What were Rome's problems?
After the last Severan emperor of their dynasty died, Rome's government became very weak as military leaders fought for power. Roman soldiers took land and crops and destroyed the fields, and famine spread through Rome. Government officials grew less honest and took bribes and the law system grew unbalanced. Many rich Romans stopped paying taxes and stopped going to school. Many Romans were now slaves as much as 40% of Rome's population were slaves. As economy worsened fewer people purchased goods and businesses lost money. Prices increased so Rome had to make coins with less coins, and once people found out, they did not use them. Rome could neither afford to pay their soldiers to fight as invaders moved into the empire's territory. They employed Germanic mercenaries who were not loyal to Rome.
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What changes did Diocletian and Constantine make?
The emperor Diocletian tried to save Rome and made reforms. He split the empire into 4 parts and appointed a ruler to rule each part though he was left in charge. He fixed the prices to stay the same, and created minimum wages. People ignored his reforms though and they failed. Constantine took his place and moved the capital to Constantinople. He made sons follow their father's jobs. These changes did not save Rome.
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Who invaded Rome and why did Rome fall?
After Constantine fighting broke out and Theodosius won the throne and ended the fighting. He divided Rome into an east and west. Germanic tribes sought refuge in Rome's empire from the Hun's who were the fierce Mongolian warriors. As the Romans mistreated the tribes, they eventually rebelled. The tribes ended up defeating western Rome and burning the city of Rome itself. Eastern Rome remained though and prospered into the Byzantine Empire which would remain for a thousand more years.
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