Late Antiquity: The Collapase of The Roman Empire

1466 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Roman empire and how it changed

The Crisis of the Third Century from A.D. 235-284 was a period of Military anarchy and witnessed the collapse of the Roman empire. The empire witnesses numerous crisis like military, political and economic in the form of barbarian invasions, civil wars and hyperinflation. It was primarily because of the settlement of Augustus that failed at establishing succession rule of the emperors. Hence, no emperor was able to hold the Imperial position. This period ended with Diocletian, the Roman emperor A.D. 284-305 who was able administrator during the crisis. Diocletian became the Roman Emperor after defeating Carinus. During Diocletian’s reign, the Roman empire was unified under Tetrarchy. There were several administrative changes from Diocletian to Constantine. These changes had however, started long before the reign of Diocletian. The Roman empire was comparatively at rest and peace despite the war for imperial succession and numerous civil wars. Augustus’s reign is also referred to as Pax Romana. The time period during reign of Diocletian witnessed imperial immortality and ancestry was turned into identity. Hence, ancestry was now seen as a dominating principal and Diocletian and Maximian were seen as equals before the common public (Nixon and Rodgers, 80) .The Edict of Caracalla in A.D. 212, marked the beginning of various administrative changes that took place in the Roman empire (Cameron, 50) .
In A.D. 212 the Edict of Carcalla was issued by Carcalla in the Roman Empire. The Edict declared that all the free men and women in the Roman empire were entitled to Roman citizenship. The Edict was a means to increase revenue and levy taxes. Before the Edict was issued, the Roman citizenship had been held in Italia. Hence, Carcalla was a...

... middle of paper ...

...yed the administrative security of the frontiers that were set by Diocletian (Cameron, 53). Diocletian’s reign strengthened the frontiers by participating in repair of building and forts. Diocletian was also able in keeping the Roman empire from collapsing by introducing Tetrarchy and dividing the empire into provinces to govern it properly. Diocletian’s rule was, therefore, a significant period when the Roman empire had been unified amidst all the political, military and economic crisis. There was a constant threat from civil wars that Diocletian was able to tackle with his able administrative policies. It was also a time when Roman empire migrated from Participate to Dominance. Constantine, however, focused his administrative policies keeping in mind the religious sentiments and the influence of the church in the matters of state further aggravated the issues.

Show More
Related

  • The Causes Of Rome's Fall

    328 Words  | 1 Pages

    The year is 476 A.D. and the Roman Empire has collapsed after being overthrown by barbarians. Looking back, the causes of Rome’s decline can be separated into four categories, social, economic, military, and political. The social aspects of Rome’s fall are the rise of christianity and civil wars. The rise of christianity displaced Rome’s polytheistic roots which viewed the emperor as having a godly status. Pope and church leaders took an increased role in political affairs which further complicated governance. Civil wars also deteriorated the empire. More than 20 men took the throne in only 75 years and the empire was thrust into chaos. The economic aspects of Rome’s fall were high taxes from the government and labor deficit. The roman empire

    Read More

  • How Did The Roman Empire Impact Society

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, Rome entered into a long series of decline beginning with the death of Marcus Aurelius in AD 180. Meanwhile Marcus Aurelius instead of accommodate another successor he made a crucial mistake of naming his son Commodus as an emperor. Confronting this time of problems Rome desired a good and devoted leader. As a substitute of the carefree that Commodus was. The Roman Empire fell in AD 476 to Barbarians invaders as a result of the fall of Rome. This period of time became known as the “crisis of the third century.” At that time the empire was surrounded by economic, military, and politic problems.

    Read More

  • What Was Augustus's Downfall

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Augustus was the basis for the time of the Principate period, which is a period where the rulers of the new found monarchy attempted to incorporate aspects of the Roman Republic within the powerful empire. Augustus tried his best to maintain conservative forms of government. Augustus’s sole ambition was to remove the hatred and chaos that had resulted from the civil wars. Thankful for Augustus working to restore power back to the Roman senate in his new reforms, the grateful Senate granted him the name Augustus meaning sacred. January, 27 BC, Octavian humbly resigned his powers within Rome, However Augustus received them back from the Senate shortly after. Augustus’s military genius marked the start of a dynasty which saw an extensive expansion of the Roman

    Read More

  • The Gracchi Reforms: The Fall Of The Roman Empire

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    The end of the third and final Punic War in 146 BCE, marked Rome’s successful conquest of the Mediterranean world. Although Rome’s victory expanded the Roman Empire, the victory most certainly came at a cost. The postwar political and social landscape was filled with chaos that required government response to solve. The Gracchi Reforms resulted directly from the unrest of the common people and weakening roman military power, the rise of Julius Caesar correlated with aftermath of Gracchi reforms and distrust with government, and the second triumvirate was a temporary solution to the unrest after Caesars’ assassination. These three revisions to Roman government structure also contributed to cause the fall of the Roman Republic and rise of

    Read More

  • Were The Marian Reforms Responsible For The Fall Of The Roman Republic Case Study

    1878 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the last century of the Roman republic, the system of government was drastically changed and eventually fell apart, not only because of Marius and his military reforms, but also because of the dictatorship and proscriptions of Sulla, seven consulships of Marius, political alliances of the first and second triumvirates and the growing corruption and ineptitude of the senate.

    Read More

  • Geatest Caesars: Edward Neale Justinian

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emperor Justinian is identified as one of the greatest Caesars to ever rule in Europe during his reign from 527-565, during this he succeeded in reviving Roman Authority throughout his growing Byzantium Empire . As Emperor of the Byzantium Empire in the sixth and seventh century he conquered many parts of Europe restoring the control of the Roman Authority once again if only for a while . This essay will point out the extent in which Justinian succeeded Roman Authority. Although many depictions that can be argued, closer examination can be shown that through huge military successes, Architectural activities that changed the Empires value and enhanced Constantinople as the centre of the Christian World, and the legal work of the ‘Code of Justinian’ helped Justinian to revive Roman Authority. In the seventh century saw the collapse of the Byzantium Empire, which was defeated and taken over by the Ottoman-Turk Empire from the East of Constantinople. This Essay will access the reasons for decline of such a powerful empire, hit with the ‘Justinian Plague’ and eventually deteriorating after Justinian death . This saw the end to any last element of any Roman Authority in Europe.

    Read More

  • Comparing Diocletian And Constantine's Policies

    255 Words  | 1 Pages

    Diocletian and Constantine had policies that were similar yet different in many ways. Diocletian ruled from 284-305 A.D. During his time as emperor, he divided the empire into four prefectures. This also separated the Roman Empire into east and west. The west was known as the Western Roman Empire and the east was known as the Eastern Roman Empire. Diocletian did not allow Christians in his empire and therefore persecuted them.

    Read More

  • The Rise Of The Roman Republic

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.

    Read More

  • The Greatness of the Holy Roman Empire

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the third century AD, the Roman Empire was thrown into chaos through several civil wars due to a lust for power; many people were only interested in how influential they were, rather than acting for the benefit of the country. Since the Roman Empire was constantly expanding and becoming more powerful, Diocletian, the emperor at the time, deemed it to be too big to be ruled by only one emperor. The Empire was split into two parts, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire didn’t last long; it fell during the 5th century AD when it was conquered by the barbarians. The Eastern Empire lasted a thousand years before it finally fell at the hands of the Turkish.

    Read More

  • Roman Empire Dbq

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everybody has heard of one the greatest falls of all times, the fall of the Roman Empire, but not many people know the real reasons why Rome may have came crashing down. Rome began to fall and stall, everywhere around Rome was falling also. Rome, we can say, was one of the greatest empires there was because of the size of their empire, the size of their government and strength of their army, but there was a problem. The Roman Empire fell, why? Out of the many reasons, in my opinion, foreign invasions, natural disasters, and the assassinations of its emperors, were the biggest reasons.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Reign Of Diocletian And Maximian

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reign of Diocletian and Maximian came for a brief period between 284 C.E. and 324 C.E. after the murder of Commodus. Civil wars broke through out the Roman Empire as various military factions fought for power. Diocletian restored order by dividing the empire into four sections. This was known as the tetrarchy. Diocletian assumed control over Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor. Maximian was Diocletian’s counterpart as well. Diocletian took care of matters in the eastern regions of the empire, while Maximian similarly took charge of the western regions, thereby cutting in half the administrative work required to oversee an empire as large as Rome’s. The four tetrarchs based themselves not at Rome but in other cities closer to the frontiers, mainly intended as headquarters for the defense of the

    Read More

  • The downfall of the Republic

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    "With the Gracchi, all the consequences of empire - social, economic and political - broke loose in the Roman state, inaugurating a century of revolution." (The Roman Revolution, Ronald Syme, p16).

    Read More

  • Reasons for the Decline of the Roman Empire

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Third century the Roman Empire faced economic and social crisis. Invasions, civil wars, and a recurrence of the plague throughout the Roman Empire almost brought a complete economic collapse. Most importantly, there have been continuous civil wars between 190- 28...

    Read More

  • The Roman Legacy

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the decline and fall of the western empire, the classical age of Rome came to a close as disease, warfare and corruption conspired to bring about the downfall of an ailing empire that had once conquered the known world. Where once enlightened despots had ruled a debauched and unwieldy polity, now barbarians stood over the ruins of a once thriving metropolis. In its absence a new world would arise with new values and ideals. Turning their back on a pagan past the Christian children of these wild men from the north would spawn the greatest houses of future European nobility, and when they looked back for a legacy, they would not see their ancestors as pillagers picking at the bones of a defiled Rome, but instead as its trusted guardians, partnering with the Church to carry her legacy through the “Dark Ages”.

    Read More

  • Diocletian Persecution

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    Diocletian is also known for the greatest persecution of Christians in the history of the Empire. In the beginning of Diocletian’s rule he focused on suppressing the Empire’s foreign enemies and on strengthening the government, which he did by splitting the empire into a rule under four emperors. He then looked towards Christianity and saw it as a threat to the unity of the empire. Diocletian then established the four edicts, which declared the destruction of all churches and books. This lead to the greatest persecution of Christians under Roman Rule.

    Read More

More about Late Antiquity: The Collapase of The Roman Empire

Open Document