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6th grade · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 15

Rome's Fall & Byzantium

From Rome to Constantinople

What your child practices

Rome's lasting contributions, why the Western Empire fell, Constantine and Constantinople, Justinian and the Byzantine Empire, and the split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 6.6a; 6.6b · why the Western Roman Empire fell and how the Byzantine Empire carried on Roman law and Orthodox Christianity

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Constantine was the first Christian Roman emperor and moved the capital to Constantinople.
  2. The eastern empire, Byzantium, lasted until the Ottoman Turks took Constantinople in 1453.
  3. Justinian organized Roman law. Latin is the root of Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.

Example: When did the Byzantine Empire end? The Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. That happened in the mid-1400s. Answer: 1453

Rome's Fall & Byzantium in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 7 of 15 in 6th grade Social Studies, after Greece & Rome and before Medieval Europe.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The Eastern Roman Empire lasted about a thousand more years as the…

    • Inca Empire
    • Mughal Empire
    • Mongol Empire
    • Byzantine Empire

  2. Question 2

    Empress Theodora helped rule the Byzantine Empire with…

    • Constantine
    • Justinian
    • Charlemagne
    • Augustus

  3. Question 3

    The Pax Romana was…

    • a Roman temple
    • about 200 years of relative peace in the empire
    • a kind of coin
    • a Roman war

  4. Question 4

    The Christian church split in 1054 into the Roman Catholic Church and the…

    • Protestant Church
    • Eastern Orthodox Church
    • Anglican Church
    • Coptic Church only

  5. Question 5

    Latin, the language of Rome, is the root of…

    • Arabic
    • Swahili
    • Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese
    • Chinese

  6. Question 6

    Why did invaders such as the Visigoths enter the empire?

    • they were pushed by the Huns and sought land
    • they wanted to learn Latin only
    • the empire was empty
    • they were invited as tourists

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