Lecture Fall of the Roman Empire What were the factors influencing the fall of the Roman Empire In what ways was Christianity reshaped and institutionalized by the Roman Empire I Pinnacle of Empire A Empire of the Severan dynasty Commodus universally unpopular because he s very arbitrary and abusive of his power part of the cause of civil war 1 Civil war Occurs as people scramble for power More than 2 sides Ends by Septimus Severus general because he founds the Severan dynasty 2 Severan rule Legionaries can get married marry when in the army Gives all population a 100 raise double their pay Severus earns support everywhere because of this rule B Pax Romana Ends 1 Barracks emperors 50 year period 26 emperors Faith people have in emperors decreases 2 Problems of empire Taxes in Roman Empire rise to highest they ve ever been Violence is at its highest People are poor displaced and impoverished Plague hits killing 1 000s of people everyday people blamed this on immigrants and empire One empire makes roman religion mandatory everyone had to swear their allegiance to roman god in hopes to solve these problems Famine Economy collapses C Diocletian Openly declares himself the lord of the people 1 Style or rule Creates monarchy He changes how empire is organized puts romans back in stable mindset Highly bureaucracy system with layered government 2 Divided empire Creates a system of 2 emperors and 2 junior emperors 2 Agusti 2 Ceasers 1 Agusti and 1 Ceaser in each half of Rome 3 The Tetrarchy Any form of government where power is divided among four individuals Diocletian started this Diocletian and Maximian 2 Agusti Ceasers take over Agusti and then appoint 2 new Ceasers doesn t have to be heriditary II Christianity A Diocletian 1 Persecution of Christians Looked at Christians 5 and saw they posed no threat so used them to unite the rest 95 of the people Made up that they were a threat to the citizens and persecuted them so the rest of the population would come together against them uses them as a scapegoat to get people together Christians are a mystery religion and form of a cult Persecutions included stripping of citizenship deporting them taking away legion positions judging them guilty no matter what crime etc 2 Neoplatonism Duty to prepare soul for reunion with over soul divinity Every person is divine Lead Ascetic Lifestyle Live simply and life of subsistence Becomes religion that is pushed as Christianity is being subversive B Constantine Becomes emperor 1 Conversion To Christianity Uses Christianity to advantage Doesn t force anyone else to convert promotes religious toleration but promotes Funds building to first Italian and European Christian churches 2 Spread of institutionalized Christianity Christians can come back into legion and government Founded in Middle East and is institutionalized in Europe with many conversions of citizens in Europe 3 Edict of Milan Constantine legalizes Christianity in the empire C Doctrinal quarrels Different books bibles depending on branch of Christianity 1 Debates Decide divinity of Jesus Christ 2 Council of Nicaea Deciding if Jesus is an actual god or human born to serve as one 3 Hierarchical organization Pope Cardinal Archbishop Bishop Priest Deacon 4 Christians and Pagans Pagan not Christian III Fall of the Roman Empire A Constantine Rules over the entire Roman Empire He has a co empire but ultimately he is the one in charge He also refocused the center of the empire Creates Conscionable B East and West 1 Shift in center of power from West to East 2 Constantine embraces dynastic monarchy C Divisive Forces 1 Internal pressures Move capital to East Independence movements Western Europe became independent Roman Britain became independent Roman Empire in east only survived because legions were drawn there Revenues dropped those who payed taxes had an increase to make up for this lost revenue Lost all of Africa 2 External pressures Western Empire conquered by Huns D Barbarian invasions 1 Romans viewed neighbors as barbarians a Huns b Goths c Vandals 2 Huns invade Roman territory under Attila a Last Roman emperor deposed in 476 b Aftermath E Factors in fall 1 Defenses and Legions 2 Revenue 3 Morale 4 Division 5 Cities