By following these steps, we can gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of historical events and appreciate the interconnectedness of past occurrences. 1.7.2 Showme How do we know about the factors that contributed to an event? Let us consider the fall of the Roman Empire using SOURCE1 .
SOURCE1 The weakening of the Western Roman Empire. The arrows show the directions from which different barbarian groups invaded the empire.
Key
Roman Empire
Direction of ‘barbarian’ invasions into Empire
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians
Huns
Scots
Vandals
Franks
Goths (Visigoths and Ostrogoths)
Burgundians
0
500
1000
kilometres
Source: Map drawn by Spatial Vision.
This source shows that large-scale migrations took place across Europe in the ýfth century CE. For example, Burgundians and other tribes entered Gaul; Angles, Saxons and Jutes from Germany and Denmark moved into Britain; and Vandals, another Germanic tribe, travelled into Spain. Some of these migrating peoples were referred to as barbarians . These migrations almost certainly would have had an impact on the Roman Empire, creating many direct and indirect pressures.
Which factors were most signiýcant in the fall of the Roman Empire? We can hypothesise that these large-scale migrations would cause the following: • weakening control for the Romans • shifts in power • military strain as the Romans tried to defend their empire • cultural transformation.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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