When Constantine died, his three stepsons took control of the government and split it into three parts. After years of fighting among the brothers, Constantius II (317-361) finally emerged as the sole leader in 353. Based in the west, he soon took on a co-emperor to rule in the east. His first choice was not reliable, however, so Constantius named one of his cousins, Julian (332-363). In 361, Julian became sole emperor, and although raised a Christian, he accepted pagan beliefs and tried to promote them throughout the empire.
The Roman Bureaucracy
Just as they did in Rome, bureaucrats play an important role in keeping modern governments running smoothly. They are also sometimes called civil servants. The Roman government bureaucracy was based around departments, called officia, which led to such English words as office and offi-cial. The Roman bureaucrats collected taxes, ran government agencies, and kept the military well supplied. Just as today, Roman civil servants had specific rules for receiving promotions. Bureaucrats were also punished if they were caught accepting bribes. The Roman punishment, however, was a little harsher than today's fines or jail sentences: a bureaucrat found guilty had both hands cut off.
During this period the Romans continued to battle Germanic tribes along their northern borders. Julian also launched a large invasion of Persia, which ended with a Roman defeat and the emperor’s death. The foreign battles continued for several decades, with major conflicts erupting against the Goths and native tribes of North Africa.
In one instance, however, the Goths actually sought protection from Rome against another tribe, the Huns. The emperor Valens (328-378) allowed the Goths to settle in Thrace, but the Romans treated the Goths badly, charging unfair prices for food or demanding humans as payment, so they could be sold as slaves. The Goths rebelled. In 378, at the Battle of Adrianople, more than 10,000 Romans, including Valens, died. The ancient historian Ammianus (c. 330-395) described the scene in his History, “. . .such great clouds of dust arose that it was hardly possible to see the sky. The air resounded with terrible cries. The darts, which brought death on every side, reached their mark and fell with deadly effect, for no one could see them quickly enough to place himself on guard. The barbarians, rushing on with their enormous army, beat down our horses and men and gave us no open spaces where we could fall back to operate.”
The Romans kept the Goths from advancing to Constantinople, but the Goths continued to rampage in the Balkans. In 379, an Iberian general named Theodosius (c. 346-395) joined Gratian (359-383) as co-emperor. Theodosius ended the Gothic problem, forcing the Ostrogoths out of the Balkans and allowing the Visigoths to remain within the empire as allies. Theodosius also established Christianity as the one official state religion. Constantine and his successors had allowed pagan religions to exist side-by-side with Christianity. Theodosius closed pagan temples and ended rituals dedicated to the old gods.
World History
