Why Rome Fell

Introduction

Only a handful of Roman emperors are household names, and, of those, two, Augustus and Constantine, are pre-eminent but for very different reasons. Augustus established a form of government that would last for nigh on three centuries, and become a byword for stability, justice, and peace.

Constantine cast a long shadow by embracing Christianity and by establishing a new capital in Constantinople. Less well known, but long-lasting nevertheless, were his administrative and military reforms, including in particular his appointment to high civil (but not military) office in the West members of the senatorial aristocracy, who had been virtually excluded from any appointments under Diocletian.

A comparative thematic view will clarify the issues to be tackled in this study:

• Monarchy: From Augustus’s victory over Antony in 31 BCE, Rome was a monarchy: First, the so-called Principate, which lasted until 284 then the “Dominate” under Diocletian and early Constantine until 312 in the empire as a whole and perpetuated in the East, or Byzantine Empire, until 1453, and, in the West, the new Constantinian model of monarchy, from around 312 until the fall of the western empire, conventionally dated to 476, and beyond, in the “barbarian” successor states in the West.
• Power structure: There is a natural antipathy between monarchy and aristocracy or oligarchy. Strong monarchy ideally needs support from the lower classes against the aristocracy, which, however, should not be unduly antagonized. ...