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Decline of the Roman Empire

Decline of the Roman Empire. The Rule of Diocletian. Diocletian became emperor of Rome in 284 CE (CE = Common Era ) He was elected by his fellow soldiers in the Praetorian Guard, not the people of Rome. The Reforms of Diocletian.

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Decline of the Roman Empire

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  1. Decline of the Roman Empire

  2. The Rule of Diocletian Diocletian became emperor of Rome in 284 CE (CE = Common Era) He was elected by his fellow soldiers in the Praetorian Guard, not the people of Rome

  3. The Reforms of Diocletian In 293 CE Diocletian decided to divide Rome into two parts – East and West This created a new power structure: 2 senior emperors (called Augusti) and 2 junior emperors (called Caesares). A great example of early bureaucracy!

  4. Roman Empire

  5. The Reforms of Diocletian The two halves of the Empire were split permanently from that point on The Western part of the Empire lost its Roman nature over time The Eastern part of the Empire developed into Byzantium Diocletian also reordered the administration of the provinces and completed military reforms

  6. Diocletian’s War Against Christianity Diocletian also made the very bad decision to try and eradicate the Christian faith Christianity had spread throughout the Roman empire and took the focus away from the power of the Emperors

  7. Diocletian’s War Against Christianity Christian churches were destroyed and holy writings burned Many Christians opted to become martyrs instead of sacrificing to Diocletian

  8. Constantine Diocletian’s successor was the Caesar Constantine Constantine beat out his rival Maxentius in a battle where he claimed that God had intervened on his behalf Constantine was the first Christian emperor of Rome He issued the Edict of Milan (313 CE) which freed Christians in the Roman Empire from persecution

  9. Constantine Constantine favoured Christian communities throughout Rome – he wanted to create a Christian Roman Empire He established Byzantium as a major seat of Roman government This changed the course of western civilization! In 359 CE, Constantinople (Istanbul) was given constitutional authority equal to that of Rome

  10. The End of the West The Western Roman empire was under near-constant attack from barbarian tribes in the north (Goths, Alans, Franks, Suebi, Vandals, Huns & Germanic tribes)

  11. Theodosius the Great Constantine died in 337 CE After that there was a 40 year period where emperors battled one another for who would rule the Christian Roman Empire In 379 CE Emperor Theodosius, a devout Christian, emerged as the new ruler of Rome He dealt effectively with the barbarians & banned all pagan religions

  12. The Final Years In 476 CE, 1200 years after the founding of Rome, the Western Empire ended. The most significant change to the Roman Empire came with the adoption of Christianity as the state religion The East continued on and was transformed into the Byzantine Empire, which did not end until 1453

  13. Why did the West collapse? Overwhelming pressure placed on the frontier regions by the Germanic tribes Crippling inflation Slavery (because it led to technological stagnation) Christianity – the abolition of the old Roman gods eroded peoples’ belief in the supremacy of the Roman ideal

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