Constantine and the Rise of the Church

In the late Roman Empire, the Christian Church continued to rise in importance. Some historians theorize that the rise of a religion that was not tied to the state diverted the peoples' loyalty away from the emperor and the Roman Empire. Rather than the government leadership, the Church leadership was the moral authority. With different languages, customs, and histories, the people of the Roman Empire around the Mediterranean could unify under the common beliefs of Christianity.

Even with this unification, however, two heresies arose and divided Christians: Donatism and Arianism. Both of these schisms occurred because of discrepancies in belief systems. In the case of Donatism, bishops who had given up their Christian ideals under persecution were told the baptisms they performed were obsolete. Donatism was ultimately rejected. Conversely, Arians believed Christ was the highest of all created beings, but was not one with God. This concept was more widely accepted than Donatism. Eventually, Arianism lost support as well. This marked the time when paganism was no longer the official religion of Rome.

In 284 A.D. (C.E.), the emperor Diocletian came to power and divided the Roman Empire in hopes of better managing it. This division had mixed results, but it did provide the foundation for the differences between an emerging Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire.

When Constantine came to power in 306 A.D. (C.E.), he too made changes to Rome in hopes of slowing its decline. Constantine moved the capital city to the Greek city of Byzantium, and he renamed it Constantinople. This city was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, which transitioned to the Byzantine Empire, until the Ottoman Empire captured it in 1453.

While Diocletian and Constantine did help hold the Roman Empire together for another century, they failed to prevent its fall. In the end, internal and external problems brought the empire down.

The Decline of the Western Roman Empire

Most historians believe that there was more than one factor that led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Instead, a combination of circumstances weakened the empire and forced its decline in 476 A.D. (C.E.), when it ceased to have an emperor. In this interactivity, you will learn more about the factors that led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Click the player button to begin.

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Around half-way through the 4th century A.D. (C.E.), a series of attacks by tribes almost destroyed the Western Roman Empire. Rome was sacked by invading tribes in 410, and again in 455. In 476, the emperor was removed from office and the Western Roman Empire officially fell. The traditions of ancient Greece and ancient Rome lived on in the Eastern Roman Empire, led by the emperor in the city of Constantinople.

 

Decline of the Roman Empire Review

Now that you have explored the reasons for ancient Rome's decline, review your knowledge in this interactivity. Click the player button to get started.