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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
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.
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
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.
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.