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The Split between Eastern & Western Roman Empires
Vocabulary words: Byzantine Empire, mercenaries, Constantinople, the Great Schism,
deteriorate
Graphic Organizer: Compare & Contrast
Background
After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 C.E., the Pax Romana came to an end
and the Roman Empire began to gradually weaken. By the late 200’s C.E., the emperor
Diocletian decided to divide the empire in half (two parts) to make it easier to govern. The
system created by Diocletian was called the Tetrarchy because “tetra” was the Greek word for
“four” and Diocletian’s new system had four people in charge: the 2 emperors and their heirs.
Although the Tetrarchy did not survive after Diocletian’s death, the Eastern and Western Roman
Empires gradually developed distinct (separate) cultures of their own after the death of
Constantine (the last Roman emperor to rule over both East and West).
While the Western Empire was more prone (at risk, vulnerable) to barbarian invasions
and continued to weaken throughout the 4th & 5th centuries (300’s to 400’s C.E.), the Eastern
Empire (better known as the Byzantine Empire) remained strong and was able to defend itself
against outside invaders. With its capital still located in Rome, the Western Empire tended to use
armies made up of barbarian mercenaries (hired soldiers) who had no loyalty to the empire and
had different beliefs from ordinary Romans. A succession of weak emperors, barbarian invasions,
and lack of money also made things worse in the West. In contrast, soldiers in the Eastern
Roman Empire, whose capital was in the city of Constantinople, resembled (looked like) the
Roman legions(army) of the Republic & early empire and it was fortunate to have strong leaders
as well as a large treasury. While the Western Empire was destroyed in 476 C.E. by Odoacer and
his barbarians, the Byzantine Empire lasted until 1453, when it was conquered by the Turks.
Religion
One of the major differences between East and West was religion. Although Christianity
was originally united, an event known as the Great Schism, or East-West Schism (Schism means
“split” or “division.”) divided Christianity into the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the
Eastern Orthodox Church in the East. This division occurred because of political and religious
differences between the Eastern and Western Churches (e.g. the use of icons or religious objects
in church services, language – Latin in the west and Greek in the east, who was in charge, etc.)
that both sides were unwilling to compromise upon. As a result of the Great Schism, the Pope
(who was chosen by high ranking members of the Church) led Roman Catholics in Western
Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, England, Germany) while the Patriarch (chosen by the
Byzantine emperor) led Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe (Russia, Byzantine Empire,
Greece).
Culture
Due to its long-lasting connection with the Roman Republic, the Western Empire (and
the Western European kingdoms founded after its downfall) continued to use Latin as its primary
language of learning. However, as things in the West continued to deteriorate (get worse), laws
and government resembled a combination of the pagan Germanic law practiced by the barbarians
and Church law. Rather than settling things in a court with a jury, people in the West used
“trials” to determine a person’s guilt or innocence. An example of a trial would be throwing the
accused person into a lake – if he floated, he was guilty because the water was “rejecting” him
for being evil but if he sank, he was innocent (but most likely dead as well). In general, culture in
the West became more superstitious and less “Roman” after the fall of Rome in 476 C.E.
Founded in the early 300s, the Eastern Empire was a mostly Greek-speaking empire that
flourished while the Western Empire grew weaker. Not only was it able to maintain Roman
traditions and laws, but it also modified them to create a new culture of its own. When
Constantine moved the capital of the (temporarily reunited) Roman Empire to Constantinople, he
took much of Rome’s remaining wealth and skilled workers with him to build his new capital,
which helped the Eastern Empire at the expense of the West. Unlike the West, which was
superstitious and fragmented (not unified) after the fall of Rome, the Eastern Empire was more
accepting of new ideas and remained unified until its end in 1453.
Conclusion
It is hard to say whether the Western Roman Empire or the Eastern Roman Empire
“won,” since both eventually fell to invaders. However, Western Europe was transformed by the
fall of Rome in 476 C.E. while the Byzantine Empire continued to maintain and build on earlier
Roman accomplishments.