THE BARBARIANS AND THE BIZANTINES
In the middle of the 3rd century, Goth raids in Greece, in the Balkans and Asia and the Franks and Alemans in Gaul were the prelude to the collapse of the empire. Aurelian (270-275) brought a certain order after the terrible civil wars, and after him Diocletian ruled (284-305). to whose persecution of Christians the Church owes many saints today. The plagues decimated the population, but the situation of the huge and static economy worsened as the army doubled to about half a million soldiers. To facilitate administrative issues. Diocletian divided the empire into two halves, eastern and western, settling as ruler of the Western Empire in Mediolanum. This move led to a temporary rise from the fall.. This coincided with the rise in popularity of Christianity., which during the reign of Constantine (306-337) has been appointed the state religion. Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Empire. it has become a thriving commercial and manufacturing city, while Rome itself declined, for the enlargement of senatorial powers and the impoverishment of the lower classes gave rise to something like a primitive feudal system.
Barbarians (that is, a stranger) they crossed the border of the empire from 376 r. n.e.. when the Ostrogoths were driven from their kingdom in southern Russia by the Huns, nomadic people of Asia. The Huns then attacked the Visigoths, which 70000 crossed the border and settled in the empire. Once the Roman aristocracy figured out, that the empire no longer provides cover against barbarian invasions, they have become less inclined to pay for its maintenance, seeing a more comfortable future in good relations with future barbarian states.
In the fifth century, many legions were made up of soldiers from conquered territories, and a number of command positions were occupied by foreigners. There was little loyalty and little will to keep the empire in their actions, so the empire was falling apart, and on New Year's Eve 406 r. Vandals. Alans and Suebi, driven by the Huns from the territory of today's Austria and Hungary, they crossed the frozen Rhine and entered Gaul. From then on, the frontier of the empire practically ceased to exist. One author at the time complained. that “all of Gaul is smoking like a great funeral pyre”. It was a great shock, but even worse times were to come. W 408 r. the imperial government in Ravenna was no longer able to repel Alaric (the head of llliria in what is today Yugoslavia), which in 410. captured Rome, which caused morale to collapse in the west. "When in one city the whole world sank to the ground," wrote St.. Jerome — I Became Mute”.
The bitter fall of the Roman Empire in the west followed the murder of Valentinus III in 455 r. Eight of his successors were ignored by the Germanic part of the army., who finally chose Odoacer as her leader. The remnants of the Roman aristocracy hated him.. and the ruler of the Eastern Empire Zeno, who theoretically now stood at the head of the entire empire, refused to recognize Odoacer. W 488 r. Zeno got rid of the leader of the Ostrogoths. Theodorics. convincing him, to attack Odoacer in Italy. In the year 493 Theodoric's mission was successful and he became the ruler of the western territories.
It was quiet for a while. The senate in Rome and the state administration continued to function as before, and the remnants of the empire continued to be administered under Roman law. After Theodoric's death, the Ostrogoths continued to rule in the west, but in 530 r. ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire, Justinian, began a campaign to unify the Roman Empire "from ocean to ocean."”. W 536 r. his chief, Belisarius, landed troops in Sicily, and then reached Ravenna via Rome; w 552 r. the former western territories of the empire were completely recovered, which then existed almost intact for the next 500 lat. During this period, the Christian Church achieved the status of an independent center of power, for the Emperor was at a safe distance, in Constantinople. The constant invasions have destabilized the political scene, in which the bishops of Rome emerged as the most important force - their power was already justified by Pope Leo I. (440-461), who claimed the right to “rule over all, who are subject to Christ's final authority”. The following years were a period of unrest, for the armies of northern Europe sought to seize a greater part of the empire's territory.