Conclusion

Diocletian ended the third-century crisis of the Roman Empire, but his reforms only delayed its fragmentation. In the late fourth century, migrations of barbarians fleeing the Huns weakened the Roman imperial government. Emperor Theodosius I divided the empire into western and eastern halves in 395 to try to improve its administration and defense. When Roman authorities bungled the task of integrating barbarian tribes into Roman society, the newcomers created kingdoms that eventually replaced Roman rule in the west.

Large-scale and violent immigration transformed the western empire’s politics, society, and economy. The political changes and economic deterioration accompanying this transformation destroyed the public-spiritedness of the elite, as wealthy nobles retreated to self-sufficient country estates and shunned municipal office.

The eastern empire fared better economically than the western and avoided the worst violence of the migrations. Eastern emperors attempted to preserve “Romanness” by maintaining Roman culture and political traditions. The financial pressure of wars to reunite the empire drove tax rates to unbearable levels, while the concentration of authority in the capital weakened local communities.

Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in 312 marked a turning point in Western history. Christianization of the empire occurred gradually, and Christians disagreed among themselves over doctrines of faith, even to the point of deadly violence. Monastic life redefined the meaning of holiness by creating communities of “God’s heroes” who withdrew from this world to devote their service to glorifying the next. In the end, the quest for unity fell short through the powerful effects of political and social transformation. Nevertheless, the memory of Roman power and culture remained potent, providing an influential inheritance to the peoples and states that would become Rome’s heirs in the next stage of Western civilization.