112 Chapter 6
and this formula was defined even more carefully by
the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (see document 6.2). It
eventually became the orthodox position in both the
eastern and the western churches, but, for many, the
question remained unsettled.
The Final Division of the Empire
and the Decline of the West
In retrospect, the reign of Constantine seemed to many
a golden age. People saw the reunification of the em-
pire, the establishment of a new capital, and the accep-
tance of Christianity as extraordinary achievements
whose luster was enhanced by the godlike ritual that
surrounded the emperor and by the overall competence
of his administration. Yet for all his apparent brilliance,
Constantine failed to solve the basic problems that
were tearing apart the empire. He did nothing to limit
the political influence of the army or to develop an or-
derly process of imperial succession. Though he was
lucky enough to escape a major crisis along his north-
ern and western borders, the underlying military and
economic weakness of the west remained (see map 6.2).
By shifting the center of government from west to east,
he may have accelerated the west’s decline.
Constantine’s death in 337 was followed by a bitter
struggle between his sons that ended with the victory
of the Arian Constantius II (d. 361). Constantius’s suc-
cessor, Julian, known as the Apostate, rejected Chris-
tianity altogether. His effort to restore paganism died
with him in 363 on a remote Mesopotamian battlefield.
Imperial unity died as well. To western Germans such
as the Franks and Alemanni, Julian’s ill-fated attempt to
destroy the Sassanid Empire provided them with an op-
portunity for renewed attacks along the Rhine and up-
per Danube. Realizing that the German threat would
require all of his attention, the new emperor, Valentin-
ian (reigned 364–375), established himself at Milan in
northern Italy and left the eastern half of the empire to
his brother Valens (reigned 364–378). The brothers
maintained separate courts and administrations—the
one Latin-speaking, the other Greek. The division be-
tween east and west, which had slowed at least out-
wardly under Constantine, accelerated.
Valentinian neutralized the Germans on the Rhine.
Upon his death in 375, he left the western half of the
empire to his son, Gratian. The next year a more seri-
ous crisis developed in the Balkans. The Huns, an Asi-
atic people of uncertain origin, conquered the
Ostrogothic kingdom north of the Black Sea and
pressed westward against the Visigoths who inhabited
the lower Danube. The Visigoths asked and received
permission to seek refuge within the empire. They re-
paid Valen’s generosity by looting the Balkan provinces.
The emperor was forced to break off yet another war
with the Persians to confront them. The result was dis-Illustration 6.6
The Basilica of Santa Maria Mag-
giore, Rome.The basilica, with its
columned side isles and flat roof, was
adapted from earlier Roman architec-
tural practice and became the standard
for Christian church construction in the
west after Constantine’s conversion.
This example was built between 432
and 440.