ABSTRACT
The Roman Empire was radically transformed during the fifth century, which effectively extends from 395 to 518. Theodosius the Great had recognized that simultaneous pressure from Persian kings in the East and migrating German tribes in the West required a continual Imperial presence on both fronts. The West faced a greater number of external threats along more permeable frontiers and could no longer depend on surplus revenues from the East. The East could pursue war and diplomacy more effectively with the centralized Persian Empire on the long eastern frontier. In the late Roman Empire, Christian theological disputes always had great political significance. The death of Theodosius the Great in 395 ushered in a confusing and chaotic century for the Roman Empire. By the end, the western half had disintegrated into a number of unstable Germanic kingdoms.
