Western Civilization

Chapter 7

The World of Late Antiquity284-600 A.D.

• By the end of the 3rd century, it looked as if the Roman Empire could crumble

• There were internal and external problems• Soldier/Emperor Aurelian (270-275 A.D.)

worked to keep this from happening:– He repulsed Germanic barbarians– He restored the unity of the Empire– He tried to stabilize the political structure– He was then assassinated

Aurelian

Diocletian and Constantine

• In 284 and then again in 306 A.D. 2 military men became Emperors of Rome

• They tried to stop the steady decline• They initiated many reforms which gave the

empire a reprieve but did not stop the decline

Diocletian

• Reigned 284 – 305 A.D.• Was of peasant stock from Dalmatia• Became a general in the army and adopted

autocratic ways• Knew what Rome’s problems were• Acted decisively to restore order, stability, and

prosperity to the empire• Devised a system for orderly succession and

division of administrative responsibilities

• It was called Tetrarchy or Rule of 4– Diocletian was at the top with overall rule– In the East, he named two men to be an Augustus

and a Caesar; those were their titles– In the West, Diocletian named an Augustus and a

Caesar– So there would be 4 co-rulers and 4 territorial units

for them to rule called prefectures– When the Augustus died, the Caesar would succeed

him who would name a new Caesar

– Each Augustus and each Caesar had full governing authority over each prefecture

Diocletian had the overall authority1. He did not consult the Senate or the people

2. His words were law 3. He withdrew from public view as much as

possible and established court rituals that had the air of the divine 4. Diocletian was Lord of the Land

• A bureaucracy was established in each prefecture, so a more complete control of life was apparent

• His reorganization was used to aid the military that the empire needed, but he removed the military from politics

• He worked to increase military effectiveness– Had permanent border forces– Created a mobile cavalry to handle crises as they arose– Size of army grew

• Expansion of the bureaucracy and the army imposed financial burdens on the government, so he– Reorganized the tax system• He taxed land and individuals• Ordered specific goods& services to be produced to

support the bureaucracy, the courts, & the army• To keep this working, bureaucrats, laborers, & artisans

had to give service to the state

• There were fixed prices on goods• He reinstated the worship of old deities• He wanted to unite people with a state religion

with the emperor seen as divine• Christians defied Diocletian and were put to

death in 303 and 304 A.D.• Diocletian abdicated in 305 A.D.• His succession system failed and civil war

followed

Constantine

• Reigned from 306 – 337 A.D.)• Claimed throne in 306 as did 5 others• He used military force to win control of throne

for the entire empire in 324 A.D.• He continued Diocletian’s policies– Continued to strengthen the army– Expanded and tightened bureaucratic controls– Improved finances– Had tight control over population

• Constantine added a new religious policy in 313 A.D. called the Edict of Milan; it granted religious toleration and ended the persecution of Christians; it gave Christians legal recognition

• Constantine converted to Christianity– Some say he wasn’t baptized until he was dying– He promoted Christian causes– He built churches, like St. Peter’s in the Vatican

The First St. Peter’s

• Constantine’s laws reflected Christian influence

• He did little to encourage other religions• He won the allegiance of Christians• He changed the capital from Rome to

Byzantium, and it became known as Constantinople

Byzantium

Constantinople

• Constantine shifted imperial power to the east• He said Rome was no longer strategically

located• He wished to freed from the pagan traditions of

Rome• Rome remained important as the center of

Christianity• During the 4th century, the number of Christians

grew from 5 million to 30 million

• The reigns of Diocletian and Constantine seemed to bring order and security to Rome

• These feelings lasted through the reign of Theodosius I (r. 379 – 395)

• There was some literary and artistic activity – much of it for the Christian religion

• Old stresses returned after 395– 1) no true economic recovery• decline in production• army used much of what was produced• taxes were high and fell primarily on aristocrats and

peasants

• As a result:– 2) decline in public spirit• recruiting for the army became difficult• German barbarians filled the ranks• made for a less effective army - understaffed

– 3.) quality of government deteriorated• bureaucracy became corrupt• Pagan resentment toward Christians• Christianity did not unify but was a dominant force

All these factors combined at the end of the 4th century to contribute to the crisis that was to come,

the Germanic Barbarian Invasions

Germanic Barbarians

• These barbarians were looking for good agricultural land on which to settle

• Between the 2nd and 5th centuries grew large enough to challenge Rome

• Initially, barbarians lived in small villages that made up clans that made up tribes– Weak central government– Loose boundaries– Tribal leaders

Barbarian Settlement

• They lived by farming• Wealth was gauged by the number of cattle

held and by the number of wives each man had

• Wives did the household and farm chores• Warfare was important• Warrior groups might include more than one

tribe

• Germanic tribes came into contact with Romans because of a desire for Roman goods– They traded cattle for goods; cattle were needed

to feed Roman troops– Roman goods added to tribe’s wealth– This trade sometimes created competition among

tribes

• Some tribes made treaties with Rome which gave them the backing of Rome and added to a tribe’s prestige

• These tribes were called “Federated” because of their link with Rome

• Federated tribes agreed to oppose other tribes hostile to Rome

• Some warrior groups placed their warriors in the service of Rome

• So the Roman army had many Franks, Goths, and Saxons

• Tribes without Roman favor had less prestige• They created an anti-Roman factions that led

to warfare among tribes and with Rome• Around the end of the 2nd century one o f the

stronger tribes was the Goth and anyone who fought with the Goths was considered a Goth

• By the early 3rd century, the Goths began challenging Roman supremacy

• By the 4th century, the Huns were threatening the Goths

• Most of the Gothic Confederation was destroyed by the Huns

• Those who survived were called Visigoths

• The Visigoths asked the Romans if they could cross the Danube and enter the empire to get away from the Huns

• They asked if they could settle as a nation with their own king in Roman territory in the Balkans

• Rome said yes in return for military service

• When Rome didn’t fulfill its promises, the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410

• This shocked Romans• Visigoths thought that taking Rome would

make Rome keep to its original bargain• It didn’t work so Visigoths moved into

Southern Gaul and Spain• In 418 Rome gave in and accommodated them

• Rome did not fall, but it did change• Roman accommodation of the Visigoths set a

precedent• Other barbarians began moving in by the late

5th Century

Vandals

• Vandals passed through Visigoth territory in 406 destroying whatever lay in their path

• They then settled in Africa in 429• They set up a kingdom there and deprived

Rome of its chief source of grain• From North Africa, they conducted raids on the

European coast• In 455, the Vandals crossed the sea to Rome

and pillaged it

Huns

Huns

• Huns invaded Rome under the leadership of Attila the Hun in the 430s

• They were stopped by Pope Leo I• Leo met Attila at the city gates and talked

Attila into leaving• The papacy gained prestige as Protector of

Rome• The Huns collapsed after Attila’s death in 453

Ostrogoths

• Invaded Italy in 489• Established the Ostrogothic King Theodoric as

emperor• An imperial presence in Rome ceased at this

time

Other Barbarian Battles

• The Anglers, Jutes, and Saxons (425) wiped out Roman outposts in Britain

• They then established themselves in Britain and Wales

• Burgundians created a kingdom in southern Gaul and blocked Roman routes between Italy and Gaul

• Franks and Alemanni occupied northern Gaul• Franks took over most of Gaul 481-511• Visigoths were driven out of Gaul by the

Franks and moved into Spain• The Franks absorbed Burgundians and

Alemanni

• After 480, the Roman emperors resided in the East

• By 500, the Germans had won the West• The imperial Roman government was too

weak to get enough troops to keep the Germanic barbarians out

• Invasions were followed by increasing poverty• Cities declined, shrinking in size

• This decline meant the end of urban aristocracies that had been so important in Greco-Roman civilization

• Peasants learned to work for new Germanic landowners

• The peasant class grew in size• Great estates became self-sufficient, self-

contained economic units

• Trade was drastically reduced• Manufacturing took place on great estates• Invasions contributed to cultural stagnation in the

West• Germans could only imitate the Romans• They weren’t advanced enough to create their own

rich culture• Destruction to life and property was not excessive• Germans and Romans co-existed peacefully except in

Britain and near the Rhine River

Byzantine Civilization395-1100

• Began as a continuation of the old Roman Empire

• Situated in the East around Constantinople• This is the area left after Germanic invasions in

the West• By the 6th century, there were signs of a new

society emerging• a new name was given to this society --

Byzantine

• The change happened during the reign of Justinian (527-565)

• He is often called the last Roman and first Byzantine emperor

• He was aided by his wife, Theodora in reading his people

• Justinian made a major effort to restore the unity of the old Empire

Justinian and Theodora

• Justinian tried to establish authority over western areas taken by barbarians

• He was only partially successful; he took N. Africa, Italy, &S.E. Spain

• He lost them again when he realized he didn’t have the resources to keep them

• He then concentrated on keeping invaders out of the East

• Justinian’s reign was important in shaping a unique governmental system– He saw himself as a direct descendent of Roman

Emperors– He worked to perfect the system of absolute

monarchy– He commissioned a corps of legal experts to

organize a single code of law consistent with Roman tradition

• This code of law was called Corpus juris civilis or the Justinian Code– It summarized Roman law– It collected legal opinions that defined the

principles behind the laws– It legitimized Justinian’s highly centralized ,

absolutist government that was unique to Byzantium

• There were also religious developments during his reign– Justinian claimed the right to act as leader of the

Christian Church in his empire– Church organization and doctrines in the East

were then dependent on the authority of this autocratic, semi-sacred emperor

• The emergence of a Byzantine culture – combined classical Hellenistic culture with

Christian ideas– there were also influences from the Near East,

especially from Persia– An example of this mix is in Santa Sophia church

built by Justinian in Constantinople

Santa Sophia

Interior

Byzantine Culture

• The major aim was to preserve classical Greek tradition and adapting it to Christianity

• A vigorous educational system flourished based on the study of classical Greek literature and philosophy

• Women were also given this literary education in their homes

• Classics were collected, commented on, and imitated

• This ensured the survival of Greek classics• The most creative thinkers were theologians who

quarreled over dogma and produced writings combining philosophy with Christian teachings

• Art was shown best through architecture– Combined Greek and Near Eastern styles– Santa Sophia Church uses the Greco-Roman

rectangular basilica with a central dome in the Persian style

– Palaces and churches were frames for decoration– They used precious metals, jewels, paintings,

mosaics, & fine stone– These were used to evoke deeper spiritual

understanding– In every artistic medium was seen the fusion of

Greco-Roman and Oriental styles, elaborate decoration, color, and a preoccupation with symbolism

Christianity

• Christianity made it through all the ordeals of the late western empire’s fall and challenges from the Roman emperor of the Eastern part who wanted to totally control the Church

• There were some problems from their success:– diluted spiritual fervor– unclear doctrines– some heresies

• But the Church set out to solve its problems:– It strengthened the power of the clergy, especially

the bishops over churches and laity– Bishops defined Christian behavior and ways to

worship– They established Church law– Canon Law– and

compelled Christians to obey

• During the 4th century, Christians recaptured their spiritual vision with the help of monks and monasticism– Pious individuals left all worldly things behind– They sought perfection through prayer– They gathered in communities– They accepted the rules of the monasteries– By the 4th century, monasteries had spread over

much of the Roman world

• Also during the 4th century, Christians accepted that the bishop of Rome, the Pope, was the spiritual leader of the Christian world

• They contributed greatly to the culture:– built churches– adorned them with paintings and sculptures– inspired poets– had groups of thinkers produce massive amounts of

literature that provided intellectual guidelines, food for thought

• Augustine– Was one of these thinkers called a Church Father– Was a convert to Christianity– Had Latin education– Was chosen bishop of the African city of Hippo– Was an effective pastor– Ended his life defending his city from Vandals– Produced many inspirational writings: Confessions

and the City of God

Augustine

• Ambrose– Thinker– Bishop of Milan– His writings set forth the basic principles of

Christian morality

• Jerome– Was a monk– Produced a Latin translation of the Old and New

Testaments– Was called the Vulgate, the standard Latin Bible

for centuries– Kept the interest in the classical language alive

St. Jerome

• Benedict of Nursia– Helped to structure communal religious life– Drafted rules for communal life– Stressed moderation and a life of poverty, chastity,

and obedience – Monks worked to have self-sufficient community

• Bishops replaced aristocrats and bureaucracies, kept order, and administered justice in some areas