In the years 476 through 1450 Western Europe saw some drastic changes. Changes in the areas of Religion, Political Order, Economic Systems, and Social Order were the most important culture wise. Political Order changed greatly in this time period as Political Control shifted from the Roman Empire to the Roman Catholic Church. Before the fall of Rome, Western Europe was politically dominated by the declining Roman Empire. However, although the empire was in decline, it still had political dominance over Western Europe.
The Fall of Rome and it’s Reasoning The primary reasons for the “fall” of Rome were factors such as foreign invasions, several natural disasters, and the rulers. The Roman Empire was the most powerful Empire during the classical era. It is traditionally considered to have “fallen” in 476 CE, when Rome’s last emperor had died. Rome wasn’t destroyed in a day. The fall of the Roman Empire was partially caused by foreign invasions.
Also, on a timeline, it states that invasions began from 27 BCE and they ended during 476 CE, when Rome fell. Then means that Rome was continuously being invaded for about four hundred years. In addition, severe natural disasters were another step leading to the collapse of the empire. According to Document F, many earthquakes took place. They weren’t just ordinary earthquakes.
The Roman Empire vs. Feudalism The Roman Empire, a strongly build civilization, began in the year 758 B.C. when Rome was founded. People of the Roman Empire where in a lot of ways alike compared to people under the rule of feudalism. After the fall of the Roman Empire, which was believed to have collapsed in 476 A.D. people wanted protection and where willing to let the lords rule. That was how feudalism began.
Rome went from being a small town in Italy to being the center of a vast empire, after hundreds of years and many wars. The rise of Greek and Rome happened due to their geographic location, government and law, and political system. Contrary, the decline of Greek and Rome occurred because of the disintegration of political, economic and military systems. The phases of Rome history were divided into Roman Monarchy I, Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Roman Monarchy I lasted from 753 B.C.E.
Adrian Goldsworthy. How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009. x + 53.1 Adrian Goldsworthy, “How Rome Fell” gives the reader an inside look on the many factors that took place in the decline of the Western Ancient Rome. He also did a comparison on who are the modern nations or country being compared to Rome in the way they rule or influence other countries. He emphasized mainly on United States in his comparison.
He may have attended the lectures of Lactantius, a Christian scholar of Latin in the city. [ In 286, Diocletian had moved the capital from Rome and established the capital of the western part of the Roman Empire at what we now call Milan (then, Mediolanum), but at least it was still at the heart of Roman territory, in Italy. This was the city in which Constantine issued that document of religious toleration. Establishing a competing capital in the East put another nail in Rome's figurative coffin. Constantine was not yet a baptized Christian when he settled matters of Christian dogma and the Arian Controversy at the First Nicene Council (First Council of Nicaea), which ended on August (or July) 25, 325.
“The Black Death, a catastrophic epidemic of the bubonic plague that began in Constantinople in 1347, had decimated Europe, killing (according to some estimates) more than a third of the people of the continent and debilitating its already limited economy.”1 (Brinkley, 2011) Almost 150 years later, the population had recovered and with it an awakening of commerce began. With the establishment of chartered companies and a new concept of economic life, known as mercantilism, there was big interest in goods from distant lands. These new advances allowed the newly founded companies to start up colonies allowing them to export goods found in the New World. This helped avoid having to get them from other countries. They grew an interest in quicker trade routes to the east.
The year 476 saw the end of the Roman Empire in the west. Rome had been in a decline since the end of the Pax Romana in 180 A.D. However, Rome did leave behind a legacy that lasted for centuries and the significance of Roman law is still seen in twenty-first century law. More so was the survival of the Christian Religion. Rome had a tremendous impact on the Church, and the results of it form the world over the next millennium.
The Age of Absolutism The Age of Absolutism in Europe began with the rise of national legislation and civil bureaucracies that slowly eroded local power and self-government. The rise of absolute monarchies differed from country to country, but the general consensus is that the age began with the reign of Louis XIV and ended with the French Revolution. The Age of Absolutism, when Monarchies were at the height of their power, brought massive changes to the social, political, military and economic institutions in Europe. The Age of Absolutism was based upon the theory of the Devine Right of Kings, which is a religious and political policy that states that a ruling monarch is not subject to earthly authority, and his right to rule is derived directly from the will of God. The King’s power is absolute and he is not subject to the will of the people, the aristocracy, or the church, and any opposition or attempts to limit his power is contrary to the will of God and is considered to be treason.