HST 121 - The Decline of Rome
                        and the Rise of Germanic Europe

The Decline of Rome
I. Third-Century Crisis (193-285)
        A. Degeneration of the army
                1. overextension of the empire [Map: Roman Empire]
                2. army increasingly staffed with provincials
                3. army begins cycle of sacking an emperor and fighting
                        within the ranks of the army to choose a new emperor
        B. Economic Crisis
                1. emperors attain throne by promising higher pay to soldiers
                2. they debase coinage in order to pay soldiers
                3. this causes prices to go up
        C. Increase in attacks on the borders of the empire
II. Diocletian and Constantine (284-337)
        A. Diocletian (284-305)
                1. renewed cult of the emperor [dominus; Jupiter]
                2. tetrarchy: augustus (main emperor) and caesar (junior 
                        emperor) in both the east and the west [Map]
                        a. now much easier to rule the empire
                        b. succession problem solved
                                                          West                     East
                                Augustus         Maximian            Diocletian
                                Caesar            Constantius          Galerius
                3. militarization of society
                        a. separated military and civil administration
                        b. increased size of army to about 500,000
                        c. rigorously enforced new and old taxes
                        d. tied peasants to the land
                        e. unskilled workers tied to their jobs
        B. Constantine (306-337)
                1. in partial control of the west in 306
                2. in total control of the west in 312 following his victory
                        over Maxentius at a battle at the Milvian Bridge
                3. in control of whole empire after his victory
                        over Licinius in 324
                4. Battle at Milvian Bridge: Constantine had a vision in which
                        he saw a cross in the form of the letters Chi and Rho,
                        the first 2 letters of the Greek word for Christ
                5. in the vision, he was told that if he painted this cross on
                        the shields of his soldiers he would win the battle
                6. Diocletian had been persecuting Christians
                7. after the Battle at Milvian Bridge, Constantine made it a lot 
                        easier for Christians to live peacefully in the empire
                8. Edict of Milan (313): gave Christians legal recognition in the
                        empire and allowed them to worship their god freely
                9. then, a whole series of measures that were favorable
                        to Christians
III. Tribal Migrations and Invasions [Map]
        A. Huns from central Asia swept into central Russia in
                second half of 4th century
        B. this put pressure on the Germanic peoples (Visigoths)
                living on the borders of the Roman Empire
        C. the Romans let the Visigoths enter the empire, but
                treated them horribly
        D. Visigoths defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople (378)
        E. Vandals attack and plunder their way through central Europe,
                Gaul and Spain on their way to north Africa
        F. Visigoths sack Rome in 410
        G. Vandals sack Rome in 455
        H. in 476, German officers in the Roman army overthrow the emperor
                and replace him with a German (specifically, an Ostrogoth)
        I. thus, 476 is often seen as the end of the Roman Empire in the west
        J. Roman cities, Roman culture and Roman economic infrastructure
                quickly deteriorated
        K. source: Gildas, Concerning the Ruin of Britain
IV. The Fall of the Roman Empire
        A. Germanic Invasions
        B. Population Decline
        C. Spiritual Paralysis
        D. Social and Economic Causes
        E. Political and Military Causes

The Rise of Germanic Europe
I. Social Structure
        A. village-based communities
        B. mainly pastoral farming
        C. kinship: patriarchal household, clan, tribe; federated tribes
        D. lordship: comitatus
II. Germanic Law: Salic Law, Trial by Ordeal
             Comparison and Contrast
                       - Ancient Near East - Hammurabi, Exodus
                       - Rome - Justinian's Institutes
                         1. How would you characterize the laws?
                         2. From where/whom do the law come?
                         3. What is the intent of the laws?
                         4. What is their relationship to the state?
                                  -- to the individual?
III. The Beginnings of Europe as We Know it
        A. Angles and Saxons in England [MAP: England]
        B. Other Germanic tribes on the continent
                [MAP: Continental Europe]
        C. Roman Empire fell, but Roman civilization not
                completely destroyed
        D. Western European civilization is a blend of Roman,
                Germanic and Christian cultures