that threatened the very heart of Roman power, both for the nobles and for the populares. This force was a slave revolt. Its leader was Spartacus, a Thracian slave sent to a school in Capua for the training of gladiators. Gladiators (you probably know what a gladiator is, but just to refresh your memory) were warriors who fought to their deaths in a ring, watched by cheering spectators, or people. The spectators paid good money for this form of "entertainment," and they expected to see the death of at least one of the two competitors in a match. No wonder then that Spartacus and the other slaves at the gladiatorial school revolted in 73 B.C. Within a short time, they had an army of more than 120,000.

Slavery was the foundation of ancient Rome's great wealth. Rome was not about to allow the slave revolt, sometimes called the Gladiatorial War, to proceed unchecked. Not only did Rome call back Pompey, but it sent another army under the control of Crassus, an ally of Sulla who had become incredibly wealthy by buying up property that was taken away during the dictatorship. In the final battle, Spartacus died rather than be captured, which was a wise choice, since the Romans crucified more then 6,000 slaves along the Appian Way,or the main road from Capua to Rome.

**__ Fight for power __** We found our information [|here]. During the decline of the Roman Empire, a power struggle was going on in Rome. In this time 27 men were recognized as senators. These men were bribed to make decisions, corruption was present, and men were killed in senate. The senate during the rule of Diocletian became only the city council of Rome. Diocletian took the first steps towards splitting the empire.

**__ To Big of an Empire __** We got our information [|here]. The Roman Empire was huge! It had vast amount of lands which means more places to attack. Also the conquered people who were called barbarians hated Romans. These people were taxed huge amounts and they often rebelled. The roman army was so big it cost huge amounts of money. At points they let conquered barbarians join the army. These barbarians learned Roman milatary tactics and this led to the sacking of Rome.

Map of Rome divided found [|here]

**__The Sacking of Rome__** We got our information [|here]. The sacking of Rome was a devastating event. In August 410, Alaric with about forty thousand Goths, seized Rome  and plundered it for three days. Goths are from Northern Europe. The physical damage to Rome was not great but the impression that Rome was taken by an enemy. Rome had not been taken by an enemy for over 800 hundred years. This did way more damage than the physical damage. This event pushed Rome farther into its decline. **__Money __** We got our information [|here]. The Roman economy declined, so did unemployment. The cost to defend the empire was huge. The rich used gold to buy luxury iteims this led to not enough gold in Roman coins. This made the currency decline. Then unemployment came into the problem. The unemployed people started counting on handouts from the state. This made Rome even more in debt.  nehushtanantiques.com