The Fall Of The Roman Empire Flashcards
(10 cards)
When did the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire split?
395 CE
Difference between the western and eastern Roman Empire?
- western: rural and economically rich, Latinized.
- eastern: urban and culturally much more hellenized, had various exchanges in cultures.
Why is it not a “fall”?
More of a process of mutation, a passage from antiquity to the Middle Ages.
What are the debates in the historical literatures?
If it was a crisis or a continuity
What are the three different spheres of the fall of the Roman Empire?
- Politics/Military
- Economy
- Religion/Culture
What happened politically in 410-476 CE?
- There was a process of political fragmentation: from empire to small kingdoms
- There was a shift in the composition of the ruling class: elites started to migrate towards the eastern part of the empire (Christian Barbarians = elites)
What when the pressures and outcomes of the “fall”!
- Roman Imperial strategy with conquered people
- Administration of the borders (non-roman barbarian soldiers) = there were civil wars inside Rome because there are no clear succession
- There are external and internal pressures
What was the economy like during this time?
- There was an economic simplification
- Organized and ministered politically by the state
3.trade and commerce was simplified, there was a localization of economy
How did the relocalization of the economy work? How was it simplified?
Taxation was reorganized locally, the birth of feudal structures, meaning taxes for the peasants, due to the ruralization and depopulation.
What was the religion and culture like during this time?
- The Church endures the fall
- The legal structure remains (laws)
- Remains highly centralized
- Keeps Roman culture. (Multiethnic and multicultural)
