The Decline of the Roman Empire: Aurelian, Diocletian, and Constantine

1. Western Civilization Chapter 7

2. The World of Late Antiquity284-600 A.D. • By the end of the 3rd century, it looked as if the Roman Empire could crumble • There were internal and external problems • Soldier/Emperor Aurelian (270-275 A.D.) worked to keep this from happening: • He repulsed Germanic barbarians • He restored the unity of the Empire • He tried to stabilize the political structure • He was then assassinated

3. Aurelian

4. Diocletian and Constantine • In 284 and then again in 306 A.D. 2 military men became Emperors of Rome • They tried to stop the steady decline • They initiated many reforms which gave the empire a reprieve but did not stop the decline

5. Diocletian • Reigned 284 – 305 A.D. • Was of peasant stock from Dalmatia • Became a general in the army and adopted autocratic ways • Knew what Rome’s problems were • Acted decisively to restore order, stability, and prosperity to the empire • Devised a system for orderly succession and division of administrative responsibilities

6. It was called Tetrarchyor Rule of 4 • Diocletian was at the top with overall rule • In the East, he named two men to be an Augustus and a Caesar; those were their titles • In the West, Diocletian named an Augustus and a Caesar • So there would be 4 co-rulers and 4 territorial units for them to rule called prefectures • When the Augustus died, the Caesar would succeed him who would name a new Caesar

7. Each Augustus and each Caesar had full governing authority over each prefecture Diocletian had the overall authority 1. He did not consult the Senate or the people 2. His words were law 3. He withdrew from public view as much as possible and established court rituals that had the air of the divine 4. Diocletian was Lord of the Land

8. A bureaucracy was established in each prefecture, so a more complete control of life was apparent • His reorganization was used to aid the military that the empire needed, but he removed the military from politics • He worked to increase military effectiveness • Had permanent border forces • Created a mobile cavalry to handle crises as they arose • Size of army grew

9. Expansion of the bureaucracy and the army imposed financial burdens on the government, so he • Reorganized the tax system • He taxed land and individuals • Ordered specific goods& services to be produced to support the bureaucracy, the courts, & the army • To keep this working, bureaucrats, laborers, & artisans had to give service to the state

10. There were fixed prices on goods • He reinstated the worship of old deities • He wanted to unite people with a state religion with the emperor seen as divine • Christians defied Diocletian and were put to death in 303 and 304 A.D. • Diocletian abdicated in 305 A.D. • His succession system failed and civil war followed

11. Constantine • Reigned from 306 – 337 A.D.) • Claimed throne in 306 as did 5 others • He used military force to win control of throne for the entire empire in 324 A.D. • He continued Diocletian’s policies • Continued to strengthen the army • Expanded and tightened bureaucratic controls • Improved finances • Had tight control over population

12. Constantine added a new religious policy in 313 A.D. called the Edict of Milan; it granted religious toleration and ended the persecution of Christians; it gave Christians legal recognition • Constantine converted to Christianity • Some say he wasn’t baptized until he was dying • He promoted Christian causes • He built churches, like St. Peter’s in the Vatican

13. The First St. Peter’s

14. Constantine’s laws reflected Christian influence • He did little to encourage other religions • He won the allegiance of Christians • He changed the capital from Rome to Byzantium, and it became known as Constantinople

15. Byzantium

16. Constantinople

17. Constantine shifted imperial power to the east • He said Rome was no longer strategically located • He wished to freed from the pagan traditions of Rome • Rome remained important as the center of Christianity • During the 4th century, the number of Christians grew from 5 million to 30 million

18. The reigns of Diocletian and Constantine seemed to bring order and security to Rome • These feelings lasted through the reign of Theodosius I (r. 379 – 395)

19. There was some literary and artistic activity – much of it for the Christian religion • Old stresses returned after 395 • 1) no true economic recovery • decline in production • army used much of what was produced • taxes were high and fell primarily on aristocrats and peasants

20. As a result: • 2) decline in public spirit • recruiting for the army became difficult • German barbarians filled the ranks • made for a less effective army - understaffed

21. 3.) quality of government deteriorated • bureaucracy became corrupt • Pagan resentment toward Christians • Christianity did not unify but was a dominant force All these factors combined at the end of the 4th century to contribute to the crisis that was to come, the Germanic Barbarian Invasions

22. Germanic Barbarians

23. These barbarians were looking for good agricultural land on which to settle • Between the 2nd and 5th centuries grew large enough to challenge Rome • Initially, barbarians lived in small villages that made up clans that made up tribes • Weak central government • Loose boundaries • Tribal leaders

24. Barbarian Settlement

25. They lived by farming • Wealth was gauged by the number of cattle held and by the number of wives each man had • Wives did the household and farm chores • Warfare was important • Warrior groups might include more than one tribe

26. Germanic tribes came into contact with Romans because of a desire for Roman goods • They traded cattle for goods; cattle were needed to feed Roman troops • Roman goods added to tribe’s wealth • This trade sometimes created competition among tribes

27. Some tribes made treaties with Rome which gave them the backing of Rome and added to a tribe’s prestige • These tribes were called “Federated” because of their link with Rome • Federated tribes agreed to oppose other tribes hostile to Rome • Some warrior groups placed their warriors in the service of Rome

28. So the Roman army had many Franks, Goths, and Saxons • Tribes without Roman favor had less prestige • They created an anti-Roman factions that led to warfare among tribes and with Rome • Around the end of the 2nd century one o f the stronger tribes was the Goth and anyone who fought with the Goths was considered a Goth

29. By the early 3rd century, the Goths began challenging Roman supremacy • By the 4th century, the Huns were threatening the Goths • Most of the Gothic Confederation was destroyed by the Huns

30. Those who survived were called Visigoths

31. The Visigoths asked the Romans if they could cross the Danube and enter the empire to get away from the Huns • They asked if they could settle as a nation with their own king in Roman territory in the Balkans • Rome said yes in return for military service

32. When Rome didn’t fulfill its promises, the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 • This shocked Romans • Visigoths thought that taking Rome would make Rome keep to its original bargain • It didn’t work so Visigoths moved into Southern Gaul and Spain • In 418 Rome gave in and accommodated them

33. Rome did not fall, but it did change • Roman accommodation of the Visigoths set a precedent • Other barbarians began moving in by the late 5th Century

34. Vandals

35. Vandals passed through Visigoth territory in 406 destroying whatever lay in their path • They then settled in Africa in 429 • They set up a kingdom there and deprived Rome of its chief source of grain • From North Africa, they conducted raids on the European coast • In 455, the Vandals crossed the sea to Rome and pillaged it

36. Huns

37. Huns • Huns invaded Rome under the leadership of Attila the Hun in the 430s • They were stopped by Pope Leo I • Leo met Attila at the city gates and talked Attila into leaving • The papacy gained prestige as Protector of Rome • The Huns collapsed after Attila’s death in 453

38. Ostrogoths • Invaded Italy in 489 • Established the Ostrogothic King Theodoric as emperor • An imperial presence in Rome ceased at this time

39. Other Barbarian Battles • The Anglers, Jutes, and Saxons (425) wiped out Roman outposts in Britain • They then established themselves in Britain and Wales • Burgundians created a kingdom in southern Gaul and blocked Roman routes between Italy and Gaul

40. Franks and Alemanni occupied northern Gaul • Franks took over most of Gaul 481-511 • Visigoths were driven out of Gaul by the Franks and moved into Spain • The Franks absorbed Burgundians and Alemanni

41. After 480, the Roman emperors resided in the East • By 500, the Germans had won the West • The imperial Roman government was too weak to get enough troops to keep the Germanic barbarians out • Invasions were followed by increasing poverty • Cities declined, shrinking in size

42. This decline meant the end of urban aristocracies that had been so important in Greco-Roman civilization • Peasants learned to work for new Germanic landowners • The peasant class grew in size • Great estates became self-sufficient, self-contained economic units

43. Trade was drastically reduced • Manufacturing took place on great estates • Invasions contributed to cultural stagnation in the West • Germans could only imitate the Romans • They weren’t advanced enough to create their own rich culture • Destruction to life and property was not excessive • Germans and Romans co-existed peacefully except in Britain and near the Rhine River

44. Byzantine Civilization395-1100 • Began as a continuation of the old Roman Empire • Situated in the East around Constantinople • This is the area left after Germanic invasions in the West • By the 6th century, there were signs of a new society emerging • a new name was given to this society -- Byzantine

45. The change happened during the reign of Justinian(527-565) • He is often called the last Roman and first Byzantine emperor • He was aided by his wife, Theodora in reading his people • Justinian made a major effort to restore the unity of the old Empire

46. Justinian and Theodora

47. Justinian tried to establish authority over western areas taken by barbarians • He was only partially successful; he took N. Africa, Italy, &S.E. Spain • He lost them again when he realized he didn’t have the resources to keep them • He then concentrated on keeping invaders out of the East

48. Justinian’s reign was important in shaping a unique governmental system • He saw himself as a direct descendent of Roman Emperors • He worked to perfect the system of absolute monarchy • He commissioned a corps of legal experts to organize a single code of law consistent with Roman tradition

49. This code of law was called Corpus juriscivilis or the Justinian Code • It summarized Roman law • It collected legal opinions that defined the principles behind the laws • It legitimized Justinian’s highly centralized , absolutist government that was unique to Byzantium

50. There were also religious developments during his reign • Justinian claimed the right to act as leader of the Christian Church in his empire • Church organization and doctrines in the East were then dependent on the authority of this autocratic, semi-sacred emperor