Changes And Continuities Between 100 And 600 C. E.

Between 100 and 600 C.E, the Roman Empire went through a number of political and cultural changes and continuities. Several changes were occurring such as the division and fall of Rome and the rise and spread of Christianity but one thing that continued was the idea of patriarchy and authority in the average Roman family. In the year 100 C.E, most of Europe was in a time of peace and prosperity but after 180 C.E, Rome started to decline due to ineffective leadership and outside invasions, ending the empire’s golden age. Germanic people spread plagues causing a decrease in population and also took the opportunity to attack Rome. Confusion of leadership caused the government to be highly unstabalized and as the empire grew; lower classes were being burdened by increasing taxes. Ineffective leadership did not allow these problems to be addressed and over extension of borders caused the empire to be too much for one person to rule so the empire was split into two eastern and western

At the time, religion was a necessity for an empire to flourish because often times they created moral standards for people to follow not only in their daily lives, but also in their government. The Roman Empire had several religions before Christianity arose so in the beginning, the idea of a monotheistic religion was rejected. It was looked down upon because it was based on the idea of a “kingdom” of heaven. As it spread more and more, it started to become more widely accepted because of its philosophy of an orderly world and concern for social welfare. This led to most of Rome now believing in one socially interactive God. As centuries went on, more Roman emperors began to accept Christianity. Constantine, who incorporated into it several Greek philosophies, finally legalized it in 313 C.E. Christianity also connected the Romans and “barbarians”, leading it to become a highly positive change in the Roman