ABSTRACT
By 395 AD the Roman Empire had changed considerably since the time of its first emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). Increased external pressures, deteriorating economic conditions and political disorder aggravated by dynastic insecurity and the ambitions of generals led to the abandonment of outlying provinces and a period of prolonged upheaval in the third century. A major reorganization introduced by Diocletian (284-305) and continued by Constantine (306-37) saw the elevation of the emperor into a remote autocrat along Eastern lines, the creation of a large bureaucracy and a division of the army into a two-tier force consisting of elite mobile units and poorer quality local troops. In an attempt to improve local efficiency and to minimize the risk of revolt Diocletian doubled the number of provinces and grouped them into dioceses under vicarii, while Constantine established a separation of powers between civil governors and military commanders. After defeating his opponents at the Milvian Bridge (312), Constantine became a Christian and promoted what had been a minority faith by appointing Christians to key positions and endowing the Church with lands and buildings. Theological divisions remained acute, however, and pagan rites were not proscribed until the reign of Theodosius I (37895). Constantine’s transfer of the capital to the strategic site of Byzantium, re-named Constantinople in 330, reflected both his commitment to his new faith and the increasing importance of the East in the empire.
