In 394 under Emperor Theodosius’s reign, paganism was abolished and Christianity became the official Roman religion. The triumph of Christianity was a major turning point for the history of Europe, marking a complete change in mentality and a major break between ancient time and pre-feudal times.
The decay of the Roman empire began in the third century AD. For many reasons—notably imperial despotism, the rise of Christianity, the shift of forces to the East, and the difficulty of maintaining an empire of such huge dimensions—Rome and Italy gradually lost control. The Romans learned that the frontier limes, though often cunningly placed along rivers and mountains, were not impassable.
Urban Roman gatehouse
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Roman castrum—The castrum (also called castellum stativa) is a permanent fort intended to control, pacify and romanize a region.
Left: Roman watchtower (burgus).
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The fragile balance between Romans and barbarian Germanic tribes was broken in the beginning of the 5th century. Taking advantage of internal Roman anarchy and military weakness, Germanic raiders launched audacious attacks; facing little resistance, they settled and founded their own kingdoms. After years of confusion made worse by the expeditions launched by the Asiatic hordes of brutal Huns in 450 and 451, the western Roman empire collapsed and was divided into numerous and chaotic barbarian realms.
In the course of these endless conflicts, the Western empire politically ceased to exist. The final blow happened in 476 when the Heruli tribe seized the eternal city of Rome. Their warlord, Odoaker, overthrew the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, and proclaimed himself king of Italy. This date conventionally marks the end of the empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages.
Over the course of about one hundred years, from the middle of the 5th to the middle of the 6th century, Europe had been profoundly upset, with the Roman administrative centralization replaced by diversity and political partition. The barbarian invasions, it is generally recognized, resulted in violence, destruction, insecurity, large scale banditry, and the ruin of trade and economic life, as well as depopulation brought on by epidemics. However, the so-called barbaric Germanic tribes also brought with them a new and dynamic civilization.
In terms of fortification, the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries were characterized by a significant decrease of urban life and a revival of defense works to face violence and invasions. The typical town was reduced to a small nucleus that could be better defended. The urban surface, called the castrum, was diminished to 6 to 30 hectares. New walls were hastily raised using stones and construction materials from buildings of the abandoned neighborhoods. In certain cities of southern Europe (Arles, Nimes or Rome, for example), the huge oval amphitheater intended for circus entertainment was transformed into a fortress called the castrum arenarum.
The barbarians had defeated the Romans by war of movement, but having become settlers themselves, they rapidly rediscovered the need for fortification. Upon the Gallic-Roman heritage they built new strongholds. The Visigoths, established in southern Europe, fortified their capital of Toledo as well as Alarcon, Siguenza, and Daroca in Spain; they built numerous castles and city enclosures such as Beja, Evora, Guarda and Lisbon in Portugal, and Carcassonne in southern France.
World History
