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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.