CCOT Romans 100 600
Changes and Continuities in the Roman Empire Between 100 CE and 600 CE Between the years 100 CE and 600 CE the Romans were experiencing plenty of changes within the empire. They experienced the overall collapse of their empire, and Christianity gained a foothold in their culture. In addition to these changes however, the empire experienced many continuities of Roman traditions thanks to the Byzantine Empire that came after its decline. The most substantial change that the empire underwent in the late classical era was its decline and eventual collapse. Around 100 CE, the empire was experiencing a period of peace and prosperity or in other words, their golden age. The territory seemed to be always expanding, trade was thriving, artistic creativity was at its peak, and the economy was booming. A short time after that, the golden age ended due to bad leadership and invasions from outside invaders. The weak emperors and leaders could not properly address the new problems arising in the empire and Rome’s ability to prosper declined sharply. Since the empire was no longer prospering, the government could not draw as much from the tax revenues putting more pressure on the administration. Lastly, Germanic mercenaries were needed more and more to fight in the Roman army due to the population decreasing and they needed to be paid with additional money from the already declining tax revenues. The scene in Rome near the very end of the classical period was a sharp contrast to what people were seeing before the beginning of the decline during the golden age of the Roman Empire. In fact, the years between 100 and 600 were not good to large empires as a whole considering the fact that Han China and Gupta India also experienced their declines and falls during this time. The growing influence of Christianity was also a major change that took place between 100 and 600 CE. Around the year 100, the citizens of the Roman Empire were still practicing the ancient Greek mythology