Fowden, Garth. "The Last Days of Constantine: Oppositional Versions and Their
Influence." Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 84 (Nov., 1994): 146-170.
Garth discusses Constantine's conversion and its historical narrative as a piece of Christian propaganda and describes how oppositional versions of the Emperor's late baptism and death helped shape and mold the "orthodox" narrative of events that became accepted as Christianity became more and more institutionalized. The purpose of Garth's article is to cast doubt upon the authenticity of the conversion of Constantine and to promote the oppositional viewpoint that Constantine was not really a Christian at heart. While Garth does provide some evidence for these claims, he ignores other evidence that points to the contrary and when he does address it he does so only with the purpose of evincing skepticism.
2.
Ando, Clifford. "Decline, Fall, and Transformation." Journal of Late Antiquity, vol. 1,
no. 1 (Spring, 2008): 31-60.
Ando describes the effect of the fall of the Western Empire on the early Church and how the fall of the Empire and the rise of the Church were manifested in histories and commentaries from that day and age. The article describes the citizens of Rome throughout the era of the Fall as more like "half-citizens" who were not really fully Roman in the same...
Literature, learning, and scholarly life wad preserved within the monastery, even while the previous areas of Rome were left in disarray. Perhaps most importantly, the monasteries began to give hope to those devastated by the fall of Rome. Individuals who had once been prosperous now found themselves destitute, and the religious beliefs of the monasteries provided hope for eternal life and salvation. Further, these monasteries provided health care to the
Christianity as a Prime Reason for the Fall of the Roman Empire Some scholars place the founding of Rome to April 21, 753 B.C., but others dispute that date. As to Rome's demise, one scholar of note, historian Edward Gibbon, places the date of the fall of Rome on September 4, A.D., 476. Gibbon, who published what is considered the most authoritative book on Rome's downfall (The History of the Decline
The education system of the Byzantine region spread through to the other nations, with them adopting new words from the Arab language, hence enriching their language. The social status of the slaves improved, whereas that of the elite and those who fought against the invasion deteriorated as they lost control over their territories. The effects on Arab society The interactions between the Arabs and the non-Arab community resulted in several changes
And many spiritual leaders would argue that a life without commitments is a life without meaning. So what do Americans do to fill that void? They take on another addiction -- which leaves them feeling even emptier -- and the vicious cycle begins. Some activists even claim the result of living in such a morally-vacuous, alienating, consumer-driven culture is an entire nation suffering from "a collective wounding" (Shaw, 2008).
Reformation Protestant Reformation For most of the 1000 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Catholic Church was the only centralized authority in Western Europe. While kingdoms rose and fell, the Church remained and was the only religious authority in Europe. But beginning in the 15th century, people began to question the authority of the Catholic Church and specifically the Pope. What followed was a turning point in the
Decius had come to the throne at a particularly crucial time. Rome had just celebrated its one thousandth year of rule in 247, but the Goths had attacked Rome in 248. Decius had forced the Goths out of the Danube provinces and in return had been hailed emperor by his troops (he would die fighting the Goths in June 251). In the midst of this crisis, Decius appealed to
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