Rome: Roman Empire and Christian Church Essay

Submitted By Nicholas-Phillip
Words: 396
Pages: 2

In the time between 100 C.E. and 600 C.E, Rome underwent a wide variety of culture and political changed due to the growth of the Christian church, invasions of Germanic peoples and the increasing presence of their cultural influence. Despite many changes the cultural and political practices of Rome were maintained for over 1000 years by the Byzantine Empire.

Viewing the cultural aspects of Rome, In 100 C.E. Rome was a multiethnic empire in the midst of Pax-Romana. Men dominated most aspects of society, causing women to be considered as second-class citizens, slavery was also very prominent in the empire. In addition to this the empire as a whole was polytheistic, with the emperor at the head of the religion, and the thinking that Christianity was a cult. Over time however there have been many reasons for change, which include the growth of Christianity, the growing power of the Christian church, and growing cultural influence of Germanic peoples. By 600 C.E. there was a schism in the Christian church, which led to the creation of eastern orthodox and Christianity was the state religion, and Serfs had taken the place of slaves in society. Although there were many changes during this time period, women were still restricted.

In 100 C.E. the political aspect of Rome were like many of that time period in the sense that men dominated society, taking many of the political roles in society. Additionally Rome had a bureaucratic government that imposed heavy taxes on the people living in within the reaches of the empire. Furthermore, Rome was extremely prosperous and had created a complex legal system.