433
. The fourfold division of power,
434
. Diocletian persecutes the Christians,
436
. Abdication of Diocletian and Maximian; the two new Cæsars,
437
. Strife among the rulers,
438
. Constantine wars with Maxentius,
439
. Struggle between Constantine and Licinius,
442
. The long truce between the emperors: Reforms of Constantine,
445
. Constantine and Licinius again at war,
447
. Constantine besieges Byzantium,
448
. Constantine, sole ruler, founds Constantinople,
450
. The old metropolis and the new: Rome and Constantinople,
453
. Character of Constantine the Great,
454
. Constantine and Crispus,
457
. The heirs of Constantine,
460
. The aged Constantine and the Samaritans,
462
. Last days of Constantine,
465
.
CHAPTER XLII
The Successors of Constantine to the Death of Julian
(337-363
A.D.
)
466
War of the Brother Emperors,
469
. Constantius and Magnentius,
470
. Constantius
sole emperor,
472
. The fate of Gallus,
476
. Constantius and Julian,
477
. The Quadian and Sarmatian wars,
478
. Sapor’s invasion of Mesopotamia,
479
. Julian in Gaul,
481
. Julian repulses the Alamanni and the Franks,
483
. Expedition beyond the Rhine,
485
. Julian as civic ruler,
486
. The jealousy of Constantius,
488
. Julian acclaimed Augustus,
491
. Constantius versus Julian,
493
. The death of Constantius; Julian sole emperor,
497
. The religion of Julian,
498
. Julian invades the East,
499
. A battle by the Tigris,
503
. The pursuit of Sapor,
505
. Julian’s death,
508
.
CHAPTER XLIII
Jovian to Theodosius
(363-395
A.D.
)
510
Election of Jovian (Flavius Claudius Jovianus),
510
. Sapor assails the Romans,
511
. The humiliation of the Romans,
512
. Valentinian and Valens,
516
. Invasion of the Goths in the East; battle of Hadrianopolis and death of Valens,
520
. Valens marches against the Goths,
523
. Theodosius named Augustus,
525
. Virtues of Theodosius,
528
. Tumult in Antioch,
529
. The sedition of Thessalonica,
531
. Theodosius and Ambrose,
532
. Last days of Theodosius,
534
.
CHAPTER XLIV
The Division of the Empire
(395-408
A.D.
)
535
Arcadius and Honorius succeed Theodosius,
535
. Alaric invades Greece,
543
.
CHAPTER XLV
The Goths in Italy
(408-423
A.D.
)
550
Alaric invades Italy,
550
. Honorius retires to Ravenna; Attalus named Emperor,
556
. Attalus deposed; Rome sacked by Alaric,
559
. Death of Alaric; succession of Atawulf,
564
. Constantine and Gerontius; Constantius,
566
.
CHAPTER XLVI
The Huns and the Vandals
(423-455
A.D.
)
572
The Gothic historian Jordanes on the battle of Châlons,
587
. The invasion of Italy; the foundation of Venice,
591
. The retreat of Attila,
592
.
CHAPTER XLVII
The Fall of Rome
(430-476
A.D.
)
598
The Barbarian Emperor-makers,
610
. A review of the Barbarian advance,
618
. A fulfilled augury,
623
. Breysig’s observations on the fall of the Roman Empire
in the West,
623
.
APPENDIX A
History in Outline of Some Lesser Nations of Asia Minor
(283
B.C.
-17
A.D.
)
626
APPENDIX B
The Roman State and the Early Christian Church
629
Brief Reference-List of Authorities by Chapters
643
A General Bibliography of Roman History
645
Roman Trophies
THE EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE: A SKETCH
Written Specially for the Present Work
By Dr. OTTO HIRSCHFELD
Professor of Ancient History in the University of Berlin
The words “The Age of the Roman Empire is a period better abused than known,” written by Theodor Mommsen half a century ago, no longer contain a truth. To his own illuminative and epoch-making works we owe it, in the first instance, that this period, so long unduly neglected and depreciated, has come into the foreground of research within the last decade or two, and has enchained the interest of the educated world far beyond the narrow circle of professed scholars. Edward Gibbon, the only great historian who had previously turned his attention to this particular field, and whose genius built up the brilliant Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire on the sure foundation laid ready to his hand by the vast industry of the French scholar Le Nain de Tillemont, chose to confine himself, as the title of his work declares, to giving a description of the period of its decay. By so doing he did much to confirm, though he did not originate, the idea that the whole epoch of the Roman Empire must be regarded as a period of deterioration, and that the utmost to which it can lay claim is an interest of somewhat pathological character, as being the connecting-link between antique and mediæval times, and between the pagan and the Christian world. And when we look upon the picture sketched by that incomparable painter of the earlier days of the empire, Tacitus, where scarcely a gleam of light illumines the gloomy scene, we may well feel justified in the opinion that the only office of this period is to set forth to us the death-struggle of classical antiquity, and that no fresh fructifying seeds could spring from this process of corruption.
And, as a matter of fact, it cannot be denied that even the best days of the Empire can hardly with truth be spoken of as the prime of Rome. There is a dearth of great names, such as abound in the history of Greece and the early history of Rome. Julius Cæsar, the last truly imposing figure among the Romans, does not belong to it; he laid the foundations of this new world, but he was not destined to finish his work, and not one of his successors came up to the standard of this great prototype. Individual character falls into the background during the empire, even the individuality of the Roman people; its history becomes the history of the antique world, and an account of the period between the reigns of Augustus and Constantine can, in its essence, be nothing other than the history of the world for the first three centuries after Christ.
THE WEALTH OF ROMAN INSCRIPTIONS
It is easy to understand how Niebuhr, whose enthusiastic and lifelong labours were devoted to the history of ancient Rome, should have coldly turned aside from the period of imperial rule and cherished no desire to carry his history beyond the fall of the republic. Certainly it would be unjust to judge of his attitude towards the first-named period from the brief lecture with which he concluded his lectures on Roman history, but we shall nevertheless do no injustice to his undying merits by maintaining that in his heart of hearts he felt no sympathy with it. For it is not possible to conjure up a mental picture of the civilisation and condition of the empire from the scanty and imperfect records of literary tradition, a tradition that is not sufficient even for the first century, and fails us almost completely with regard to the second, and even more with regard to the third. Nothing can make up for this deficiency except an exhaustive study of monuments, and, more especially, of inscriptions, but this Dis Manibus literature, as he was pleased to call it, was a thing which Niebuhr, in spite of his many years of residence in Rome, neither cared for nor understood. For this we can hardly blame him, because, while the subject of coins had received admirable treatment at the hands of Joseph Eckhel, the inscriptions were hardly accessible for scientific purposes till long after Niebuhr’s death.