THE ROMAN AND BYZANTINE EMPIRES:

Achievements, Christianity, and Fall

UNIT SUMMARY:

We will begin this year continuing from your studies of the Roman Republic at the end of last year. Rome had grown into a powerful state that would have a lasting influence. Eventually, a Roman leader named Julius Caesar declared himself emperor and took over the Roman Republic. Caesar was killed and a civil war broke out to see who would replace him. His nephew Octavius won the war and became the first true Roman emperor in 27 B.C.E., renaming himself Augustus.

The Roman Empire spread far and wide and would have a lasting impact on world history. From architectural achievements like domes to artistic styles like realism, Roman achievements were feats that later generations would eventually look to as examples of excellence in engineering and art. Beside ancient Greece, no other civilization in history has affected the West more than the Romans. We will learn about many of these achievements, the spread of Christianity, why the Roman Empire ended in the west, and how the Byzantine Empire arose to take its place in the east.

During this unit you will focus on four different aspects of the Roman and Byzantine Empires and use the information you gather to help prepare for the unit assessments at the end. Our focus will include:

• Understanding the early strengths and achievements of the Roman Empire.

• Learning how early Christians were treated and how Christianity eventually spread in the Roman Empire.

• Explaining later weaknesses and corruption of the western Roman Empire.

• Knowing how the Byzantine Empire arose in the east and how its Christianity was different from that in the west.

The Roman Republic

Introduction

As the ancient republic of Rome grew, its power expanded. By the early 1st century C.E., it had become a mighty empire that ruled the entire Mediterranean world.

The expansion of Roman power occurred over approximately five hundred years, from 509 B.C.E. to 14 C.E. At the beginning of this period, Rome was a tiny republic in central Italy. However, five hundred years later, it was the thriving center of a vast empire. At its height, the Roman Empire included most of Europe, together with North Africa, Egypt, much of the present-day Middle East, and Asia Minor.

The increase of Rome's power happened gradually and came at a price. Romans had to fight countless wars to defend their developing territory and to conquer new lands. Along the way, Rome itself transformed. The Romans had once been proud to be governed under a republic of elected leaders. Their heroes were men who had helped to preserve the republic. Leaders in different parts of the world would later be inspired by this structure of government.

However, by 14 C.E., the republic was just a memory. Power was in the hands of a single supreme ruler, the emperor. Some Romans even worshipped old emperors as gods, an act that shows how powerful these rulers could be.

The Legacy of the Roman Empire

To what extent have the contributions of ancient Rome influenced modern society?

“All roads lead to Rome,” boasted the ancient Romans. For 500 years, from about 27 B.C.E. to 476 C.E., the city of Rome was the capital of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Road markers that stretched thousands of miles showed the distance to Rome, but the empire's 50 million people were connected by more than roads. They were also connected by Roman law, Roman customs, and Roman military might.

At its height, around 200 C.E., the Roman Empire spanned the whole of the Mediterranean world, from northern Africa to the Scottish border, from Spain to Syria. During this time, the Roman world was generally peaceful and prosperous. There was one official language and one code of law. Roman soldiers guarded the frontiers and kept order within the empire's boundaries. Proud Romans believed that the empire would last forever, an idea that would eventually be challenged.

But the empire did not last. By the year 500 C.E., the western half of this great empire had collapsed. For historians, the fall of Rome marks the end of the ancient world and the beginning of the Middle Ages. As one historian wrote, “Rome perished, yet it lived on.” The medieval world would pass on many aspects of Roman culture that still affect us today.

What contributed to the decline of this powerful empire? In this lesson, you will discover how and why the Roman Empire fell. Then you will learn how Rome's influence continues to live on in so many ways today—in art, architecture and engineering, language and writing, and philosophy, law, and citizenship.

The Legacies of Rome: Influence Over Time

The Legacy of Roman Art

The Romans adopted many features of other cultures and blended them into their own, unique culture. This was true of Roman art. The Romans were especially influenced by the art of the Greeks. In fact, historians often speak of “Greco-Roman” art. Rome played a vital role in passing on this tradition, which has had a major influence on western art.

The Romans added their own talents and tastes to what they learned from other cultures. For example, they imitated Greek sculpture and were particularly good at making lifelike busts and statues.

Romans were also great patrons, or sponsors, of art. Wealthy families decorated their homes with statues and colorful murals and mosaics. Roman artists were especially skilled in painting frescoes, scenes painted on the moist plaster of walls or ceilings with water-based paints. Roman frescoes often showed three-dimensional landscapes, so looking at one of these frescoes was almost like looking through the wall at a view outside. You've probably seen similar murals in restaurants, banks, and other modern public buildings.

The Romans also brought a sense of style and luxury to everyday objects. For example, they made highly decorative bottles of blown glass. A wine bottle might be shaped as a cluster of grapes. The Romans also developed the arts of gem cutting and metalworking.

One popular art form was the cameo, which is a carved decoration showing a portrait or a scene. The Romans wore cameos as jewelry and used them to decorate vases and other objects. You can find examples of all these art forms today.

About a thousand years after the fall of the empire, during the period called the Renaissance, Roman art was rediscovered. During the Renaissance, great artists, such as Michelangelo, revived the Greco-Roman style in their paintings and sculptures.

A good example is the famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Painted by Michelangelo in the 1500s, the ceiling shows scenes from the Bible. A Roman would feel right at home looking up at this amazing creation. Tourists still flock to Rome to see it.

Roman art has continued to influence painters and sculptors. Roman styles were especially popular during the early days of the United States. Americans frequently imitated these styles to give their art dignity and nobility. Today, you can see a number of statues in Washington, D.C., that reflect a strong Roman influence.

The Legacy of Roman Architecture and Engineering

The Romans were skilled and clever builders. In their architecture and engineering, they borrowed ideas from the Greeks and other peoples. But the Romans improved on these ideas in ways that future engineers and architects would imitate.

Architecture

The Romans learned how to use the arch, the vault, and the dome to build huge structures. A vault is an arch used for a ceiling or to support a ceiling or roof. A dome is a vault in the shape of a half-circle that rests on a circular wall.

Roman baths and other public buildings often had great arched vaults. The Pantheon, a magnificent temple that still stands in Rome, is famous for its huge dome. The Romans used concrete to help them build much bigger arches than anyone had attempted before. Concrete is made by mixing broken stone with sand, cement, and water and allowing the mixture to harden. The Romans did not invent the material, but they were the first to make widespread use of it.

The Romans also invented a new kind of stadium, large, open-air structures that could seat thousands of spectators. The Romans used concrete to build tunnels into the famous stadium in Rome, the Colosseum. The tunnels made it easy for spectators to reach their seats. Modern football stadiums still use this feature.

The grand style of Roman buildings has inspired many architects through the centuries. Early medieval architects, for example, frequently imitated Roman designs, especially in building great churches and cathedrals. You can also see a Roman influence in the design of many modern churches, banks, and government buildings. A fine example is the Capitol building, the home of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C.

Another Roman innovation that has been widely copied is the triumphal arch. This is a huge monument built to celebrate great victories or achievements. A famous example is the Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) in Paris, France, which celebrates the victories of the French emperor Napoleon in the early 1800s. Today, it is the national war memorial of France.

Engineering

In addition to architecture, the Romans also improved engineering. They were the greatest builders of roads, bridges, and aqueducts in the ancient world.

More than 50,000 miles of road connected Rome with the frontiers of the empire. The Romans built their roads with layers of stone, sand, and gravel. Their techniques set the standard of road building for 2,000 years. People in some parts of Europe still drive on highways built over old Roman roads.

The Romans also set a new standard for building aqueducts. They created a system of aqueducts for Rome that brought water from about 60 miles away to the homes of the city's wealthiest citizens, as well as to its public baths and fountains. The Romans built aqueducts in other parts of the empire as well. The water system in Segovia, Spain, still uses part of an ancient Roman aqueduct. Roman arches from aqueducts can still be found in Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia.

The Legacy of Roman Language and Writing

An especially important legacy of Rome for people in medieval times was the Romans' language, Latin. After the fall of the empire, Latin continued to be used by scholars and the Roman Catholic Church. Church scribes used Latin to create important documents. Educated European nobles learned Latin so they could communicate with their peers in other countries.

Latin remains extremely influential. Several modern European languages developed from Latin, including Italian, Spanish, and French. English is a Germanic language, but it was strongly influenced by the French-speaking Normans, who conquered England in 1066 C.E. English has borrowed heavily from Latin, both directly and by way of French. In fact, we still use the Latin alphabet, although Latin has 23 letters and English has 26.

You can see the influence of Latin in many of the words we use today. For example, our calendar comes from the one adopted by the Roman ruler Julius Caesar. The names of several months come from Latin. August honors Caesar Augustus, and September comes from Latin words meaning “the seventh month.” (The Roman year started in March, so September was the seventh month.) October means “the eighth month.” Can you guess the meanings of the words November and December? Latin also remains very important in the subjects of the law, medicine, and religion, as well.

Many English words start with Latin prefixes. A prefix is a word part placed at the beginning of a word that carries its own meaning.Attaching a prefix to a root word creates a new word with a new meaning. In fact, the word prefix was formed this way. It comes from pre- (“in front of”) and -fix (“fasten” or “attach”).

As this chart shows, other English words come from Latin root words. For instance, the words manual and manipulate are derived from the Latin word manus, meaning “hand.”

Even Latin proverbs are still in use. For example, if you look at the reverse side of a U.S. penny, you'll see the U.S. motto E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”).

Finally, we still use Roman numerals, which is a system that uses letters to write numbers. In the Roman numeral system, the letters I, V, X, L, C, D, and M represent 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000. You may have seen Roman numerals used on clocks, sundials, and the first pages of books. You might also spot Roman numerals on buildings and in some movie and television credits to show the year in which they were made.

The Origins and Spread of Christianity

How did Christianity originate and spread?

Introduction

As time passed and Christianity gained followers, many Romans perceived the faith as a threat to Roman order and tradition. Several emperors attempted to cease the spread of the new religion through violent persecutions. Then, in 312 C.E., the day before going into battle against a rival, the emperor Constantine reported having a vision of a cross hanging in the sky. Around the cross were the words “In this sign, you will conquer.” That night he had a dream about Jesus. The emperor interpreted the vision and dream as a sign that he would win the battle if he accepted Christian beliefs.

Constantine's soldiers went into battle with the first two letters of the word Christ on their shields. At the Battle of Milvian Bridge, near Rome, they won a great victory. From that moment on, Constantine favored the Christian God over all others. His mother became a leader in the faith. By 380 C.E., Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire.

How did this happen? Where did Christianity begin? How did it gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire? Read on to discover the answers to these questions.

The Birth of Jesus

No one knows exactly when Jesus was born. Our modern calendar dates the start of the Common Era from the supposed year of Jesus's birth. However, after careful study, historians now believe that Jesus's birth occurred around 6 B.C.E., during the reign of King Herod.

Historical records supply great descriptions of the days of the Roman Empire. The lives of the emperors, for example, were recorded in detail. However, few historians of the time wrote about Jesus. Instead, most of the information about him comes from the writings of his followers.

These writings comprise the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Among them are four Gospels, which are accounts of Jesus's life that were written in Greek some years after his death. The followers' names have come down to us as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The Gospel of Luke describes the story of Jesus's birth. According to Luke, Jesus's mother, Mary, lived in a town called Nazareth in the Roman territory of Galilee. There, the Gospels claim, an angel appeared to Mary and told her she would have a child and that she should name him Jesus.

Luke's gospel says that around this time, the Roman emperor Augustus ordered a census, or head count, of all the people in the Empire. Each man was supposed to return to the town of his birth to be counted. Mary's husband, a carpenter named Joseph, set out from Nazareth to his hometown of Bethlehem (BETH-lih-hem), in the territory of Judea. Mary traveled with him and gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem.

According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus's family returned to Nazareth after his birth. The New Testament gospels mention little about Jesus's childhood, but it is likely that he grew up in Nazareth and learned carpentry. According to Luke, at age 12, Jesus astonished the rabbis, or teachers, in the great Temple of Jerusalem with his wisdom and his knowledge of Jewish law.

When Jesus was about 30, a teacher known as John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Messiah—the savior the Jews had been waiting for. After 40 days of praying in the wilderness, Jesus began to preach in Galilee.

The Life and Death of Jesus

According to the Gospels, Jesus began preaching in Galilee, an area in present-day Israel. Initially, he preached in synagogues, or Jewish places of worship. The crowds that gathered to hear him grew larger, so Jesus began teaching in open areas—in the street, on hillsides, and by the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus called a small number to be his followers, or disciples. His disciples were mostly commoners such as laborers and fishermen. Throughout his life, Jesus spent time with the poor and the sick, rather than those who were wealthy and powerful.

The Teachings of Jesus

Jesus based his teachings on traditional Jewish beliefs. However, the Gospels claim he put special emphasis on love and mercy. Of all the Jewish laws, he said, two were the most important. The first was, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul.” The second was, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

According to the Gospels, Jesus informed his followers that the kingdom of God was coming soon. To Jesus, however, God's kingdom was not an earthly kingdom of power and riches. Instead, the kingdom of God described a time when people would live according to God's will. Then, Jesus said, everyone would know God's love for all people, even those who suffer or who are looked down upon by others.

One of Jesus's favorite ways of teaching was through parables, simple stories with moral or religious messages. Jewish law states that you should love your neighbor as yourself. When asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In this parable, a traveler was wounded and robbed on the road. Two local people passed by and ignored him, but then an outsider called a Samaritan stopped and helped the injured traveler.In this parable it is the outsider, and not the neighbors, who shows compassion and stops to help the traveler in trouble. Because of the Samaritan's good deed, Jesus considered him a neighbor, worthy of love.

Some Judeans worried that Jesus's growing following would cause trouble with the Romans. Although it was easy for some people to view him as a troublemaker, Jesus did not directly preach revolt against the Romans.

The Crucifixion and Resurrection

According to the Gospels, after a year or two of traveling and preaching, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover, which celebrated God's rescue of the Jews from Egypt more than a thousand years before his time. Every year, thousands of Jews traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Roman soldiers remained on watch for anyone who might start a demonstration against Rome.

According to the Gospels, Jesus explained that his enemies would come together to destroy him and that he would be killed. The Gospels then tell that one of Jesus's disciples, Judas, had decided to betray him. After a final meal with his disciples, Jesus went to pray in a garden. Judas then reported where Jesus could be found.As Jesus was led away under guard, the other disciples fled.Christians call Jesus's final meal with his disciples “the Last Supper.”

Jesus had gained a large following in Jerusalem. The city's Roman rulers feared that his supporters might create trouble, and they worried that Jesus might lead a revolt. To eliminate this threat, they decided that he must die. According to the Christian Bible, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, ordered that Jesus be executed. In Roman times, a common form of execution was to be crucified, or tied or nailed to a cross until dead.

According to the New Testament, the Romans took Jesus to a hill outside the city walls. There, they nailed him to a cross and left him to die between two other condemned men who were also crucified. A few faithful followers later removed his body and buried it in a tomb carved out of rock.

The Gospels say that three days later Jesus rose from the dead and then appeared to his disciples, an event Christians refer to as the Resurrection. Belief in the Resurrection convinced Jesus's disciples that he was the Son of God. According to the Gospels, Jesus left them again sometime later to join his Father, God, in heaven. His disciples then began spreading the news of his life and teachings.

Christianity Spreads

By the 60s C.E., Christians were beginning to attract the notice of the Romans. Christian preachers traveled along the roads of the empire, winning converts to their new religion. Both Paul and Peter, a close friend of Jesus, preached in Rome. Initially, Rome was not unfriendly to Christians. What was another god, among so many?

However, Christians refused to worship the other Roman gods. Worse, they would not accept that the emperor was a god. Their way of life seemed to be an insult to Roman customs. Instead of wealth and luxury, they preached about simplicity. Recalling Jesus's message of peace and love, many refused to serve in the army.

As the number of Christians increased, many Romans viewed them as a threat to Roman order and patriotism. Eventually, the Christian religion was declared illegal.

Some emperors were determined to make an example of these disloyal citizens. For refusing to honor the Roman gods, Christians were sentenced to die in cruel and painful ways. Some were crucified, and some were burned to death. Others were brought into arenas, where they were devoured by wild animals in

Instead of destroying the new religion, the Christians won new followers by facing death bravely. Christianity offered many people in the empire a sense of purpose and hope. It taught that even the poor and enslaved could look forward to a better life after death if they followed the teachings of Jesus.

Gradually, people of all classes and backgrounds began to adopt the new faith. By 300 C.E., millions of Christians resided in the Roman lands of Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. Also, Christian communities were established around the Mediterranean and further east, through Persia and into Central Asia.

At the beginning of the lesson, you read about the emperor Constantine and how a victory in battle made him favor the Christian religion. In 313 C.E., Constantine announced the Edict of Milan in which he gave Christians the freedom to practice their religion openly. Future emperors also accepted the new faith. Emperor Theodosius I banned all pagan sacrifices. By 380, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The End of the Roman Empire in the West

Rome's first emperor, Caesar Augustus, ended 100 years of civil war and expanded the boundaries of the Roman Empire. When he died in 14 C.E., few Romans could imagine that their empire would ever end. Yet by the year 500, the western half of the empire had collapsed. What caused the fall of the mighty Roman Empire?

Problems in the Late Empire

There was no single reason for the end of the Roman Empire. Instead, historians point to a number of problems that combined to bring about its fall.

Political Instability

Rome never solved the problem of how to peacefully transfer political power to a new leader. When an emperor died, ambitious rivals with independent armies often fought each other for control of the empire.

Even when the transfer of power happened without conflict, there was no good system for selecting the next emperor. Many times, the Praetorian Guard, the emperor's private army, chose the new ruler. But they frequently chose leaders who would reward them rather than those who were best prepared to be emperor.

Economic and Social Problems

Besides political instability, the empire suffered from economic and social problems. To finance Rome's huge armies, its citizens had to pay heavy taxes. These taxes weakened the economy and drove many people into poverty. Trade also suffered.

Unemployment was a serious problem for the economy.Additionally, wealthy families used slaves and cheap labor to work their large estates. Small farmers could not compete with the large landowners. Even though they fled to the cities looking for work, there were not enough jobs for everyone.

Other social problems plagued the empire, including growing corruption and a decline in the spirit of citizenship. Notorious emperors like Nero and Caligula wasted large amounts of money. A rise in crime made the empire's cities and roads unsafe.

Weakening Frontiers

A final problem was the weakening of the empire's frontiers. The huge size of the empire made it hard to defend, and it sometimes took weeks for leaders in Rome to communicate with generals. By the 300s C.E., Germanic tribes were pressing hard on the western borders of the empire. Many of these peoples went on to settle inside the empire and were recruited into the army. But often these soldiers had little loyalty to Rome.

The Fall of Rome

In 330 C.E., the emperor Constantine took a step that changed the future of the Roman Empire. He moved his capital 850 miles east, to the ancient city of Byzantium. He renamed the city New Rome. Later, it was called Constantinople. In modern times, it was renamed yet again, and today, it is known as Istanbul, Turkey.

After Constantine's reign, the vast empire was usually ruled by two emperors, one based in Rome and one based in Constantinople. Rome became the capital of just the western part of the empire. Constantinople was the capital of the eastern part of the empire.

The emperors in Rome soon found themselves threatened by invading Germanic tribes. In 410 C.E., one of these tribes attacked and looted Rome itself. Finally, in 476, the last emperor in the west was driven from his throne. The western half of the empire began to dissolve into separate kingdoms.

In the east, the empire continued for another 1,000 years. Today, we refer to this eastern empire as the Byzantine Empire, after Byzantium, the original name of its capital city.

In western Europe, Rome's fall did not mean the end of Roman civilization. The influence of Rome lived on through the medieval period and all the way to our time. As you read about the legacy of the Romans, think about how ideas and events from the distant past still affect us today.

The Size of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was one of the largest and most enduring in world history. The saying "All Roads Lead to Rome" alludes to this central hub of technology, literature, culture and architecture in the ancient world. The engineers of the Roman age created an unparalleled network of roads in ancient history.

Approximately 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of roads spread Roman civilization, influence and the mighty legions throughout the western world. They built strong arched bridges, and mastered the concept of "running water" using aqueducts that, among other things, supplied public baths rivaling today's modern water facilities.

At the height of its power in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the Roman Empire consisted of some 2.2 million square miles (5.7 million sq. km).

Population:

At the height of Roman power in the mid 2nd century AD, conservative opinion is that the Empire was comprised of some 65 million people. Assuming that the world population was still roughly about 300 million people this would mean that the Roman population was approximately 21% of the world's total. However, less conservative estimates have added far more people living within the official borders of the Empire, perhaps as much as doubling the figure. With this in mind, the population of the Empire may have approached 130 million people or perhaps over 40% of the world's total! However, as these numbers for the ancient period are widely divergent and imprecise, it could be assumed that either number or any in between has the potential to be correct. Still the increase from 45 to 65 million in about a century is believable and can be credited to the conquests of Britannia and Dacia, and several annexations of client kingdoms dating from the time of Augustus. (mostly by Claudius)

Breaking down the 65 million population estimate, some additional assumptions can be made:

• 500,000 soldiers (legionaries totalling 150,000 and auxilia making up the rest)

• Approximately 600 Senators made up the elite of the elite.

• Perhaps up to 30,000 men filled the roles of Equestrians (knights), or the second tier of the aristocracy.

• 10 to 30% or 6 million to 19 million people lived in the cities, leaving the vast majority of some 46 to 59 million people to live in the country as independent and mostly tenant farmers.

• Rome itself was made up of over 1 million people and, though it would shrink remarkably after the fall of the west, no city would surpass that number until the great urban population booms of the industrial age, 1,500 years or more later.

• The slave population of Rome approached 500,000 on its own, probably half of which were owned by the 600 men of the Senate. Additional estimates have suggested that of the total 65 million people, 2 to 10 million may have been slaves.

The Byzantine Empire

Constantinople

Constantinople was more than 800 miles to the east of Rome. Why did Constantine choose this site to be the capital of the Roman Empire?

One reason was that the site was surrounded by water on three sides, making it easy to defend. The Byzantines fashioned a chain across the city's harbor to guard against seafaring intruders. Miles of walls, fortified by watchtowers, and gates discouraged invasion by land and by sea.

Constantinople also stood at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and the many sea and overland trade routes linking east and west. During the Byzantine Empire, this ideal location helped to make the city, and some of its citizens, very wealthy. For more than 700 years, Constantinople was the richest and the most elegant city in the Mediterranean region. Ivory, silk, furs, perfumes, and other luxury items flowed through its markets. A French soldier who saw the city in 1204 exclaimed, “One could not believe there was so rich a city in all the world.”

At its height, Constantinople was home to around one million people. The city's language and culture were Greek, but traders and visitors spoke many languages. Ships crowded the city's harbor, loaded with goods. The city streets, some narrow and twisting, some grand and broad, teemed with camel and mule trains.

Life in Constantinople was more comfortable than in western Europe. The city boasted a sewer system, which was quite rare in medieval times. Social services were provided by hospitals, homes for the elderly, and orphanages.

Despite the luxuries enjoyed by the rich, many people lived in poverty. The emperor gave bread to those who could not find work, but in exchange, the unemployed performed tasks such as sweeping the streets and weeding public gardens.

Almost everyone attended the exciting chariot races at a stadium called the Hippodrome. Two chariot teams, one wearing blue and the other green, were fierce rivals. In Constantinople and other cities, many people belonged to opposing groups called the Blues and Greens after the chariot teams. At times the rivalry between the Blues and Greens erupted in deadly street fighting. But in 532, the two groups united in a rebellion that destroyed much of Constantinople.

Conflict Between East and West

Medieval Europe and the Byzantine Empire were united in a single faith, Christianity. Over the centuries, however, cultural, political, and religious differences led to conflict between the two parts of the old Roman Empire.

The two regions had been quite different even in the days of the early Roman emperors. The eastern half of the empire had many cities, much trade, and great wealth. The western half was mostly rural and agricultural, and not nearly as wealthy.

Other differences became more pronounced after the fall of Rome. Byzantine culture was largely shaped by its Greek heritage, whereas the west was influenced by Frankish and Germanic cultures. In the city of Constantinople, people spoke Greek. In the west, Latin was the language of scholars, diplomats, and the Church.

Perhaps most important was the conflict that developed between the churches of east and west. After the fall of Rome, popes gradually emerged as powerful figures in western Europe. The popes claimed supreme religious authority over all Christians. The emperors and patriarchs of the east did not claim that power.

Other differences added to the conflict. Three major disagreements in particular led to a split in the Christian Church.

Iconoclasm

The first major disagreement concerned religious icons. Many Christians in medieval times used images of Jesus, Mary, and the saints in worship and prayer. Some Christians in the east, however, believed that people were wrongly worshipping the icons as if they were divine, so in 730 C.E., Byzantine emperor Leo III banned the use of religious images in all Christian churches and homes.

This policy of iconoclasm (“icon smashing”) led to the destruction of much religious art. Throughout Christian lands, people cried out in protest. In Rome, Roman Church leaders were angry because Leo's order applied to parts of Italy that were under Byzantine control. Pope Gregory III even excommunicated the emperor.

The Byzantine Empire lifted its ban on icons in 843, but the dispute over iconoclasm had caused a major split between the east and west. It also helped motivate popes in Rome to look for support and protection against enemies.

The Crowning of a Holy Roman Emperor

Another major disagreement occurred in 800 C.E., a time when Empress Irene ruled the Byzantine Empire. Because she was a woman, Pope Leo III did not view her as honorable or strong enough to govern. He wanted the protection of a strong male leader to help defend the Church in the west.

Instead, Leo decided to crown Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, as Holy Roman emperor. The pope's action outraged the Byzantines, who acknowledged their empress as the rightful ruler of the remains of the Roman Empire.

The Final Break

Matters between east and west came to a head in 1054 when Cerularius, the patriarch of Constantinople, wanted to reassert Byzantine control of the Church. He closed all churches that worshipped with western rites. Pope Leo IX was furious. He sent Cardinal Humbert to Constantinople. The cardinal marched up to the altar of Hagia Sophia. In front of everyone, he laid down a bull (a proclamation by the pope) excommunicating Cerularius.

Cerularius responded by excommunicating the cardinal. This was purely a symbolic act, for the patriarch did not have that power. But it showed that the schism, or split, between east and west was complete. Despite future attempts to heal the division, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church were now separate churches.

When Did the Roman Empire Really Fall?

Most people believe that the Roman Empire fell in 476 C.E. In this year, Romulus, the last emperor of Rome, lost his throne to invading Germanic tribes. However, others believe that the empire didn't really fall for another thousand years. Why do people disagree about when the Roman Empire really fell?

The Roman Empire Splits in Two

Before the Roman Emperor Constantine rose to power in the early 300s C.E., the empire of Rome was controlled by many different co-rulers.This style of ruling was initiated by Diocletian in 286 C.E. Diocletian split Rome into West and East, appointing different rulers for each section. In addition to this major change, he made several reforms to the empire including the shift of resources to military defense. The number of Roman troops was increased and spread out into smaller armies across the border.

During this time of split governance, Constantine’s father Constantius was appointed as one of the rulers of Rome. Upon his death, Constantine replaced him and became a ruler. Power struggles eventually emerged between the seven emperors. Constantine believed that this way of ruling had become too disorganized to properly command the immense Roman Empire. In 324 C.E., he killed his rivals and declared himself emperor of both Western and Eastern Rome.

In the year 330 C.E., Constantine moved his capital out of the city of Rome to the city of Byzantium in the eastern half of the Roman empire. He then divided the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. While Byzantium, which had been renamed Constantinople, served as the capital in the Eastern Empire, Rome remained the capital of the Western Empire.

In the Eastern Roman Empire, later called the Byzantine Empire, citizens wove Roman heritage into the rich local traditions and customs. In time, Constantinople had surpassed Rome in wealth and importance.

Although the Western Roman Empire would fall after the sacking of Rome by the Visigoth, a Germanic tribe, in 476, the Eastern Roman Empire would survive until the mid-1400s C.E.

In addition to a split between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire, there was also a split between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.Churches in Eastern Europe followed the Orthodox or Greek Church. The churches in the west became the official "Church" and were also called the Latin Church and later became known as the Roman Catholic Church.

The Roman-Persian Wars

From 54 B.C.E to 629 C.E., the expansive Roman Empire fought against two separate Persian Empires: the Parthian and the Sassanid. The Roman-Persian Wars would become the longest series of conflicts in history, lasting almost 700 years.

From about 54 B.C.E. to the early 200s C.E., the Roman Republic, and later the Roman Empire, engaged in several small wars against the Parthians. After the overthrow of Parthian rule and the emergence of the Sassanid Empire, fighting continued.

For over a century, the conflict remained steady. Towards the late second century and into the third, problems with the Persian Empire continued to plague Rome. Emperor Caracalla attempted to overthrow the Persians. He attacked in 216 C.E., but was assassinated by his own men. To maintain the protection of Rome’s borders from the Persians, Rome left the northeastern communities to the northern tribesmen and maintained friendly relations with the elite groups.

However, when outside forces began to attack both the Roman and Persian Empire, the two sides agreed to peace. For the Roman Empire, these outside forces, the invading Germanic tribes, threatened the frontiers of the Rhine and Danube rivers. This area was located closely to Germanic establishments making them vulnerable to attack.

These Germanic tribes would eventually conquer Rome. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, there was a period of peace.However, in 502 C.E, Persia once more renewed its attacks on the Roman Empire, this time attacking the people in the Eastern Roman Empire.What followed was over a century of wars between the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire.

The Collapse of Persia and the Byzantine Empire

Even as they fought one another, both Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire, faced other challenges. For the people of the Byzantine Empire, the mounted Hun warriors besieged the land and cities throughout the Eastern Roman Empire. In the summer of 441 C.E., the Huns sacked the cities of the province of Illyricu. These cities were important trading centers for the Eastern Roman Empire. This disruption of trade further hurt the Roman Empire, and even affected trade spots along the Silk Road, such as Persia, China, and India.

Almost 700 years or war had taken their toll on both the Eastern Roman and Persian Empires. Before either the Byzantine or Sassanid Empires were able to fully recover from their centuries of war, the two empires were met with a new challenge, Muslim armies from Arabia. These new forces overthrew the Sassanid Empire, but met with stronger resistance from the Byzantine Empire. From 7th to the 11th century, the Byzantine Empire fought against the Arabs.

During this period, the Byzantine Empire lost a great deal of territory that they would never recover. Wars with Muslim forces under Turkish and Mongol rule also led to the continued weakening of the Byzantine Empire.These wars ultimately led to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.