INDICTMENT



INDICTMENT

OF ROMAN EMPERORS

The Charge:

Your ineffective leadership caused the collapse of the Roman Empire.

In the 500 years Rome was empire, some of the emperors were good, some were bad, and some were plain crazy. Rome never solved the problem of how to peacefully transfer political power to a new leader. When an emperor died, ambitious rivals with independent armies often fought each other for the emperor’s crown.

Even when the transfer of power happened without fighting, there was no good system for choosing the next emperor. Often the Praetorian guard, the emperor’s private army, chose the new ruler. But they frequently chose leaders who would reward them rather than those who were best prepared to be emperor.

Notorious emperors like Nero and Caligula wasted large amounts of money, spreading corruption and causing a decline in citizenship. A rise in crime made the emperor’s cities and roads unsafe. Unemployment was also a serious problem for many people. Small farmers could not compete with the large landowners. They fled to the cities looking for work, but there were not enough jobs for everyone.

Instead of fixing these problems, the emperors tended to focus on improving their own extravagant lifestyle and persecuting Christians, a new powerful religious group who challenged government beliefs and corruption. Diocletian tried to save the empire by splitting it into two, but this move was the final straw. With a new focus on the eastern half of the empire, the west was left to collapse. Your ineffective leadership is to blame for the fall of the Roman Empire, the greatest civilization of its time.

Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the following comprehension questions. Answer as a 6S Student, not as an emperor. When you’re finished, check in with me!

( ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES (

1. If an emperor died, how was the next leader usually chosen?

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2. How could this method of choosing new emperors hurt Rome? How could it help it?

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3. Name at least three ways the emperors were considered ineffective and may have caused the decline of the Roman Empire.

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Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on another defendant group!

INDICTMENT

OF BARBARIANS

The Charge:

Your constant attacks on Roman borders and pillaging of the city of Rome led to the collapse of the world’s greatest empire.

In the 200s C.E., several Germanic tribes like the Gauls, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, and Franks started gaining power and made it increasingly difficult to defend Rome’s borders. Your tribes were “uncivilized,” living in small groups, wearing animal fur, and constantly fighting amongst themselves. Barbarian literally means “foreigner” or “non-Greek speaker.” You’re considered filthy, violent, and coldblooded; the Romans definitely feared you.

While the barbarians originally made peace with Rome, your lifestyle focused on war and the constant need to seek more power and land. Even when they joined the Roman army, they were not entirely loyal and weakened their military unit’s effectiveness.

In an attempt to gain control, Rome tried to charge higher taxes on the barbarians, but the tribes rebelled and attacked. Over the course of two hundred years, Roman generals were forced to constantly defend the empire’s borders. Defenses could only hold for so long. In one battle, two thirds of the Roman army was destroyed and the tribes made their way to Rome.

You were ruthless, murdering innocent civilians (non-fighting men) and kidnapping women and children. You plundered Rome, taking gold and jewels first, and then helped themselves to fine furniture and works of art. For six days you sacked (destroyed) the city. By the time you left, the streets were littered with bodies and the empire never recovered. When Rome fell, it was broken up into numerous barbarian-led tribal kingdoms and a dark period (a lack of inventions, ideas, and peace) fell across Europe for the next thousand years. Your constant invasions brought about the fall of Rome and the Dark Ages.

Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the following comprehension questions. Answer as a 6S Student, not as a barbarian. When you’re finished, check in with me!

( ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES (

1. Who were the barbarians? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Name two ways why the barbarians could be responsible for ending the Roman Empire.

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3. Why would constant attacks on Rome’s borders be a major problem? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on another defendant group!

INDICTMENT

OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES

The Charge:

Your religious beliefs and growing population questioned the emperors’ authority and divided the Roman people, causing the empire to lose power and collapse.

At its height, the Roman Empire included many races, languages, and religious beliefs. There were many beliefs that flourished and gained followers, but none had as much influence and followers as Christianity. Christianity promised something that other belief systems of the time did not: a chance of forgiveness and eternal life. Christians believe that Jesus Christ was not only a religious prophet, but the son of God.

At first, Rome was not unfriendly to Christians. What was another god, among so many? But Christians refused to worship the other Roman gods. Worse, you would not admit that the emperor was a god. Your way of life seemed to be an insult to Roman customs. Instead of wealth and luxury, you preferred living simply. Recalling Jesus’ message of peace and love, many of you refused to serve in the army.

As the number of Christians grew, the empire became divided. Romans saw you as a threat to Roman order and patriotism. Eventually your religion was declared illegal and Christians were sentenced to die in cruel and painful ways for refusing to honor the Roman gods. Yet these punishments failed to destroy the new religion since Christianity gained new followers with its belief that even the poor and slaves could look forward to a better life after death if they followed the ways of Christ. This growing power made the emperors seem weak and further caused division amongst believers and non-believers.

Eventually, the Emperor Constantine embraced the church and gave Christians the freedom to practice their religion openly and by 395, it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. As the empire was occupied with wars and political matters, the Church became more and more powerful and many valued its opinion over the empire. The Church had become more powerful than the state (government), and the empire was unable to re-establish its control and unify its people. Your religion’s challenge of authority and division of believers and non-believers helped bring about the fall of Rome.

Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the following comprehension questions. Answer as a 6S Student, not as a new Christian. When you’re finished, check in with me!

( ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES (

1. How did Christian values differ from Roman values? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why was Christianity able to survive despite the empire’s attempts to kill all Christians?

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3. Why would a civilization have trouble if its citizens are divided? (Ex’s: Rome’s Christians and non-Christians or our own “Red” States and “Blue” States).

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4. How would allegiance (loyalty) to the Church instead of the empire help bring about Rome’s collapse?

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Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on another defendant group!

INDICTMENT

OF THE ROMAN ARMY

The Charge:

Your constant need to expand the empire caused savage wars, problems between Roman citizens and non-citizens, and massive debts that brought about the fall of Rome.

From the beginning to its fall in 476 CE, Rome had four periods of expansion. When Rome was only a small city-state, your soldiers conquered the Etruscans and gained control of all of Italy. During the second period of expansion, Rome fought three savage wars against Carthage, a city-state in Northern Africa. While Rome was eventually victorious against Hannibal and his army, families mourned for the countless soldiers who had died in the long wars. In addition, people living outside of Rome suffered huge losses; Hannibal’s army had destroyed thousands of farms and many soldiers returned home to find nothing waiting for them.

As newly conquered people entered the empire, they were not given the same rights as Roman citizens and many became slaves. Romans treated slaves very harshly and many revolts occurred, killing thousands. Incoming slaves also took jobs away from thousands of farmers and laborers.

Your army’s generals (like Julius Caesar) also used their victories to gain fame in far-off lands and fight for power in Rome. In one civil war, over 200,000 Romans were killed. Eventually democracy ended and the empire began with Augustus’s rule. Though the Pax Romana, a 200 year period of peace, occurred after his rule, Rome’s large borders constantly needed to be defended. The empire could not afford to send soldiers to all the places it needed to defend and kept raising taxes to pay for this constant expansion and defense.

Rome had basically become “too big for its britches.” The empire became too large too fast and was unable to provide for its citizens and protect its territories. Constant expansion led to brutal wars, troubles between citizens and non-citizens, and massive debts. These issues weakened the empire until it was no longer able to guard itself against barbarian attacks. The Roman army’s greed for more power and land eventually led to the empire’s collapse.

Now that you’ve read your indictment, answer the following comprehension questions. Answer as a 6S Student, not as a Roman general. When you’re finished, check in with me!

( ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES (

1. Why would the Rome want to expand its boundaries? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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2. How did war cause non-citizens and citizens to have problems with one another? How would this issue cause problems for the Roman government?

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3. Name at least three ways Rome’s expansion help bring about its fall. Should Rome have kept expanding its empire? Why/Why not?

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Now please check in with me so you can then become an expert on another defendant group!

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