Classical Civilizations CCOT – sample
Between 100 CE and 600 CE, the Roman empire underwent a change in government as the empire collapsed due to corruption within. Also, the influence of Christianity increased greatly. However, the “Eastern Roman Empire”, the Byzantines, kept the culture going.
Clearly, the most important change that the Roman Empire experienced in the late classical era was its collapse. But, this phenomenon was one that the other great powers of the age, Han China and Gupta India, also grappled with as each saw their reign come to an end in the waning years of the classical period. In the year 100 CE, the Mediterranean basin, and most of Europe, was in the midst of the Pax Romana, a time of relative peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire. After 180 CE, the Rome’s decline was visible as ineffective leadership and outside invasions end the empire’s golden age. Rome’s leadership increasingly suffered from confusion of leadership as succession problems and intervention by army in political affairs destabilized the government. This lack of strong leadership quickened Rome’s collapse as many other mounting factors limited its ability to prosper, but without effective leadership, they could not be clearly addressed. As the size of the Roman Empire and its institutions grew, taxes levied on the peasants grew more burdensome and crushed the lower classes. Free peasants often fled these financial hardships by selling their land and becoming enserfed tenants of the land. With cumbersome and chaotic leadership limiting the economic effectiveness of the realm, tax revenues declined and brought additional strain to the Roman Empire. Germanic soldiers were increasingly used to guard the frontiers of the empire. This expense and the migration pattern that this influx created was the final blow to the empire in decline. Germanic peoples helped spread plagues leading to population decreases, and some Germanic groups seized on the opportunity to attack Rome. Finally, in 476, Rome
Clearly, the most important change that the Roman Empire experienced in the late classical era was its collapse. But, this phenomenon was one that the other great powers of the age, Han China and Gupta India, also grappled with as each saw their reign come to an end in the waning years of the classical period. In the year 100 CE, the Mediterranean basin, and most of Europe, was in the midst of the Pax Romana, a time of relative peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire. After 180 CE, the Rome’s decline was visible as ineffective leadership and outside invasions end the empire’s golden age. Rome’s leadership increasingly suffered from confusion of leadership as succession problems and intervention by army in political affairs destabilized the government. This lack of strong leadership quickened Rome’s collapse as many other mounting factors limited its ability to prosper, but without effective leadership, they could not be clearly addressed. As the size of the Roman Empire and its institutions grew, taxes levied on the peasants grew more burdensome and crushed the lower classes. Free peasants often fled these financial hardships by selling their land and becoming enserfed tenants of the land. With cumbersome and chaotic leadership limiting the economic effectiveness of the realm, tax revenues declined and brought additional strain to the Roman Empire. Germanic soldiers were increasingly used to guard the frontiers of the empire. This expense and the migration pattern that this influx created was the final blow to the empire in decline. Germanic peoples helped spread plagues leading to population decreases, and some Germanic groups seized on the opportunity to attack Rome. Finally, in 476, Rome