West Civ Blog: The Decline of The Empire

Jesus spent three years preaching then is killed by the roman leaders
His followers believe he is the Messiah and Savior who has risen from the dead
Saul becomes Paul (the evangelist), spreading Jesus' message
Christianity evolves from being a cult status to established official structure
Priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome)
Jews were also monotheistic------conflict------Romans were polytheistic and even sometimes emperors were gods
Persecution for both religions were common and expected
Christianity appealed to the poor, and it grew
As it grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity
AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion
Getting ready to go to battle and had a vision of a cross in the sky and hears a voice saying "in his name"
Tells everyone to paint a cross on their shields and they pray to God before they battle
He wins the battle and comes out contributing his success to God the Father
He basically lifted the persecution, and made it the official religion of Rome
He issues the Edict of Milan which said you can't persecute Christians anymore
The leaders of the church are starting to be seen just as powerful as government officials

Decline:

AD 180: Rome has problems
------------economic (trade became risky; taxes were too high; food supply was dropping)
------------military (frontiers were hard to patrol; Roman generals fought for control; soldiers' loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared)
Diocletian divided the empire into two
Greek-speaking East (had more resources)
Latin-speaking West (Rome, tradition)
AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire
Moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium, where Asia met Europe (now turkey)
Names it Constantinople
After his death, empire is divided again
This time barbarian invaders (Huns, Vandals, Visigoths, Angles, Saxons, Franks)
They overrun the empire's frontiers
That’s it for the Roman Empire, from Tarquin the proud to so and so Romulus (AD 476)

West Civ Blog