Roman Influence On Western Europe

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The Roman Empire did things that no other empires have been able to do. Five hundred years of economic prosperity, cultural influence, and military dominance caused many to think that Rome was invincible. However, the inevitable prevailed for Rome. At the turn of the fourth and fifth centuries, we see the fall of the Western Roman Empire in Europe, replaced by the numerous Germanic tribes surrounding the borders to the North. This set the stage for what would become of Europe and set the informal beginning for what we would call the Middle Ages. But did the once mighty Roman influence in Europe come to a bitter end with the sack of Rome in 476, or did their influence run in continuity with the cultural themes arising within the early medieval …show more content…
Constantine’s reasons for moving the capital include centralizing the capital of the empire, moving the royal palace closer to major trade routes in the Middle East, and attempt to integrate the vastly different cultures of the people in the east and the people in Europe. Such changes that would follow include towns and villages switching from an interdependent society to an independent one, a lessening of influence the Senate had on political affairs and on the army, and even a change in clothing and fashion for which represented nobility and authority. A historian who had a favorable relationship to Clovis and his Frankish kingdom in the 5th century AD, Gregory of Tours, is quoted in his work, History of the Franks, mentioning the distinct appearance of eastern tradition by recalling, “Clovis received an appointment to the consulship from the emperor Anastasius (Roman Emperor in Constantinople), and in the church of the blessed Martin he clad himself in the purple tunic and chlamys, and placed a diadem on his head.” Royalty and the wealthy in the Middle East around this time wore very lavish and colorful fabrics to represent their authority. Gregory makes note of this, and documents its contrast. This is only the 5th century and we are already beginning to see high court officials, stretching as far as the Franks in northern Europe, take on this lavish eastern look. In fact, cities and villages throughout Western Europe were beginning to take on a more independent and self-sustaining type of governing. Evidence of this is seen through the decline of trade routes throughout Europe and serfdom serving as the mechanism for farming and sustainment. Authors of the textbook The

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