Change Over Time Essay

In the last centuries of the classical era in the Roman Empire there were many cultural changes, political changes, cultural continuities, and political continuities.

            Roman Culture changed a lot during 100 C.E. to 600 C.E. As the quality of Imperial rule declines, as life became more dangerous and economic survival more precarious, many farmers clustered around the protection of large land lords, giving them full control over their land in hope of military and judicial protection. This manorial-like system gave great power to local landlords but weakened the power of the emperor and moved the economy away from the elaborate and successful trade patterns. Trade and production declined and due to that, cities shrank in size. The upper-class no longer produced many offspring, for bearing and raising children seemed incompatible with a life of pleasure seeking. Constantine tried to use the religious force of Christianity of unify the empire spiritually. Christianity spread under his official sponsorship.

The Roman Empire endured many changes politically such as the division of the empire into east and west. Political confusion produced a series of weak emperors and many disputes over succession to the throne. The quality of political and economic life began to shift after 180 C.E. The fall of Rome can be blamed on large, impersonal forces that would be hard for the society to control or it can be blamed on a moral and political decay.

The culture of Rome continued to expand in the Byzantine Empire. Despite the changes over time, Eastern Rome, or the Byzantine Empire was able to maintain most of the Roman Empires original laws and cultural ideas. The Emperors of the Byzantine Empire tried to keep their nation as close to the original Roman Empire as possible. The original ideals and beliefs were integrated into the laws and beliefs of its own culture. The Byzantine Empire was able to keep the Greco-Roman legal and cultural traditions by using the old laws in the same way in their new nation. This was probably most likely because the Romans had used these laws for hundreds of years and they worked fine for them. The Byzantine Empire was a product of late Imperial Rome. It was vibrant, artistically creative, and was active in trade.

Politics continued because some emperors tried vigorously to reverse the way the economy was going. Diocletian tightened up the administration of the empire and tried to improve tax collection.  Diocletian attempted to direct political loyalties to his own person, exerting pressure to worship the emperor as god. The practice of Christianity was refused by the Roman authorities because the teachings of the bible wanted the people to put God before the empire and the Emperor did not want that.

Rome was a marvelous empire, very diverse in culture and politics. The changes and continuities of its culture and politics were very bold.