Crisis, Reform, and the Fall of the West

Lesson Goal

Students will explain the causes that weakened Rome, the reforms that tried to save it, the division into East and West, and the fall of the Western empire in 476, and will see that the Eastern empire and the church both continued.

Key Vocabulary

Inflation

Money losing its value, so prices rise.

Constantinople

Constantine's new capital in the East, built on the old city of Byzantium.

Sack

To capture a city and loot it.

Western Roman Empire

The western half of the split empire, which fell in 476.

Teaching Suggestion

Make a list of causes with the student as you read: bad emperors, money losing value, borders too long to guard, invaders. The point is that no single blow ended Rome.

Where This Goes Next

U2-L1 picks up the half that didn't fall. The Eastern empire, ruled from Constantinople, lasted almost another thousand years.