CHAPTER ONE – THE ROMAN WORLD
TRANSFORMED (C.300-C.600) pg. 9-40
Introduction –
The main theme of the first week are both the changes and the
continuities after the “fall” of the last Western Roman emperor in Rome.
In the field of administration, the government of the Ostrogoth king
Theodoric the Great offers some good examples. (source question)
Some historians argued that the fall of Rome signalled the end of ‘Civilization’
Many other historians stress the vitality of “late antiquity”
Elites of cities, especially Rome, largely regretted the changes taking place (c.250-350)
o Witnessing the end of cultural, political, economic, military and religious leadership
o The role was then passed to the provinces – organised by Diocletian reforms
o The provinces eventually lost their centrality to a group the Romans called the
“Barbarians”
The provincialization of the Empire – a background on the change (pg.4-5)
o The Roman empire was too large to be ruled by one man in one place, except in
peacetime
Was clear in crisis of 3rd century
From the North came “Barbarians” – the east came Persians
o Reforms were enacted to combat this crisis – provincial prominence
Expanded the army
New mobile troops
Reinforced the Standing army
Protection
New fortifications
Cities ringed with walls
Lookout towers and fences
o Not easy to obtain new troops
Birth rate was declining
Smallpox ravaged the population (c.252 – 267)
o Therefore recruits needed to come from further afield e.g. Germania
Usually they fought for Romans and then went home
The new policy settled Germanic and Barbarians within empire
Land in return for military service
“The term ‘crisis of the third century’ refers not only to the wars that the Empire had to fight on its
borders, but also to a political succession crisis that saw more than twenty men claim, then lose with
their lives, the title of emperor between the years 235 – 284” (pg.4, Rosenwein, Short history of the
middle ages)
o Breakaway empires were established – symptomatic of the decentralization
o Emperor Maximian (r.286-305) made Milan the new capital city – palace, baths etc.
Sardica, Nicomedia, Constantinople (formerly Byzantium), and later Ravenna
all joined Milan in overshadowing Rome
o Roman government debased the currency to meet its demand for ready money
Increasing the proportion of inferior metals to silver
, Helpful in short term, it ended up producing severe inflation
With low funds, the state then increased taxes
o The wealth and labour of the Empire moved toward the provinces – the hot spots
where the armies were clashing
o The whole empire became militarized
o Emperor Gallienus (r.253-268) forbade the old Roman elite in the Senate from
commanding the Army – tougher men from ranks chosen instead to lead
They brought new provincial tastes and sensibilities
o Diocletian brought the crisis under control
o Constantine ended the crisis (r.306-337)
A new religion (pg.5-8)
o Christianity had gained prominence in the Roman World with disenfranchised
Roman citizens
o In 313, Christianity received official recognition in the so-called Edict of Milan
Emperors Licinius and Constantine declared toleration for all the religions in
the Empire
The Edict helped Christians above all:
they had been the ones persecuted and now, in addition to enjoying
the toleration declared in the Edict, they regained their property.
o In 325, Constantine called and presided over the Council of Nicaea
This was the first (universal) church council
Assembled bishops hammered out some of the canon law and major
doctrines of the Christian church.
o In 380, the Edict of Thessalonica and other successive laws -
Emperor Theodosius I declared that the form of Christianity determined at
the Council of Nicaea applied to all Romans
He outlawed all the old public and private cults.
o The years 313–380 saw Christianity’s transformation from a persecuted sect to the
official religion of the Roman Empire.
Doctrine (pg.8-10)
o Church Fathers were highly influential churchmen who taught their “sons and
daughters” (i.e. the faithful) the tenets of Christian orthodoxy.
Famous among them were Athanasius and Augustine
Athanasius (c.295-373) promoted his views at Council of Nicaea, and won!
They led battles over the doctrines of the Church and singled out for
condemnation the first heresies—Arianism, Donatism, and Manichaeism.
Their writings and their leading roles at Church councils shaped Christianity
for centuries to come.
o The challenge was between Athanasius and the “Arians” as he called them
o They both believed God was triune – Father, Son, Holy spirit
o Arians believed in the Son, Jesus Christ, being created
o Athanasius disagreed with this and therefore the Arians were a damnable faith
City of God – Written by Augustine
o Inspired by the shocking sack of Rome inflicted by the Visigoths in 410
o Augustine’s City of God defined two cities:
, The earthly one in which our feet are planted, in which we are born, learn to
read, marry, get old, and die
And the heavenly one, on which our hearts and minds are fixed.
o The first, the “City of Man,” is impermanent, subject to fire, war, famine, and
sickness
o The second, the “City of God,” is the opposite. Only there is true, eternal happiness
to be found.
o Yet the first, however imperfect, is where the institutions of society—local churches,
schools, governments—make possible the attainment of the second.
o Thus “if anyone accepts the present life in such a spirit that he uses it with the end in
view of [the City of God], … such a man may without absurdity be called happy, even
now.”
o In Augustine’s hands, the old fixtures of the ancient world were reused and
reoriented for a new Christian society.
The sources of God’s Grace (pg.10-11)
o The importance of Mass was made clear in the architecture and decoration of
Christian churches
o The Eucharist (holy communion) was one potent source of God’s grace
o Above all there were certain people beloved by God
These people were called saints
In early church, the saints were largely martyrs who died for the faith
Christian martyrdom ended with Constantine
The new saints had to find ways to be martyrs while even alive
Done via things such as – standing on pillars, fighting demons in tombs –
really “heroic” things
o Relics are important as they are bodies or parts of the bodies of deceased saints
They may also be items associated with saints, such as clothing or the soil
around their tombs
When holy men and women died, their power (or rather God’s power
working through them) lived on in their relics, which were believed to work
miracles
Pious laypeople and clergymen wanted access to relics in order to connect
individually or communally to the power of God acting through his saints
The Barbarians (pg.21-24) from here it will be examined
o Sack of Rome by Visigoths in 410
A stunning blow, the relationship between Visigoths and Romans slowly
disintegrated
Franks and Burgundians similarly been recruited into the Roman Army
o Romans called all these people “barbarians” – borrowing term from Gauls
o Archaeological digs tell us about the Germanic people –
o They suggest that the Germanic peoples were long used to a settled existence
before any entered the Roman Empire.
o The settlement near Wijster (now in NL) was inhabited between c.150 and c.400
o Thus providing evidence that, contrary to earlier historical hypotheses, the people
living there were not constantly “on the move.”
o The “Goths” were many people (ethnicity) not one
Goths were multi-ethnic
o Black Sea goths invaded and plundered nearby provinces of the Roman Empire
, o Goths fought with Romans (at a time Romans bought peace) until they transformed
Two different groups:
The Eastern Ostrogoths (north of the black sea)
The Western Visigoths (in current Romania)
o Visigoths fought alongside Romans for a time (along with Franks) the relationship fell
apart – in late 4th century
The Visigoths demanded entry in the Empire to flee the Huns who invaded
the Gothic homeland of (current) Romania in 376
The numbers of Visigoths were huge – maybe 200,000
Romans were taken aback and treated the Visigoths woefully
o In 378, Visigoths and Barbarians rebelled and killed the Roman emperor Valens
(r.364-378) in The Battle of Adrianople (378)
The defeat badly weakened the Roman army
Because the emperors needed soldiers and the Visigoths needed food and a
place to settle, various arrangements were tried, including treaties making
the Visigoths federates and promises of pay and reward.
But the Visigoths considered all insufficient, and under their leader Alaric
(d.410) they set out both to avenge their wrongs and to find land.
One consequence was their sack of Rome in 410.
This was a traumatic event for the Romans, symbolizing their
weakness in the face of new groups that were beginning to assert
their dominance within the Empire.
o The impact on the Roman Empire was so great that some historians use 378 as the
date the Empire collapsed – some others use 410
The New Order
o The new order was about (at least in the West) –
The decay of the cities balanced by the liveliness of the countryside
The increased dominance of the Rich
The quiet domestication of Christianity
o In the East, the Roman Empire continued, made a failed bid to expand, and finally
retrenched as an autonomous entity – the Byzantine Empire
The Ruralization of the West (pg.25-29)
o Roman Elites did not express much discontent in the Regions now settled by
Barbarians
Due to taxes on estates being shared between Kings and their soldiers, with
allotments for the soldiers granted to their heirs as well
Nothing upset traditional Roman property arrangements
Other historians argue that Barbarians settled as “guests” directly on land of
Roman property owners
In this case, Barbarian kings, influenced by their Roman advisors, avoided
conflict
In either case, Romans and Barbarians gradually belonged to same
community of landowners
o Biggest barrier in assimilation of Romans and Barbarians was the divergent religious
beliefs
Goths were preached Arianism by Ulfila
Romans were catholic
The franks were the first Germanic group to adopt Roman view – King Clovis
