Today's class and homework 5/25/11

Define: Inflation - an increase in the supply of currency or credit relative to the availability of goods and services, resulting in higher prices and lowering of the amount any money is worth

Identify....
Diocletian - was a Roman emperor, who tried to rebuild the once succesfull empire but failed
Constantine - a yound Roman commander who inspired christianity to become a religion in Rome
eastern empire - what Diocletian named the Latin-speaking part of Rome, wealthier than the western empire
Western empire - what Diocletian named the Greek - peaking portion of Rome, was also far less weathly than the eastern empire
Edict of Milan - a speech given by Constantine in Milan, " both to the Christians and to all men freedom to follow the religion that they choose."
Constantinople - the capitol of the western Roman empire, during Constantine's rule
Huns - and extremly aggressive group of bararians, feared by even the Germanic people
Attila - the cheif of the Huns. He was violent and feared by many, and he sacked 70 cities in the east. A bishop names Leo I was the only person to have ever stopped him
Leo I - a Christian bishop who stopped Attila the Hun from destroying Rome completely

Questions and Answers:

1. Trade was disrupted by barbarian raid and by bands of pirates. Cold and silver was drained away to buy luxuries from different countries. Their expenses were rapidly getting higher, and Rome started producing coins that contains almost no silver anymore. their prices reached and iunflation, growing of prices. Harvests also grew to be less and less.
2. Tribes of barbarians called Goths repeatedly overran the legions in Rome. The Persians at one point even defeated Rome in 260 A.D. Roime now fought for money rather than patriotism. Also to keep prices down, they hired barbarian, who worked for far less. Their trust, however, could hardly be trusted.
3. Constantine accpeted the Christian religion and encouraged others in Rome to do the same. A key fact is that he ordered artisans to paint Christian symbols on soldier's shields. He became the emperor of the western half of the empire. He attributed his victory against his long time rival to the power of the Christian God. Constantine also moved the capitol from to Byzantium in Turkey. The shift in the capitol was a great advantage to the empire. Thus it shifted from west to east. The city's name was changed to Constantinople, and now both empires were Christian.
4. When Rome was still strong, the Germanic people respected their boundaries. The Germanic people feared the Huns greatly, so when they started to move west, the Germanic people destroyed the western half of the Roman empire. The western empire was so disorganized now, that it could not even muster up a medium sized army to defend themselves.
5. Three reason why Diocletian was a good emperor:
1. To beat inflation, he used a price and wage system
2. To secure boundaires, he enlarged the armies
3. To improve administration, he divided Rome into the eastern Greek-speaking half and the Latin-speaking western half.
6. Three reasons why Diocletian was a failure:
1. Wages for the new troops added to the already high taxes on people.
2. Price controls failed.
3. A civil war brok out after he retired.