Late Roman Empire

1
Late Roman Empire

• 284 476
• Diocletian to Romulus Augustulus

2
Crisis and Reform

• Rome in 2nd-3rd centuries a period of remarkable
  instability
• Military and government corruption
• Financial mismanagement
• Social unrest and rebellion

3
Late Roman Empire

• Reign of Diocletian (284-305)
• Diocletian Reforms
• - division of Empire, East (Byzantium) and West
  
• (Rome). Split of Empire accompanied by an
  increase in
• administrative and bureaucratic inefficiency
• - tetrarchy (four prefectures)
• - division into diocese GK dioíkèsis
• housekeeping cf. economy oikos
• nomos
• - Great Persecution of Christians 303-311.
  Christianity, though
• tolerated since 1st century, is now viewed with
  suspicion, and
• believed to be weakening the empire.

4
Constantine

• Emperor in Rome from 306
• Ruled both east and west between 324 and 337
• Edict of Milan, 313, ends Christian persecution
• conversion to Christianity
• Founding of Constantinople in 330
• Founded in eastern capital of Byzantium
• Admiration for culture and wealth of east
• Growing disinterest in Rome and the west

5
Early Christian debate

• Debate within Christianity on the relationship
  between Jesus and God. The followers of Arius
  maintained that Jesuss nature was similar to the
  divine (but not identical). This means that they
  didnt believe that Jesus was in fact divine. The
  followers of Athanasius argued that the natures
  of God and Jesus were identical. To resolve this
  dispute, Constantine issued the Nicene Creed,
  which supported Athanasius.

6
Factors Contributing to the decline of Rome

• Enormous bureaucracy (in west and east) and
  general corruption
• Non-Roman armies loyal to generals
• Financial chaos inflation unstable tax base
• Infrastructure decaying interest and attention
  shifting to Constantinople
• Rise of Christianity
• Germanic invasions

7
Literary Culture

• Fathers of the Church chiefly responsible for
  early notions of the Church, the mass, theology
• Ambrose trained in Greco-Roman classics opposed
  the Arian heresy developed liturgy hymns
• Jerome translation of the Bible into Latin (from
  Greek and Hebrews)
• Augustine theology, orthodoxy
• City of God (De Civitate Dei)

8
Constantine
9
Diocletian
10
St. Augustine
11
Roman mosaics
12
Roman mosaics