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Rome and Byzantium
The weak link in Roman defenses that contributed to the spread
of Germanic peoples into the empire was reliance on foreign soldiers to protect the borders of the Roman Empire.
Moreover, northern peoples started to spread across the empire, and the army was not strong enough to stop them.
There was a major effect that the raids from the north had on Rome. There was destruction of farms and cities,
fear on the part of the affluent country landowners, trade and wealth declined, and taxes were unable to to be collected and
that money was needed to defend the Roman Empire.
Egypt, western Asia, and Greece were the wealthy regions located
in the eastern half of the Roman Empire.
Diocletian took the eastern half of the empire to rule because it consisted of cities that were more affluent
than those in the west such as western Asia, Greece, and Egypt. In addition, the western portion of the empire was not
doing well at all.
Diocletian's division of the empire created a turning point in Roman history by shifting power
from Rome, in the western part, to the eastern part of the Empire. Rome was no longer the most significant city in the
empire.
The Fall of Rome
In A.D. 410 the Visigoths burned and sacked Rome. Forty-five years
later, the Vandals repeated the attack.
In A.D. 475 Orestes, a Roman general, dethroned the emperor of the
western empire with the help of the Germanic mercenaries. Orestes made his son the emperor.
Germanic
mercenaries revolted in A.D. 476. Odoacer, their leader, killed Orestes, kicked his son out of power, and made himself
king, and all of that nonsense ultimately ended the Roman Empire.
Constantine moved his capital from Rome because
he realized that wealth and power was mostly in the eastern half of the empire.
Constantine chose Byzantium for
his new imperial capital because it was located in a very good location for trading, and it was also built on a peninsula
so it was easy to protect/defend.
Germanic invaders from the north were responsible for ending the Roman Empire
in the west.
The Justinian Code
The emperor Justinian's code of laws is also called "Corpus
Juris Civilis" which translates from Latin to "Body of Civil Law".
This code saved Roman traditions
and laws while keeping people in order.
Theodora showed her courage by refusing to leave Constantinople when a revolt broke out. (see page 252)
 <Theodora
Page song-Angelina/Zooma Zooma-Louie Prima
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