GENA 2112 The Characteristics of Western Culture The

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GENA 2112 The Characteristics of Western Culture The Decline & Fall of the Roman

GENA 2112 The Characteristics of Western Culture The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire 5/20/2021 Prof. Frederick Hok-ming

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire o Edward Gibbon, The Decline & Fall

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire o Edward Gibbon, The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire o (吉朋) o (6 volumes) o Donald Kagan, ed. , Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire o o Lynn White, Jr. , ed. , The Transformation of the Roman World

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire o Edward Gibbon (1737 -94) o Historical

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire o Edward Gibbon (1737 -94) o Historical background (Age of Reason) o What (define) o Where (Western R. E. ) o When 476 (180? 410? Or 800? ) Henri Pirenne (“Pirenne’s Thesis”) o (Arnold Toynbee 湯恩比) o How & Why?

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire Internal External Christianity? Political disintegration Population ↓

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire Internal External Christianity? Political disintegration Population ↓ : lead poisoning, homosexuality, tax? Social & economic↓ Slavery↓ Intellectual↓ Climate & soil↓ Barbarian invasions + infiltration (barbarization)

Socio-Economic Historians o Lynn White, Jr. , o Henri Pirenne, o Marc Bloch

Socio-Economic Historians o Lynn White, Jr. , o Henri Pirenne, o Marc Bloch

Henri Pirenne o Henri Pirenne (1920 s) o “the Roman Empire survived in all

Henri Pirenne o Henri Pirenne (1920 s) o “the Roman Empire survived in all its essentials until the coming of Islam--(800)destroyed the unity of the Mediterranean & ended the Roman World. ”

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire o Literary history: (180) = death of

The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire o Literary history: (180) = death of Aurelius o a Roman historian wrote: “Our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron & rust. ” o Barbarian invasions: o Huns pushing in the rear (from Central Asia) → Attila, r. 434 -53 Vandals o Goths o Visigoths o Ostrogoths o (Alaric 410 Sack of Rome) o Finally, 476 Odovacar (a Germanic general in R. E. ) o Deposed Romulus Augustulus & became the King of the Romans

Effects of the Barbarian Invasion 1. Short-range / immediate results: not revolutionary o ∵

Effects of the Barbarian Invasion 1. Short-range / immediate results: not revolutionary o ∵ life was similar o still Roman – administration, & law (+ Germanic) o (since the Germanic barbarians had no distinctive culture of their own, they accepted what they found in Italy)

Effects of the Barbarian Invasion 2. Medium-long range effects: o a further acceleration of

Effects of the Barbarian Invasion 2. Medium-long range effects: o a further acceleration of the decline in the west o ∴ “West” = the “barbarian West” o (the beginning of the Middle Ages) o the Germanic principle of “personal loyalty”人治 prevailed in the west in the Middle Ages

Four Applicable Categories 1. 2. 3. 4. Death by accident (J. B. Bury) Natural

Four Applicable Categories 1. 2. 3. 4. Death by accident (J. B. Bury) Natural causes (Gibbon, Boak, & Walbank) Murder (: barbarians ) (Gibbon & Toynbee) Suicide (Westermann) o (+ psychologically, strategically, & philosophically) stop expansion = the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire Q: o Causes for the rise of Christianity o To what extent did Christianity cause the decline & fall of the Roman Empire?