A.E.C.
Rosenwein: A short Story of the Middle Ages
Chapter 1: The Roman World Transformed
Chapter 1 will discuss the changes between 300-600 AD. In this period, the Roman empire gave way to
states that we often refer to as: post-Roman kingdoms (in the past referred to as Germanic/ barbarian).
According to Rosenwein the world of the Islam, Byzantium and the Latin West were all a continuation of
the Roman empire, because of the ongoing impact of roman principles in these empires she refers to them
as ‘sibling cultures’. An example of the ongoing impact is the Christian church because of their:
1. language: Latin
2. the use of writing as a means of communication
3. the basilica as the template for the layout of church buildings.
It was said by Edward Gibson that the Roman Empire “declined and fell” but that is far from true.
Rosenwein suggests that the Roman Empire did not decline, but, on the contrary, it was transformed.
Even though the old elites witnessed the end of their political, military and religious, economic and
cultural leadership, it actually passed from the center of the Roman Empire to the provinces (seen in
religion, art and barbarians). For the provincials (Romans living outside of Italy) it was a heady period.
Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into 4 parts, each ruled by a different man (Tetrarchy), which
recognized the importance of the provinces. The barbarians were glad to become heirs of the Roman
Empire and they contributed to its transformation.
The Provincialization of the Empire
With the “Crisis of the 3rd century” it was clear that it became impossible for one man to rule the
empire. So, the Roman Empire was divided into 4 parts, which was a high point rather than decline for
provincial romans. The crisis was double. One crisis was when 2 different groups attacked them from 2
different direction: Persians in east, barbarians in north. This resulted in wide-ranging reforms that
brought new prominence to the provinces (provincialization), and military expansion. Since the
population declined they had to recruits troops from Germanic areas, thus barbarians. They gave them
land in return for military service. The other crisis was regarding the political succession. These were
mostly army leaders with no interest in Rome. Soon new capitals were established in “provincial” areas
(Milan, Constantinople). The search for money to pay off all those for the military service resulted in
debasing the currency. In short-term it helped, but it eventually resulted in inflation, and thus high taxes
imposed by the government. This moved wealth and labor to the provinces (even more provincialization).
The Empire was militarized. Eventually the crisis was brought under control by provincial rulers, such as
Diocletian who divided the empire into 4 and then later in 2 parts. This would result in an east-west
difference. Because of Constantine, imperial succession was no more a problem, as he established a
dynasty. Political stability ended the wars in the borders.
A New Religion
Since Constantine, the period is called “late antiquity” and is a period transformed by culture/religion of
the provinces. A new religion started rising in Palestine, Judaism, which eventually gave birth to another
religious group, though related, and it evolved around Jesus. Since it was a monotheistic religion it did
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