Historians usually agree on all of the reasons why empires decline and collapse.
List one reason why it is important for historians to study the decline and collapse of empires.
Match the term to its related-definition.
| Draggable item | arrow_right_alt | Corresponding Item |
|---|---|---|
Political | arrow_right_alt | money-related |
Social | arrow_right_alt | government-related |
Security | arrow_right_alt | people/culture-related |
Economic | arrow_right_alt | geographic/natural world-related |
Environmental | arrow_right_alt | military-related |
Most empires end up collapsing because they can no longer afford to pay for all of their expenses.
Governments can face security problems from both inside and outside its borders.
Sometimes societies decline when people with different ideas on how to run the government can't get along.
How could scarce natural resources lead to the decline of an empire?
Match the reason with why Rome fell with its accurate description.
| Draggable item | arrow_right_alt | Corresponding Item |
|---|---|---|
Rise of the Eastern Empire | arrow_right_alt | Powerful outside groups were attacking the Romans |
Economic troubles | arrow_right_alt | Groups on the eastern side of the empire started to get more powerful and challenge the rulers in the West. |
Rebellions from inside the empire | arrow_right_alt | As the empire grew larger, it became harder and more expensive to defend. Rome didn't have enough money or a good enough communication and transportation system to control such a large empire. |
Political problems | arrow_right_alt | The government regularly spent too much money, especially because it was constantly fighting wars. In order to get more money, the government kept raising taxes, which angered the people. |
Religion and changing values | arrow_right_alt | Rome's leaders were becoming weaker and not very effective at controlling the society. Leaders started to fight with each other and many leaders were murdered by men who wanted to take their place. |
Weakened military | arrow_right_alt | Roman leaders mistreated some members of their society, even forcing some people to sell their children into slavery just to get food (which was often dog meat). These mistreated people band together and rebelled against the leaders. |
Overexpansion and military spending | arrow_right_alt | The spread of Christianity changed some of the traditional Roman values and created different beliefs among the Roman people. |
Invasions by outside tribes | arrow_right_alt | It became harder to recruit soldiers for the military, which made it harder to fight enemies. |
The word censorship comes from the idea of the Roman censor.
List some of the morality rules that Romans had to follow.
Which moral standards do you think people in the U.S. are not abiding by today? Do you think this could contribute to the decline of our society? Why or why not?