After Constantine’s death in 337, Germanic tribes from the north continued to threaten the empire. To make matters even worse, the relationship between the eastern and western regions of the empire began to break down. This was more serious for the west because the east was much wealthier
The Arch of Constantine is a large triumphal arch in Rome next to the Colosseum. This arch commemorates the battle that led the Emperor Constantine to convert to Christianity.
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Constantine (left) became the emperor of a reunited Roman Empire in a. d. 324 and moved the empire's capital east. Diocletian (right) divided the Roman Empire into eastern and western regions.
And contributed more in support of the empire. In 395, the empire split in two when the emperor Theodosius died. Each region had its own emperor.
In 439, one Germanic tribe, the Vandals, captured the city of Carthage on the coast of north Africa and established the first
Independent kingdom inside of the empire. By 475, the Goths, another Germanic tribe, had created a kingdom in Gaul and Spain. The next year, German troops who had lived among the Romans and fought in their army suddenly revolted and elected a man named Odoacer as their leader. He made Italy his kingdom, bringing the western half of the Roman Empire to an end. The year 476 has come to signify the fall of the Roman Empire.
Although the Roman government had been toppled, the churches helped to preserve Roman culture and offer some protection to the Roman people. The eastern half of the empire, which became known as the Byzantine Empire, lasted until 1453. It survived by bargaining with its enemies and integrating them into the empire instead of fighting them.8
The REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT and ITS PEOPLE
From the earliest days of the Republic, a person’s social class affected his ability to participate in the government and decide its laws. Rome’s upper classes, the social elite, were known as patricians. They were born to noble families and were often rich. All other citizens were known as plebeians or one of the common people.
Since the Republic’s elected officials were not paid at first, a small group of wealthy patricians held these positions, and as a result, managed to dominate the government. The plebeians struggled against the patricians for more power, and in the 440s B. C., the plebians won an important victory.1 They forced the patricians to publish the laws of Rome in a document that became known as the Twelve Tables. Now every Roman citizen could learn what the laws—and the punishments for breaking those rules—were.
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Two groups of people were excluded from political affairs: all women, both patrician and plebeian, and slaves. Women were expected to remain at home and care for their families, while slaves were considered the property of their masters. As the Roman Empire grew, so did the number of captured enemy soldiers and rebellious residents of the provinces, who were
2
Enslaved and brought to Rome.
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