The decline of the Roman Empire- 2nd ESO

 2ND ESO. UNIT 1

Read the following text and answer the questions:

1.  The decline of the Roman Empire

            The Romans created a great empire around the Mediterranean Sea. Under Emperor Trajan (98-117) the empire reached the British Isles and the Danube and Rhine rivers in Europe, the River Tigris in Asia, and the Sahara desert in Africa.

Germanic tribes lived to the north of the Roman Empire. The Romans called them barbarians (foreigners). The empire’s wealth and military weakness led to a series of Germanic migrations across the frontier. Some of these were violent invasions.

Roman control over its northern territories gradually declined after the third century. In 395, Emperor Theodosius divided the empire between his two sons to make it easier to defend. Thus, the western and eastern provinces became the Western Roman Empire, with its capital in Rome, and the Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital in Constantinople.

Romulus Augustulus, the last emperor of the Western Empire, was deposed in 476. For some historians, this date marks the beginning of the Middle Ages.

???1. -What was the first meaning of barbarian? Was it a Latin word? What does it mean today?

     2.Learn and make sentences with the following words: wealth, tribe, reach, barbarian, weakness