WESTERN CIVILIZATION BEYOND BOUNDARIES VOLUME I TO

1715 7TH EDITION NOBLE SOLUTIONS MANUAL

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CHAPTER 7
The World of Late Antiquity, 284–ca. 600

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students will be able to:
1. Evaluate the imperial restructuring under Diocletian and Constantine.
2. Compare and contrast Roman and Germanic political and social developments.
3. Evaluate the impact of the Germanic peoples on the Western Roman Empire.
4. Describe the distinctive features of the Eastern Roman Empire.
5. Explain the causes and effects of the emergence of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire.
6. Explain the long-term impact for Western history of the split between Catholicism and
Orthodoxy.
7. Evaluate the experience of continuity and change by different social groups in Late Antiquity.
8. List the causes for the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.
9. Identify and give the significance of the Germanic tribes that invaded, conquered, and settled the
Western Roman Empire.

CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Rebuilding the Roman Empire, 284–395
Seeking an end to civil wars, a viable military to defend the borders, and a strong economic base
for taxation, Diocletian and his successors transformed the empire.
A. The Reforms of Diocletian (R. 284–305)
1. The organizational structure of the tetrarchy
2. The reforms of Diocletian
a) New administrative structure: dioceses and prefectures

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 Chapter 7: The World of Late Antiquity, 284–ca. 600 31

b) Bureaucracy of trained administrators

c) Expansion of the military
d) Economic and tax reforms
3. Unintended consequences of Diocletian’s reforms
a) More distance between emperor and subjects
b) Enlarged bureaucracy impinged on local autonomy
c) Expense required greater taxation
B. The Reforms of Constantine (R. 306–337)
1. Financial and military reforms
2. Legalization and favored status of Christianity with the Edict of Milan
3. Mixed assessment of Constantinian reforms
a) Militarization of society
b) Stability through a new kind of rulership
C. The Fourth-Century Empire: A Fragile Stability
1. Lack of dynastic successors created political instability.
2. Growing role and expense of central administration, increasing militarization of the
state, and loosening bonds of loyalty
II. The Catholic Church and the Roman Empire, 313–604
Christianity came to dominate the empire, as the church itself struggled for uniform belief,
increased the power of the Pope, and developed monastic life.
A. Emperors, Bishops, and Heretics
1. The development of Christian heresies: Arianism
2. The Council of Nicaea and the codification of Christian doctrine
3. Miaphysitism and the Council of Chalcedon
B. The Institutional Development of the Catholic Church, ca. 300–600
The organization of the Roman Catholic Church: deacons, priests, bishops, and archbishops
1. The Emergence of the Roman Papacy
a) Apostolic succession
b) Theodosius’ laws and the growing connection between church and state
c) The Petrine Primacy under Pope Leo I
d) Catholicism under Popes Gelasius and Gregory the Great
2. The rise of the ecclesiastical elite
C. The Rise of Christian Monasticism
1. The ascetic impulse in early Christianity
2. Eremitic monasticism and cenobitic monasticism
3. The Benedictine rule
III. The Rise of Germanic Kingdoms in the West, ca. 370–530
Gradual and often voluntary transformation of the western provinces into separate Germanic
kingdoms
A. Invasions and Migrations
1. The myths of grand barbarian invasions and the reality of barbarians as settled
agriculturists
2. The Germanic peoples
B. Incorporating the Barbarians
1. TheVisigoths
a) Long relationship with Rome
b) Migrations and sacking of Rome
c) Visigoth kingdom in Gaul
2. Roman alliance and war with the Huns
C. More Kingdoms: The End of Direct Roman Rule in the West
1. Abandonment of Roman Britain

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32 Chapter 7: The World of Late Antiquity, 284–ca. 600

2. Removal of western Roman emperor

3. Foundation and stability of the Frankish kingdom
4. Ephemeral Germanic kingdoms
5. The Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy
6. Reasons for the end of Roman government in the West
D. Old and New in the West
1. The practice and theory of Germanic kingship
2. Counts, local authorities, and vestiges of Roman law and language
IV. The Roman Empire in the East, 395–565
The reality of a divided empire and an independent west contradicted theories of a united empire
held in the populous, urbanized, prosperous east.
A. Constantinople and Its Rulers
1. Constantinople as the New Rome
2. Theodosius II and the Law Code of 438
B. Emperor Justinian (R. 527–565)
1. Life and Theodora
2. Political reforms and the Corpus Iuris Civilis
3. Campaigns to reunify the empire
4. Efforts to foster religious consensus
5. Hagia Sophia
V. Society and Culture in Late Antiquity
Continuities in daily life coupled with political transformations, decline of secular culture, and the
vitality of Christianity
A. Social Hierarchies and Realities
1. Social change and social continuity
2. The ideals of otium, amicitia, and officium
3. Privatization of public authority in the West
4. Farmers and coloni
5. The role of women in a post-Roman, Christian world
6. Christianity’s transformation of daily life
B. The Quest for a Catholic Tradition
1. The acceptance of the Nicene Creed
2. Emergence of Latin, Orthodox, Coptic, and Jacobite churches
3. Standardization of the Christian canon and creed
a) Jerome’s Vulgate Bible
b) The Church Fathers
4. Boethius and the synthesis of the classical and the Christian
C. Saint Augustine and the Christian Tradition
1. The influence and stature of Augustine of Hippo
2. Original sin and faith
3. Subordinating classical humanism to religious concerns
a) The City of God
b) Cassiodorus

LECTURE TOPICS
1. The new character of the Late Roman Empire
2. The East/West split of the Roman Empire and its historical impact
3. Emperor Constantine, the Christianization of the Roman Empire, and the Romanization of
Christianity

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 Chapter 7: The World of Late Antiquity, 284–ca. 600 33

4. The emerging doctrines of the early Christian Church

5. The evolution of the Christian Bible through Late Antiquity
6. The changing position of women during the late Roman Empire and the early Christian Church
7. The Germanic people and their assimilation into Roman culture and political traditions
8. The decline and fall of the Roman Empire in the West
9. Changing attitudes towards the world in Late Antiquity and the rise of monasticism and the
Christian Church in the Eastern Roman Empire
10. Greco-Roman civilization versus the Judeo-Christian tradition

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Bames, T.D., Constantine and Eusebius, 1981.
2. Baynes, Norman H., Constantine the Great and the Christian Church, 1975.
3. Brown, Peter, The World of Late Antiquity, 1989
4. Cameron, Averil, The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity, 1993.
5. Clark, Gillian, Women in Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Lifestyles, 1993.
6. Evans, J.A.S., The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire, 2005.
7. Goffart, W., Barbarians and Romans, 1980.
8. James, Edward, The Franks, 1988.
9. Jones, M.E., The End of Roman Britain, 1996.
10. MacMullen, Ramsey, Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, 1999.
11. Moorhead, John, The Roman Empire Divided, 400–700, 2001.
12. Valantasis, Richard, ed., Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice, 2006.
13. Wolfram, Henry, History of the Goths, 1990.

RESEARCH/CLASSROOM DEBATE/DISCUSSION TOPICS

1. What are some of the most important legacies of the Roman Empire in the West?
2. How did Roman secular structures and ideas influence Christianity, and how did Christianity
transform Roman life?
3. Is it historically accurate to talk about “the fall of the Roman Empire”? Why or why not?
4. How did the changes of Late Antiquity affect various groups: pagan and Christian, provincial and
central, Roman and barbarian, rich and poor? Who gained, who did not, and how?
5. Why did the Eastern Empire survive longer than the Western one?
6. Was there anything in Christianity itself that led to the problem of heresy and the appeal of
monasticism? How did Christianity’s “legalization” affect these?
7. Did the conversion of Emperor Constantine extend the life of the Roman Empire or lead to its
destruction?
8. Compare and contrast either the emerging Visigothic or Frankish kingdoms with the former
Western Roman Empire.

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34 Chapter 7: The World of Late Antiquity, 284–ca. 600

9. Divide the class into six groups with each group taking on the identity of one heresy: Arianism,
Monophysitism, Donatism, Pelagianism, Nestorianism, Marcionism, and Manichaeanism. Ask
the students to debate why their heresy would make Christianity a more compelling faith.
10. Either assign a research paper or organize a classroom debate on the impact of Christians willing
to die for their faith on the fate of the Roman Empire.
11. Have the students research and write a paper detailing how Justinian’s legal reforms are embodied
in the United States Constitution.
12. Either assign a research paper or organize a classroom debate on how the Gnostic gospels affected
the content of the New Testament gospels.
13. Have the students research and write a paper detailing how the emergence of sainthood and saints
affected the early Christian Church.
14. Have the students research and write a paper explaining why the Western Roman Empire
collapsed, while the Eastern Roman Empire continued to thrive.

RESOURCES
1. Atilla the Hun, The History Channel, 2004.
2. The Barbarians, The History Channel, 2 DVDs, 2007.
3. Constantine: The Christian Emperor, A&E Home Video, 45 minutes, 1997.
4. The End of Rome, the Birth of Europe, Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 52 minutes, 2003.
5. The Fall of the Roman Empire, feature film (1964), DVD, 2008.
6. The Gnostic Gospels, www.gnosis.org.
7. Justinian: The Last of the Romans, A&E Home Video, 1997.
8. Rome: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, episodes 9) “The Soldiers’ Emperor,” 10)
“Constantine the Great,” 11) “The Barbarian General,” 12) “The Puppet Master,” and 13) “The
Last Emperor,” The History Channel, 4 DVDs, 2008.
9. Storm over Europe, the Huns are Coming, Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 52 minutes,
2003.
10. Two Thousand Years: the History of Christianity, Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 10
DVDs, 47 minutes each, 2002.
11. Weber, Eugen. “The Rise of the Church,” “The Decline of Rome,” and “The Fall of Rome,” The
Western Tradition, WGBH Boston, 1989.

Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.