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Problems (here's just a few)
- In the third century A.D.
- Epidemic disease spread throughout the Empire
- Its too hard to defend the frontier against the barbarians
- Emperors began to loos their hold on power
- Stayed in power for an average of two and a half years due to wars
- Maintaining armies is expensive
- Too many poverty-stricken citizens
Diocletian
to the rescue!
- 284 AD- Diocletian's reform
- Increase the size of the army to 400,000
- Bigger than during Augustus's time
- Recruit from the ranks of the barbarians
- Divide Roman territories into smaller provinces
- This new government had 20,000 officials
- Ten times more than under Augustus
- They were more efficient at collecting higher taxes- this greater yield provided for a larger army
Time
Marches On
- 300 AD
- 60 million people in the Roman empire
- Several million are Christians
- Christianity has quite an appeal to the poor and disenfranchised
- More Christians- more face-to-face contacts- more conversions- more offspring
- Some Christians are even gaining positions of power, becoming the ruling elite
To
persecute, or to not to persecute
- Diocletian (ruled from 284-305) left Christians alone at first
- Then he undertook the most systematic persecution of all *
- Diocletian's goal was to wipe out the who church. He hunted down Christians and their Scriptures. He especially loved to get hold of church leaders. He was trying to turn them back to paganism, to the old Roman religion with the emperor as a God. Therefore, anyone he caught and tried could be released by offering a sacrifice to the gods or to the emperor. Diocletian also decided to burn down all of their church buildings.
- The edict
- 1st -- > destruction of the church and burning the scriptures
- 2nd -- > Christians would be tortured and killed
- 3rd -- > Bishops and leaders would be taken & prisoners & tortured for the sacrifice to the human gods.
- 4th -- > all Christians had to offer a sacrifice to the god.
- Constantine rules as emperor 306-337
- What was his connection with Christianity? *
- When the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who controlled from 306 to 337 lead Rome, Christianity became the main religion of the Empire. Historians are still unsure about his reasons for favoring Christianity, and theologians and historians debated about which form of Christianity he promised to. Although Constantine had been open to Christianity by his mom Helena, there is no agreement between scholars as to whether he accepted his mother's Christianity in his childhood, or as he got older through his life and he didn’t get baptized until right before he died.
- Grew up in a Christian family.
- Eusebius a historian who actually spoke to Constantine who saw what happened at the battle where he put the Christian sign on his shield.
- Edict of Milan stated that they couldn’t kill anyone because of their religion.
- Also if you were a Christian and you got you land taken away now you will get it back
- How did he restructure the empire?*
- Expanded autocratic policies of Diocletian
- Divided into Garrison troops: front lines, and Mobile units: behind as back-up
- Gave empire greater flexibility in responding to invasion
- Managed to introduce new gold coin: solidus, and new silver coins that remained in circulation during his reign
- Building programs
- 324-330 constructed new capital city on Byzantium, shore of Bosporus
- named Constantinople (Istanbul) "New Rome"
- defense strategic location, w/ forum, palaces, amphitheater, churches
- public baths, Arch of Constantine, first to build churches, first basilica to Saint Peter
- gave grants to Christian leaders, symbolizing Christianity's growing role
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