Germanic Invasions of the Roman Empire
1 The Roman Empire, centered around the city of Rome in Italy, controlled large parts of Europe between 27 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ. and ᴀ.ᴅ. 476. However, the Romans eventually experienced increasing difficulties maintaining control. While there was periodic, fierce fighting on the borders of the empire between the Germanic tribes and the Romans, there was also a growing relationship based on mutual advantage. █ After the third
century, Rome relied more and more on mercenaries (people receiving payment to fight for a foreign country) to guard the empire’s borders. █ By the late fourth century, then, many tribes had a great deal of contact with the empire. █ Numerous young Germanic warriors no longer farmed but instead used Roman pay to support their families. █ Nearby tribes had learned to value Roman coins as much as they did cattle and jewelry (their traditional forms of wealth), and Rome had come to depend on the Germans’ impressive skill in war.
2 This mutually satisfying relationship changed in the late fourth century when a fierce tribe of horsemen, the Huns, originating in northern China, came sweeping out of Asia. The Huns struck terror in the hearts of the Germanic tribes in their path. They were a fierce people (even by Germanic standards) who charged across the continent on small ponies that seemingly needed no rest. They wielded compound bows that could outshoot anything in the West. Contemporary descriptions of the Huns reveal the dread generated by these remarkably successful people. Some Germanic tribes fled across the boundaries of the empire in search of safer territory. One such tribe, the Visigoths, crossed into the empire looking for land and ended up sacking Rome itself in ᴀ.ᴅ. 410. The Visigoths were only one of many Germanic peoples who crossed into
the empire in the early fifth century.
3 By the late third century, the Romans faced severe economic problems that kept them from successfully defending their borders against these new encroachments. They could not even afford to pay for the minimum defense, for the empire spent about 30 gold pieces a year for each soldier. An army of only 30,000 would have cost the entire annual budget of the western empire, so the Romans had to develop a new, less expensive way to defend their borders. To address this need, the Romans offered some encroaching tribes a treaty that made them federates, or allies, of Rome. Through this treaty, the warrior tribes received permission to live within the borders of the empire, and in exchange they agreed to fight the enemies of Rome. The Visigoths became federates for enough grain to feed their warriors and families: in return they agreed to fight their traditional enemies, the Germanic Vandals. The Visigoths were later called north to protect the Italian borders. As more tribes were awarded federate status, the western empire began to be transformed by the blending of peoples.
4 The federate treaties allowed the Germanic tribes to live within the empire and govern themselves by their own laws and customs, using their own leaders. This model of separate, coexisting cultures almost immediately proved to be unrealistic. In most of the territories, such as Spain and North Africa, the Germans were very much in the minority, so their culture was transformed by contact with neighboring Romans. For example, tribal leaders began to be called and treated as kings, although competing German noblemen consistently resorted to assassination to maintain their traditional voice in tribal affairs.
5 In addition to having disputes with the federate tribes, the empire lost some provinces altogether. In about ᴀ.ᴅ. 407, Rome recalled armies from Britain to help defend Italy against invaders. This left the Celtic Britons, who lived in the Roman manner, alone to defend themselves against invaders from Scotland and the Scandinavian countries. Tribes of Angles. Saxons, and Jutes entered and settled the eastern portions of Britain, pushing most of the Celtic Britons to Wales and Ireland, the western edges of the British Isles.
Britain was lost to Rome and became a mosaic of small Germanic kingdoms.
1.
1 The Roman Empire, centered around the city of Rome in Italy, controlled large parts of Europe between 27 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ. and ᴀ.ᴅ. 476. However, the Romans eventually experienced increasing difficulties maintaining control. While there was periodic, fierce fighting on the borders of the empire between the Germanic tribes and the Romans, there was also a growing relationship based on mutual advantage. █ After the third
century, Rome relied more and more on mercenaries (people receiving payment to fight for a foreign country) to guard the empire’s borders. █ By the late fourth century, then, many tribes had a great deal of contact with the empire. █ Numerous young Germanic warriors no longer farmed but instead used Roman pay to support their families. █ Nearby tribes had learned to value Roman coins as much as they did cattle and jewelry (their traditional forms of wealth), and Rome had come to depend on the Germans’ impressive skill in war.
Paragraph 1 suggests that which of the following was a consequence of increased contact between the Germanic tribes and the Romans?
A)The Germanic tribes learned new farming techniques from the Romans.
B)The Germanic tribes were able to sell their cattle and jewelry for higher prices.
C)The Germanic tribes began to rely on money as well as material goods for exchange.
D)The Germanic tribes became more skilled in warfare as they learned from the Romans.
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2 This mutually satisfying relationship changed in the late fourth century when a fierce tribe of horsemen, the Huns, originating in northern China, came sweeping out of Asia. The Huns struck terror in the hearts of the Germanic tribes in their path. They were a fierce people (even by Germanic standards) who charged across the continent on small ponies that seemingly needed no rest. They wielded compound bows that could outshoot anything in the West. Contemporary descriptions of the Huns reveal the dread generated by these remarkably successful people. Some Germanic tribes fled across the boundaries of the empire in search of safer territory. One such tribe, the Visigoths, crossed into the empire looking for land and ended up sacking Rome itself in ᴀ.ᴅ. 410. The Visigoths were only one of many Germanic peoples who crossed into
the empire in the early fifth century.
The phrase “ Contemporary descriptions ” in the passage is closest in meaning to
A)Detailed descriptions
B)Descriptions by ordinary people
C)Descriptions from the time
D)Newly discovered descriptions
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2 This mutually satisfying relationship changed in the late fourth century when a fierce tribe of horsemen, the Huns, originating in northern China, came sweeping out of Asia. The Huns struck terror in the hearts of the Germanic tribes in their path. They were a fierce people (even by Germanic standards) who charged across the continent on small ponies that seemingly needed no rest. They wielded compound bows that could outshoot anything in the West. Contemporary descriptions of the Huns reveal the dread generated by these remarkably successful people. Some Germanic tribes fled across the boundaries of the empire in search of safer territory. One such tribe, the Visigoths, crossed into the empire looking for land and ended up sacking Rome itself in ᴀ.ᴅ. 410. The Visigoths were only one of many Germanic peoples who crossed into
the empire in the early fifth century.
According to paragraph 2, which of the following is true about the Huns?
A)They joined with some Germanic trbes to cross into Roman territory.
B)They had weapons that were more advanced than those of the Romans and the Germanic tribes.
C)They formed a mutually satisfying relationship with the Romans.
D)They successfully invaded Rome in the early fifth century.
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2 This mutually satisfying relationship changed in the late fourth century when a fierce tribe of horsemen, the Huns, originating in northern China, came sweeping out of Asia. The Huns struck terror in the hearts of the Germanic tribes in their path. They were a fierce people (even by Germanic standards) who charged across the continent on small ponies that seemingly needed no rest. They wielded compound bows that could outshoot anything in the West. Contemporary descriptions of the Huns reveal the dread generated by these remarkably successful people. Some Germanic tribes fled across the boundaries of the empire in search of safer territory. One such tribe, the Visigoths, crossed into the empire looking for land and ended up sacking Rome itself in ᴀ.ᴅ. 410. The Visigoths were only one of many Germanic peoples who crossed into
the empire in the early fifth century.
Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the sacking of Rome in ᴀ.ᴅ. 410 ?
A)It was accomplished by many Germanic peoples as well as other tribes, such as the Visigoths.
B)It occurred in part because many Romans had left the city to fight invaders at the border of the empire.
C)It was made possible by an alliance between the Huns and” some Germanic tribes.
D)It was an indirect result of attacks on the Germanic tribes by the Huns.
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3 By the late third century, the Romans faced severe economic problems that kept them from successfully defending their borders against these new encroachments. They could not even afford to pay for the minimum defense, for the empire spent about 30 gold pieces a year for each soldier. An army of only 30,000 would have cost the entire annual budget of the western empire, so the Romans had to develop a new, less expensive way to defend their borders. To address this need, the Romans offered some encroaching tribes a treaty that made them federates, or allies, of Rome. Through this treaty, the warrior tribes received permission to live within the borders of the empire, and in exchange they agreed to fight the enemies of Rome. The Visigoths became federates for enough grain to feed their warriors and families: in return they agreed to fight their traditional enemies, the Germanic Vandals. The Visigoths were later called north to protect the Italian borders. As more tribes were awarded federate status, the western empire began to be transformed by the blending of peoples.
According to paragraph 3. why did the Romans have difficulty defending their borders by the late third century?
A)Some tribes that were awarded federate status abandoned the borders they were sent to protect.
B)The warrior tribes they formed alliances with demanded more resources than the Romans could afford.
C)Their attempts to get some Germanic tribes to fight against other Germanic tribes failed.
D)They lacked enough money to pay the thousands of soldiers required to defend their borders.
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3 By the late third century, the Romans faced severe economic problems that kept them from successfully defending their borders against these new encroachments. They could not even afford to pay for the minimum defense, for the empire spent about 30 gold pieces a year for each soldier. An army of only 30,000 would have cost the entire annual budget of the western empire, so the Romans had to develop a new, less expensive way to defend their borders. To address this need, the Romans offered some encroaching tribes a treaty that made them federates, or allies, of Rome. Through this treaty, the warrior tribes received permission to live within the borders of the empire, and in exchange they agreed to fight the enemies of Rome. The Visigoths became federates for enough grain to feed their warriors and families: in return they agreed to fight their traditional enemies, the Germanic Vandals. The Visigoths were later called north to protect the Italian borders. As more tribes were awarded federate status, the western empire began to be transformed by the blending of peoples.
According to paragraph 3, all of the following resulted from the federate system EXCEPT:
The Visigoths and the Germanic Vandals became allies for the first time.
Previous enemies of the Roman Empire began to live within its borders.
Some Germanic tribes started to fight other Germanic tribes to protect the Roman Empire. The western Roman Empire became home to a greater diversity of people.
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4 The federate treaties allowed the Germanic tribes to live within the empire and govern themselves by their own laws and customs, using their own leaders. This model of separate, coexisting cultures almost immediately proved to be unrealistic. In most of the territories, such as Spain and North Africa, the Germans were very much in the minority, so their culture was transformed by contact with neighboring Romans. For example, tribal leaders began to be called and treated as kings, although competing German noblemen consistently resorted to assassination to maintain their traditional voice in tribal affairs.
According to paragraph 4, why was the governing arrangement from the federate treaties unrealistic for the Germanic tribes?
The Germanic tribes were too small to maintain their culture within the larger, dominant culture.
The Germanic tribes’ contact with neighboring Romans was very limited.
The laws and customs of the Germanic tribes were often in conflict with those of other tribes within certain territories of the empire.
Rivalry between German noblemen made it difficult for the Germanic tribes to maintain their traditional voice in tribal affairs.
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5 In addition to having disputes with the federate tribes, the empire lost some provinces altogether. In about ᴀ.ᴅ. 407, Rome recalled armies from Britain to help defend Italy against invaders. This left the Celtic Britons, who lived in the Roman manner, alone to defend themselves against invaders from Scotland and the Scandinavian countries. Tribes of Angles. Saxons, and Jutes entered and settled the eastern portions of Britain, pushing most of the Celtic Britons to Wales and Ireland, the western edges of the British Isles. Britain was lost to Rome and became a mosaic of small Germanic kingdoms.
In paragraph 5, why does the author discuss the defeat of the Celtic Britons by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes?
To help explain why the large size of the Roman Empire made it difficult to defend
To further illustrate the Roman Empire’s increasing difficulty in maintaining possession of its territories
To support the claim that disputes with the federate tribes continued to worsen from about ᴀ.ᴅ. 407 onward
To identify a consequence of the collapse of the Roman Empire
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1 The Roman Empire, centered around the city of Rome in Italy, controlled large parts of Europe between 27 ʙ.ᴄ.ᴇ. and ᴀ.ᴅ. 476. However, the Romans eventually experienced increasing difficulties maintaining control. While there was periodic, fierce fighting on the borders of the empire between the Germanic tribes and the Romans, there was also a growing relationship based on mutual advantage. █ After the third
century, Rome relied more and more on mercenaries (people receiving payment to fight for a foreign country) to guard the empire’s borders. █ By the late fourth century, then, many tribes had a great deal of contact with the empire. █ Numerous young Germanic warriors no longer farmed but instead used Roman pay to support their families. █ Nearby tribes had learned to value Roman coins as much as they did cattle and jewelry (their traditional forms of wealth), and Rome had come to depend on the Germans’ impressive skill in war.
Some tribes even came to depend on the Roman Empire for their livelihood.
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [█] to add the sentence to the passage.
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During the Roman Empire, the relationship between the Romans and the Germanic tribes was one of both mutual benefit and conflict.
A)Contact between many Germanic tribes and the Romans resulted in the development of different means of payment, such as gold coins, cattle, and jewelry.
B)Of the many Germanic tribes that looked for land and safer territory in Rome, the Visigoths and the Germanic Vandals came to be more valuable for protecting Rome.
C)Several tribes that adopted Roman customs across Britain. Spain, and North Africa experienced a significant cultural transformation from contact with the Germanic tribes.
D)The Romans and the Germanic tribes came to rely on one another. ) but attacks on the Germanic tribes by the Huns drove some of the tribes into Roman territory, causing problems for Rome.
E)In the face of economic difficulties. Rome started using other means 9 to integrate some Germanic tribes into the empire, relying on them to defend the empire’s borders against its enemies.
F)Germanic tribes living within seVwiai Koman territories enjoyed some B autonomy, but conflicts arose that led to the loss of some provinces and the occupation of others.
