ABSTRACT
The emperor Diocletian presided over radical changes in Roman government. In any case, against such an interpretation is the fact that Diocletian's successor, the first Christian emperor Constantine introduced a gold coin, the solidus, which appears to have brought considerable stability to the Roman imperial coinage. The inventiveness of Roman fortification towards the end of the Roman Empire in the West is as impressive as its scale. The Roman Empire had not been prone to exploit the technological potential of new inventions, its failure really to use the water-mill being an example. A great confederation of barbarians had crossed the River Rhine and proceeded to take control of much of Roman Gaul in a fierce and destructive campaign. The model rests first on the absence of any significant military response from the east Roman emperors to the barbarian incursions and the establishment of the barbarian kingdoms in the West. Secondly, evidence that the barbarian kingdoms were established under Roman supervision.
