Roman Empire

• Modern historians are considering that the MA begun with the deposition of the last RE, Romulus Augustulus on the 4th of September 476 CE (common era)
• That event is mostly symbolic since it did not change at all the course of things. It was predictable and logical but only important today
• Historians tend to consider that disaggregation of the Roman order occurred progressively from the 3rd until the 6th
• The roman empire was considered as the most important empire and its legacy is still important after it
• Due to its fascination towards the Roman Empire, that matter stirred up a great interest among thinkers and scholars, at least from the 18th
• Montesquieu was the first to discuss it
• The English wanted to know for the good of THEIR empire
• In England, Edward Gibbon published between 1778 and 1788 a six volumes books The history of the decline and the fall of the roman Empire
• Fall because of Christianity was its idea
• We have the uttermost difficulty to be sure of what brought down the RE
• Authors from that moment of what was happening, and we must build interpretations using fragment of traces to find anything
• We must build our opinion as they did not give them
• Roman Republic


  Considered to have been created by Augustus in 27 BCE
• Transition was gradual, took years or decades
• Augustus ruled until 14CE
• The Roman Empire reached its peak during the second century CE
• Reasons for the collapsing of the Roman Empire

  • The imperial power increased its military dimension since the 3rd CE, which led the empire into a political instability (4 emperor a year)
  • The financial needs of the empire being always increasing; it led the fiscal admin to lift the taxes as well as debase the alloy of the Imperial coinages. Inflation because of the lowness of the silver fineness in coins
• When emperor Theodosius died (in 395 CE), the empire was divided in 2 separated parts: the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire
• To solve the insecurity and other issues, to have more emperor to solve them. But no success because competition between the two
• Spilt between the 2 sons of Theodosius, and the parts won't ever be together
• Capital of the East: Constantinople, Capital of the West: Milano first
• Separation between Greek and Latin speaking people
• The eastern one, "the Byzantine Empire" survived until 1453 CE
• The western one did not last more than 80 years
• Barbarians


  Population that the Latin authors are calling "Barbarians"
• From a roman pov, the world barbarous implies that they do not speak neither Latin nor Greek
• Beware of the clichés, since very refined people like Persians were said to be barbarians as considered not civilized
• Roman limes


  • Fortified border set up by roman emperors to protect their territories from barbarians wanting to enter the empire
  • It worked but for some time, not much
  • Used rivers to also close the borders
• During the 3rd, the balance was broken due to the apparition of new groups of barbarians' people, like Vandals, Goth or Franks, and the weakening of the Empire
• 1st barbarian attack was in 260 in Athens
• Barbarians were free to plan incursions into the roman territory, mostly for loot (taking the things worth in a city and leave after)
• The romans and barbarians had trade (furs, amber and wine) for diplomacy and other peaceful relationships
• This led the barbarians to be Romanised, and some of them were able to speak, read and write in Latin
• From the End of the 4th, the barbarians were many to serve into roman legions as the empire needed soldiers
• The barbarians settle in the empire for this
• Some of barbarian rulers got important position within the empire (general or more: Flavius Stilicho, from 394-408, general in chief in the roman empire (had some emperor assassinated and was also))
• From the 360s', the recruitment of barbarians into the army led entire barbarian communities to enter the empire and to settle
• The franks fought for Rome in 358 and settle in modern day Belgium
• The settlers were mostly soldiers, women and children were almost non existents. It is why we do not talk about "barbarian invasion"
• The Goth putting pressure was an issue. So, they settle the goths in the empire in 370s and accepted to fight for the roman army