History of the Roman and Byzantine Empire: Part One

A Short History of the the late Roman and Byzantine Empire

After the dividing of Rome by Diocletian in 284 AD, there remained an Eastern and Western Roman Empire. While the Western Roman Empire officially fell in 476, with the deposing of Romulus Augustus, the Easter Roman Empire lasted until 1453 AD, with the Ottoman capturing of Constantinople. This over 1,000-year-old empire was Roman, with its citizens thinking of themselves as Romans its entire existence. The renaming of it to the Byzantine Empire first occurred in 1557, with the Corpus Historiæ Byzantinæ by German historian Hieronymus Wolf-the name stemming from the original city where Constantinople lay, Byzantium. The Byzantine Empire was one of the longest continuous political entities in all of history, and with that length came many rises and falls in power and culture. This series will divide the empire into many different periods starting with the late Roman Empire.

Emperor Constantine-Theodosius, 312-395

• 313, the Edict of Milan is accepted by the whole Roman Empire legalizing Christianity and returning confiscated property to Christians within the Empire.

• Emperor Constantine reunited the Roman Empire with his beating of the Eastern Roman Emperor, Licinius I, at the battle of Milvian Bridge

• 325, the Council of Nicea created an orthodox Christian religion

• Emperor Constantine made Byzantium the Roman Empire’s capital and built the Constantine walls.

• Constantine promotes Christianity using state funds to help build churches.

• Through Constantine's promotion of Christianity, public figures see it as the way to go up the social ladder

• Julian the Apostate (361-363), was the only Pagan emperor to ever rule after Constantine.

• Promotion of anti-paganism laws by Theodosius resulted in the destruction of many temples and the banning of games like the Olympics in Greece.

• The West remained much less urbanized compared to the Eastern Empire and its trade system remained much cohesive compared to the Western Empire

• Theodosius split the Roman Empire permanently between his two sons, the West to Honorius, and the East to Arcadius.

Western Emperor Honorius-Romulus Augustus, 395-476

• The Empire faced more and more invasions from Barbarians as the two empires remained separate.

• Stilicho, the half vandal-half roman general, fought off multiple barbaric invasions reaching all the way into Italy.

• 402, the Western Empire moved its capital to the highly defendable Ravenna, following the advancement of barbarian attacks in Italy

• Emperor Honorius put Stilicho to death in Ravenna for making alliances with Barbarians.

• Rome is sacked by Alaric and the Visigoths in 410

• Rome is sacked by the Vandals in 455

• Majorian is crowned emperor in 457 and regains much of the provinces of Gaul and Hispania from Barbarians like the Visigoths.

• Majorians fleet is burned down stopping any hopes of regaining North Africa from the Vandals

• Ricimer deposed and killed Majorian in 461 ending the last expansion of the Western Empire.

• Emperors remain puppets to barbarian warlords until the final dissolution of the position in 476 with the deposition of Romulus Augustus.

Eastern Emperor Arcadius-Zeno/Basiliscus, 395-476

• The Eastern Empire is much wealthier and urbanized than its western counterpart.

• The Eastern Empire bribes many tribes to go west relieving the pressure on itself while putting more on the Western Empire.

• Theodosius II starts the construction of the Theodosius walls protecting the city of Constantinople from any barbarian invasion.

• The Eastern Empire remains relatively stable with emperors lasting much longer than their western counterparts.

• Economic growth is great in the Empire as it recovers from the tumultuous century

• The Eastern Empire fails to recognize many Western Emperors once Ricimer starts proclaiming new emperors he can control

• The Eastern Emperor becomes the sole emperor after the deposition of Romulus Augustus.

Works Cited:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Council of Nicaea.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 Feb. 2018, www.britannica.com/event/Council-of-Nicaea-Christianity-325.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Edict of Milan.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Mar. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/Edict-of-Milan.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Majorian.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 9 Aug. 2007, www.britannica.com/biography/Majorian.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Ravenna.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Apr. 2016, www.britannica.com/place/Ravenna-Italy.

Cartwright, Mark. “Theodosian Walls.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 12 May 2018, www.ancient.eu/Theodosian_Walls/.

“Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 May 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Scriptorum_Historiae_Byzantinae.

History.com Staff. “Byzantine Empire.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/byzantine-empire.

“List of Roman Emperors.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 May 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_emperors.

“Olympic Games Are Abolished With Paganism | History Channel on Foxtel.” History Channel, 9 June 2017, www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/olympic-games-are-abolished-with-paganism/.

Ricimer.", "Flavius. “Flavius Ricimer.” Gale Library of Daily Life: Slavery in America, Encyclopedia.com, 2018, www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/ancient-history-late-roman-and-byzantine-biographies/flavius-ricimer.

Thompson, E.A. “Flavius Stilicho.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Nov. 2008, www.britannica.com/biography/Flavius-Stilicho.