Women in Medieval World

WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL WORLD

Michel Foucault in The History of Sexuality (1984-vol.2, 46) writes that according to Aristotle “woman is, as it were, an important male for it is through a certain incapacity that the female is female and the female, as female, is passive and the male as males is active. Foucault also states that Aristotle believed that the relation between men and woman was political; it was the relation of the ruler and the ruled. Therefore, according to Aristotle men are all that women are not and this entitles men with the privilege of exercising authority over women.
Aristotle being a biologist thought that every woman was a failed man. This system of gender that treats women as a category with unquestionable, inferior qualities was also taken up by the Christian fathers because it suited the ancient heresy of dualism, the idea that god’s creation can be divided into two as either good and bad. Although early Christianity had proclaimed the spiritual equality of all. Fathers preached that because women were weaker they required restriction and support. The supporters of masculine rule nationalized their attitude on the necessary submission of woman to man by making use of the Bible and of Saint Paul’s pronouncements like;

“A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of god; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither man was created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. (I. Corinthians. XI, 1069)

By reversing the natural order not only did Christian fathers claim that woman was inferior and weak and that she was created from mans single rib therefore she was not the “mother of all races of men, but they even told Christian men to inhabit a separate world from women because women were also dangerous and threatening. In other words women were not only to be submissive but paradoxically they were also said to possess evil power. This, of course, was endangered by the Biblical story of the fall:
Eve fell into sin and let Adam into sin. Hence each woman was held responsible for destroying men and crucifying Christ as Tertullian in the third century remarked: “even though you may be free of the actual crime, you are not free of the odium attaching to it” (Vol. II, 2) similarly in Timothy we read:
“I also want woman to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls of expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship god. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became sinner. (II: 1108)
These contradictory representations of women in history, presenting woman first as a defective, weak person and secondly as a source of danger who is responsible for all the evils and disasters since the Fall, gave rise to a third view of woman, that of the virgin mother. In fact the Christian religion inherited the myth of virginity from the classical world. Edward C. Whitmont also mentions in “Return of the Goddess”, starting from as early as the stone age the ancients worshipped the earth mother or the great goddess and associated her with fertility, creation, birth and death. In other words to some ancients the earth mother represented the wholeness of natural existence, the endless tides of physical life. Unlike the later male divinities she was neither heroic, self-willed nor bent upon battling against opposition. (Whitmont 43) Rather she contained the endless flow of all oppositions, a continuum. Often as in the mythical figures of Artemis and Hera she appeared in the triple aspect of maiden, mother and crone-or youth., creativity and wisdom. At different times by different cultures she was given many names such as Au set, Anat, Brigit, Danu Hecate, Hera, Inanna, Kubaba and Cybele. For these pagan goddesses, as for Virgin Mary, virginity could go hand in hand with reproduction, as in the case of Hera, Wife of Zeus and mother of many children who renewed her maiden hood annually as she was dipped by Nymphs in the spring at Canathus. Yet that was because the ancients associated virginity with magic, strength and ritual purity.
Similarly celebrants of sacred mysteries of the ancient world prepared themselves by abstaining from sexual intercourse in order to acquire the condition of strength and purity appropriate to serving the gods. Also in the case of classical goddesses the sign of the virgin rarely endorsed chastity as a virtue. For example many of the love goddesses of the near east and the classical mythology like Venus, Ishtar and Anat are entitled to virginity despite their several lovers.
The Christian religion broadened the concept and interpreted the ancient mythological formula of virginity as the moral sanction of the goodness of sexual chastity. Moreover the shift from virginity to virgin birth transformed a mother goddess like the Virgin Mary to an effective instrument of female subjection. Especially in the Middle Ages when the idea that the mother of god should be a virgin overrode all other religious considerations, the image of Virgin Mary depended much upon the Christian definition of evil. On the one hand medieval heresies like Montanism was denouncing and outlawing. (Armstrong 72)
The Arabian love poetry of the middle age inspired the Europe and a new tradition started in Europe. Unlike the earlier masculine world where heroes only fought for fame and for god. A medieval knight would devote himself to a woman and spends his life to please her.
The feudal world of medieval was based upon landowning and was male-dominated. It is very hard to speak of Medieval Women in Europe. There are geographical differences, the timeline is too long and there are differences between upper classes and the lower classes. They were lower from the man and they had to fallow the orders of the man. If they are unmarried the father was the sole authority, after marriage husband. They had to listen the orders or they could be beaten. And the law was very masculine. The Woman population was more of the man because of the wars and the infectious diseases and the opening o several churches, there were lots of monks.
Marriages were mostly made between same social classes but because of the reduce in man population sometimes they had to marry to man of lower classes. It was father’s right to decide who the daughter will marry. Girls usually get married when they are fourteen of fifteen years old. When a girl marries a dowry was needed. If a girl does not have a dowry this was dishonorable for her. The unmarried women were more powerful in the society. Because they possess big lands. After marrying the husband takes the right to possess land. Before marriage woman can buy land or sell but after marriage, it is husbands right. But after the death of the husband or becoming widow, woman, again have these rights.

Upper Class Women:
Upper class woman had the chance for an education but this education was preparing young girls for the marriage. They were sent to the great ladies for education. Here they were learning how to become a good wife. They learn reading and writing, telling stories and playing musical instruments. They learn some medicine too but not much, to be seen as witches. In the medieval era husbands were going to wars and the wives must represent their husband. They manage everything including defense of the place, they live in.

The Nunneries:
In the Middle Ages, marriage was the goal of nearly every woman but the upper class women seemed to have more luck that they were provided with one other option in addition to marriage—being nuns in the nunneries. It was like a privilege because you have to pay for it. Noble man sometimes sent their wives to these nunneries, when they went to wars.

The middle class women:
Woman who works are called, middle class women, they worked in trade and crafts. They can both work at home or outside, shoemaking, food services but mostly paid lower than man.


The Lower Class Women:

They are the most crowded part of the medieval women. The peasants. They mostly live in country sides. They have the opportunity for education but what they can learn were the alphabet and religion. They do the housework but at the same time work for their husbands too. In farm and even in construction.

The lower class women could enjoy some sort of equality. Eileen Power cites medieval records as examples of how women performed almost every kind of agricultural labour and how they worked in food production and textile. Yet as she also points out, this equality was a limited one because first, women’s wages were lower and secondly “many craft regulations exclude female labor, some because the work was considered too heavy, but for most of the reason, with which we are familiar, that the competition of women undercut the man” (Power 412). The fact that woman worked does not mean that they could now take their place in the public realm because the kind of work that they were engaged in was part of the cottage industry which still kept women within the chamber of domestic life. In the Aristocratic classes, the sphere of women was the home, and weddings were arranged and dictated by the interests of land. Despite these advantages, however feudal wives enjoyed various responsibilities due to the inevitable absence of their husbands who left for long military expeditions, crusades and pilgrimage. As the natural guardians of their husbands, the wives were expected to be capable of replacing their husbands and even be able to act like amateur soldiers and healers (Power 417) Feudal women can inherit land, honors and offices or enjoy great power as guardians of their infant children. Eileen Power cites Blanche of Champagne who waged war for fourteen years and Blanche of Castile who governed a kingdom on behalf of their respective sons as examples of women who strongly influenced the history of the early thirteenth century Europe. Aristocratic women of the middle ages were also active in the cultural affairs of their time. The power that they enjoyed through inheritance and administration of feudal property enabled them to assume cultural roles as artists and patrons of art.
In the end of the Middle Ages in law the Roman notion “in foemina minus est rationis” (women have less reason) became so popular that judges imposed less severe penalties on women on the grounds that they lacked the mental and moral forces necessary to commit an intentional crime (Hale 127) Moreover laws that entitled widows to a proportion of their husbands property at their death were being set aside following the same argument. An English lawyer in the sixteenth century wrote that “Every feme covert [married women] is a sort of infant” (Miles 108)


References
Cogan, Michelle. “Medieval Women and Their Occupations in Chaucer’s Time.”
Online. 15 Apr. 2002. Hall/1170/chaucerhtml/women.html>
Gies, Frances and Joseph Gies. Daily Life in Medieval Times. New York: Black Dog
and Leventhal Publishers, 1990.
Jennifer. “Medieval Women.” Online. 15 Apr. 2002. women/medieval.html>
Power, Eileen. Medieval Women. Ed. M. M. Postan. Cambridge: Cambridge UP,
1975.
Rowling, Marjorie. Life in Medieval Times. New York: Perigee Books, 1979.
“Women In The Middle Ages.” Online. 6 Apr. 2002. < http://www.usm.maine.edu/
~flc/emily.htm>

Dynastic Policy of Augustus

Dynastic Policy of Augustus

Octavian was in Illyricum for the Parthian expedition of 44 BC when news reached him that Caesar had been assassinated. He at once returned to Rome, learning on the way that Caesar had adopted him in his will. This was the turning point for the Roman Republic, which will be an empire under the Augustus’s authority and with his dynastic efforts.
As a good political leader he was very well aware of the dangers of dictatorships. He knew that there was a long-standing distaste at Rome for the outward forms of monarchy. Romans did not like the "degenerate" east or the tyrant Tarquinius the Proud, the last of Rome's legendary seven kings, whose expelling led to the creation of the Republican. Caesar's adoption of many of the symbols of monarchy and his lack of respect for the traditional institutions of government had been the main reason for his assassination. For this reason, Augustus gave the importance of masking his power under traditional forms. While he was becoming prominent ruling power of Rome and its provinces step by step, he reflected this situation as the only will of Roman people and the senators. As a result of this policy, his decisions became widely acceptable among the Roman citizens and his dynastic efforts was not seen as a part of the before centuries ruling systems.
For almost half a century, he created the most important ruling power of the world and as a result of this important achievement he wished the continuation of this power after his death. To reach this aim, he wanted to be sure that the heir to his "station" in the state, as he called it, would be a member of his own family or of Julian blood-line. The reason behind his wish could be explained by few reasons.
Firstly, he claimed his descants from Julian family that give him automatically divine statue as the most coins of his period reflect this under “Divi filius” inscriptions. So, any of noble and patrician cannot take his place in any way. When Cinna conspired against his life, Augustus did not do anything. He knew that even if he succeeded, the nobles would not accept him for the place of Augustus because Cinna was one of them. He was not the Divi filius. So, if he could manage to be succeeded by a member of his own family, the future of Roman Empire would be more granted.
Secondly, Augustus did not trust the Roman aristocracy because the majority of them who not joined Augustus during the civil wars had been killed. Even after the battle of Actium, Augustus could not depend on the loyalty of the survivors. He made revisions of the list of senators, in 29, 18 and 11 B.C. to remove those who he thought were unworthy or dangerous. He also increased necessary qualification for entry into the senate and introduced a number of important changes in the way that offices might be held. This made the aristocracy less trustable for Augustus.
The relationship between Augustus and the aristocracy was summarized by Tacitus as follows: "...the most violently opposed had fallen in battle or through proscription, the rest of the nobles, in so far as those who were most readily obedient were raised up with wealth and honor and enhanced with new dignities, preferred the safe present to the dangerous past".
For this reason, Augustus did not want to leave his place open to decision of senate. So, he wanted to choose a trustable successor who will carry the Augustus’s plans for Roman Empire after his death, so this heir must be from his family member.
Lastly, even if he had a divine statue in the eyes of Roman people, he was a human. Like most other human begins, he wanted to leave his place someone who had a blood-line with him. This could be another reason of his efforts to find an heir from his family.
All these reasons orient us towards his intention about to promote a dynastic- monarchy. As we know Augustus was never officially proclaimed emperor. Hence, it was impossible for him to proclaim an heir openly to a position that did not exist in law. On the other hand, he made clear efforts to mark out various individuals for exactly this inheritance. This is a clear sign of his dynastic efforts. With this intention, he also tried to extend the traditional patronage of his family within the usual norms of the Roman aristocracy. As a result of his dynastic efforts, patronage of his family became prominent in the Roman aristocracy which can be easily traced his period art and architectural work such as Ara Pacis of Augustus.
As he had no sons and only one daughter, Julia, he had to look for his nephews, stepchildren and grandchildren to satisfy his ambition.
First candidate of his position was the Augustus' nephew, Marcus Claudius Marcellus. He was born in 42 B.C. and in 25 B.C. Marcellus received some privileges because of his special position, which was marked out by a provision ordained by the senate allowing him to hold the regular magistracies at an abnormally young age. The next year he was married to Augustus' 14-year-old daughter. This plan did not work since Marcellus died without issue the next year.
Augustus then turned to his old friend, Marcus Agrippa. To get a heir from Julian blood-line, he arranged a marriage between Agrippa and his daughter Julia. For this position Augustus especially chose Agrippa because he had a honored position in Augustus’s eye and also Agrippa had previously married Marcella the daughter of Augustus' sister Octavia. Augustus’s trust to Agrippa had been proved in 23 BC when he fell seriously ill. He gave his signet ring to Agrippa, to signify his intention that Agrippa should take his place in case of his death rather than his nineteen-year-old nephew. In that year Agrippa was granted proconsular imperium, and moved to the east where he worked as Augustus' agent. Some modern scholars think this may have been a way to keep him out of the way while Marcellus grew up, on the other hand if he did not trusted to him it would be more dangerous to give him that much power and sent him somewhere which is away from the central control.
To strengthened the Agrippa’s position in 18 BC, his proconsular imperium was extended and he also received the tribunician power which was only Augustus held. In 17 B.C. Augustus adopted two of Agrippa's sons, Gaius and Lucius, who now became as Gaius and Lucius Caesar. In this way, Augustus would be succeeded by sons of his own blood, and in the meanwhile Agrippa, their father could be trusted to run things for them until they became old enough for this position. Agrippa died in 12 B.C. and Augustus’s plans had to change second time.
Before Agrippa’s death, Augustus promoted his two stepsons, Drusus and Tiberius as an insurance policy against the death of Agrippa. Tiberius was more suitable for his position and after Agrippa's death he married Julia. When Drusus died in 9 BC, Augustus took attention of his grandsons by Agrippa, Gaius and Lucius as further insurance policy even this caused some problems with Tiberius who moved to Rhodes after this event.
Augustus was aware of that Gaius and Lucius were too young to succeed him because it was obvious that he will die soon as he passed the age of 60. And his hopes for them were already finished in 2 AD and 4 AD, when they died.
Because of all these unlucky attempts, the ultimate successor of Augustus’s plans from 25 BC to AD 4 became Tiberius even Augustus was against a heir from Claudian line. Without anymore choice, Augustus had to recall Tiberius and formally adopted as his heir. At the same time Augustus also adopted his last surviving grandson, Agrippa Postumus as another insurance policy but Agrippa Postumus was soon exiled to an estate outside Rome in 6 A.D. When Augustus died on August 19, 14 A.D. Tiberius became the emperor of the Roman Empire. This could be seen as the Augustus’s last political achievement because without any civil war this succession was managed.
When Augustus had to choose Tiberius he made another future plan for the continuation of his dynastic-monarchy with his blood-line. For this aim, he had Tiberius adopt the son of Drusus (Germanicus who related by blood to Augustus) as his son but his last effort was also not a successful one.
All these schemes clearly show that Augustus clearly carried out a dynastic policy even if he could not manage it.


Bibliography:

Cary, M., and Scullard, H.H., A History of Rome down to the Age of Constantine (London- 1974).

Brunt, P.A., Moore, J.M., Res Gestae Divi Augusti (Oxford-1967).

Graves, R., The Twelve Caesars (London-1964).

Gross, W.H., “Ways and Roundabout Ways in the Propaganda of an unpopular Ideology, in the Age of Augustus”, Rolf Winkes(ed), (Rhode Island- 1982).

Lintott, A., Imperium Romanum: Politics and Administration (London-1993).

Southern, P., Augustus (London-1998).

Syme, R., The Roman Revolution (Oxford-1960).

http://www.ualberta.ca/~csmackay/CLASS_378/Augustus.3.html

Germanic Invasions

THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE and the GERMANIC INVASIONS
1. Historical overview
The Age of Roman Empire started at 27 BC when Augustus took the power. With the coming of the Roman Empire, a long period of stability was ensured in South Europe – called Pax Romana, which lasted for two centuries. In the system of the Roman Empire, being a Roman citizen was the main source of prestige for the inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin, and this approach kept the mentality of citizenship alive and permitted to Rome to keep the local populations voluntarily inside the borders of Rome. The society was highly stratified and there were several social classes, which were responsible of a certain duty within the society. The city senates were ascribing several works to be done to the important personalities of the city. This way, the state was ridden of a great economic burden and an opportunity of participating to the state affairs were given to citizens. Rome was above all militaristic and the organization of the Roman army was impeccable. This highly-disciplined professional army permitted the Roman Empire to enlarge its area of influence. The Roman capacity of road building was very high, and this way the Roman army was capable to move everywhere if wanted in the Old World. In peace times, the army soldiers were given several menial jobs, like taking part in building projects, and thus the state was realizing its projects without hiring extra labor force. There was slavery in the society but it was rather an economic class, and it was possible to buy back his/her freedom from the master. There were several cases where the slave was set free but continued to work with his master, as a contractor or even as a partner.
The first two centuries are remembered as the era of Romanization of the West. In the 3rd Century, the politics of enlarging the “imperium” starts to fail. The borders, already too large, become hard to defend and the first barbarian raids begin. The Romans start to hire Germanic people as soldiers, and it harmed the inner order and discipline of the army. The importance of the border legions started to increase and these legions got hold of the power of controlling the emperors and deciding who is taking the throne. Thus the age of Soldier Emperors started. It was an age of inner conflict, with emperors from soldier descent, who remained in power for a couple of years. Constant bribing of soldiers for keeping the power in their hands, triggered a very high rate of inflation, and weakened the economic power of the state, and inflicted a great impact to the mentality of Romanization. There were other economic problems that shook the foundations of the empire. In order to mint more money, the rate of gold and silver was constantly diminished, and it caused depreciation in the value of money. There is a partial re-organization in the following years with Diocletian and Constantine. On the other hand, a devastating plage was ravaging the Empire. Throughout the empire, thousands of people were dead and entire cities were abandoned. With the economic, social and political disasters coming on and on, the Roman polytheistic religion, which was based upon mundane happiness, was no longer promoted. Christianity became more and more popular. Mithraism was also a popular religion of the time, but its initiation and its ritual rules did not allow anyone to be part of this religion. Christianity on the other hand was more embracing. At the end of the third century the Emperor Diocletian tried to stop the decline . what he did this was to divide the Empire into an eastern area ruled by him from Asia Minor and a western part ruled by a general in Rome. Soon after the Emperor Constantine made his capital in Asia Minor at a city called Byzantium. This city controlled the access to the Black Sea and was renamed Constantinople. The Eastern part of the Empire survived still for a very longtime, until Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, but the Western part, which was relatively poor and more often threatened by the barbarian invasions, collapsed after one century. On 476: Romulus Augustulus was desposed and the Roman Rule in west ended. In the last two hundred years empire the moral power was declined and Rome was not that safe anymore. The wars started to became in borders and inside the borders so Romans were afraiding to be sacked. It was too hard to choose an Emperor there were big wars between armies to choose the new ruler. It was like a competition. The grain stocks were not enough and this coused lots of problems and there were infectious diseases and they spread very quickly because the cities like Rome was very crowded.
a) The Germanic barbarians
i. The concept 'barbarian'
The term was first minted by Herodotus (5th Century BC), who called the non-greek nations as “barbarians”, because their language was sounding unintelligible. The term might have been used even before, but with the Persian invasions, it also took a negative meaning, like “the civilization destroyers”.
ii. Early Germanic culture In Europe
We know the Germanic People were living in Scandinavian lands in the first millennium BC. They were using Indo European language and this language must arrive there in the second Millennium BC. Because there are not any known place names before this period. And hundreds years of war between Celts and the Germanic people in the Hellenistic Age of the Greeks the Rhine river became a border between these people. Germanic people needed new agriculture and hunting territories. The eastern and western Germanic tribes were different. The western Germans practiced in agriculture. The Eastern Germans and most notifying group of them Goths moved to the north Black Sea region. Here they divided to 2 groups, Visigoths and Ostrogoths, the other eastern Germanic tribes were the Vandals, the Gepids, the Burgundians and the Lombards. The western Germans were the Franks, the Saxons, the Thuringians and the Alamanni people. Vandals were settled at Elbe and Vistula. We know the Germanic peoples in written sources from Tacitus’ Germania. Pliny the Older, in his Historia Naturalis, mentions vindilii (the vandals) as one of the Germanic races in Northern Europe. There are also some early information about these tribes in Oyteas of Marseillas mentions them in the fourth century BC. Poseidonius (Greek Historian) first used the word “Germani” in Late Hellenistic period. The home of the Vandals was the Northern Prussia, but there were several neighbor tribes at the region. With the weakening of the Roman Empire, the Vandals started to improve their borders towards the south. The first Gothic touch to Roman Empire is on the year 376 at Danube according to the ancient authors Ammianus Marcellinus and Zosimus. It was a movement pushed by the Vandal migrations, and the barbarians established themselves between the regions of Pannonia and Dacia. After several years, the emperor Aurelian manages to win a single victory over the Vandals (271). During the last regnal years of Constantine, the Goths attacked the Vandals and defeated them badly; and Constantine was entreated to permit them to enter within the limits of the empire and to settle at the region of Pannonia (331-337). The Vandals remained as peaceful subjects for several years, but in year 406, they started to march towards Gaul, together with Alans and a Germanic tribe called Suevi.
After the split of the empire into West and East Roman Empire, the death of Thedosoius caused further trouble within the empire. The two sons of the emperor were too young to reign and there were throne fights among statesmen and generals. This instability caused three major invasions by the Germanic people throughout the fifth century.
First, a gothic king called Radagaisus invaded Italy in 405. We learn about this invasion from Zosimus, that Radagaisus failed and was executed. Some years later, a mixed group of Vandals, Alans and Suevi raided into Gaul, and managed to carve themselves small kingdoms within the empire. This invasion was also partly caused by the Hunnic movements, which pushed these tribes further west. Thirdly, it was the Hunnic leader Uldin who crossed the Danube and entered the empire in 409, but he was defeated. In the meanwhile the Eastern Empire was attacked by the Visigoths under Alaric and on the other hand there was a Hunnic invasion coming from further East at the beginning of the fifth century.
The consequences of the Barbarian Invasions
The Danube and the Rhein borders were too long to survive. And after these borders, there were no second borders. And after the collapse of these frontiers, it was easy to access to Spain, Italy and the other places. And the Western Empire used her money and sources for the civil wars after “Pax Romana” There were civil rebels in Roman west like Gaul and Spain, and at this time Roman army was needed at the other parts of the Empire. The grain supplies and all other wealth were in the east. After the stop of the grain trade with Egypt. It was very hard for empire to feed the army and the people. They brought new taxes and made new soldiers, but this was the decline and the fall of the Economy of the empire. The Germanic people were primitive and their economies were based on agriculture and hunting. And they had clans in political order.

Cultural Ecology of Thrace

A Cultural and Ecological Survey of Thrace


Introduction:

Although the land called Thrace includes a large part of Bulgaria, Greece and the European side of Turkey, the focus on this paper will be on the Turkish side only. Thrace is an interesting region to study, as it offers a range of different cultures that existed altogether. The geography of the region is simple, where a row of mountains border a large flood plain, that is watered by a number of rivers. One would expect a lot of settlements in such an area, and from the Neolithic on, the region was inhabited densely, and the main Classical cities survived at the same sites until modern times. The paper aims to give a humble depiction of the ecological features of the region in a brief way, and to discuss the settlement patterns and subsistence strategies of the people who inhabited Thrace, in Prehistoric times and in Classical times. A concise study of all features of those sites would be impossible, since the field studies and excavations aimed only at identifying the sites and unearthing them. Many of field surveys give statistical numbers about the amount of pottery collected, but no such studies exist for floral and faunal analysis of the region.
However, it is still possible to reconstruct the past life features, although very partially, from the geological and climatological information. The region is quite close to sea level and because it is a low flood plain, floodings would be probable and do still destroy habitation areas today. However, most of the sites had to be close to rivers, by necessity of acquiring water for use. Another feature of the region is that it is torn by many active fault lines, which caused very serious earthquakes. This also might have influenced the aspects of past life. The region was well irrigated by rivers which took their water from sources sited up in the mountain massifs. However, the weather is generally very harsh in winter and summer brings in very low rainfall and water scarcity. The areas close to the rivers are generally wet and marshy, the areas that are far away are very dry. So the people who inhabited the sites in Thrace might have to tackle with such paradoxal situations and develop strategies for subsistence.
In order to draw a general picture of the region, first a brief outline of “written” history will be given. Then the geology, seismology, floral and faunal characteristics, mineral sources and discussions about their use will be presented. The sites and hypotheses about the settlement and subsistence strategies of the people will be discussed in the third part, in light of the ecological knowledge gathered.
The bibliography relevant to this topic is extremely limited. Some early excavations were done in 20th century (Mansel 1938; 1943) but these are restricted to classical settlements. Some new surveys have been done by Özdoğan and Erdoğu, but there are no geoarchaeological surveys at all. most of the information is gathered from geology and ecology sources which makes it harder to see how was the picture back in prehistoric times.

The History and Archaeology of Thrace Outlined:

The information obtained through archaeology is quite few in Thrace with respect to other parts of Turkey, namely Anatolia. One reason is that the finds were mainly prehistorical and suracing remains were very few comparing to those of Anatolia. The prehistoric remains of Thrace attracted the archaeologists to the area rather lately, and so far surveys identifying sites have been done. On the other hand, the known Classical sites are under modern cities, and it is hard to know since when they existed there and in which prehistorical/historical periods they were inhabited.
Remains dating to the Paleolithic Age were found in a cave called Yarımburgaz, near Küçükçekmece lake at Istanbul during the season of 1964-1965. The cave has two compartments and the higher compartment is 19 meters above sea level and several finds dating to Late Paleolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic Age were discovered. The lower compartment is nerly 1 km long and only remains from the Lower Paleolithic were found there (Kansu, Ş.A. 1965: 22-32; Arsebük, G. et al. 1990, 1991). In Tekirdağ excavations on a prehistoric site continue and an industry of stone toold has been foud so far (Özdoğan, A. 1998).
Another feature of Thrace are Prehistoric dolmens. These are unique to this region and are generally known as European elements. However, due to agricultural activities and tomb robberies these dolmens are being razed one by one (Özdoğan, M.&Akman, M. 1991)
Other field survey in Prehistoric sites of Thrace are being done, especially in the riversides of Edirne and Tekirdağ (Erdoğu, B. 1996, 1998; Özdoğan, A.& Işın, M.A. 1998).
When the litteracy flowered in Anatolia, there was still no writing, no urbanism and no centralized state. The only information about the Thracian language is a ring inscribed with greek letters, but in Thracian(Erzen, A 1994: 87). The mass migration of the Thracian tribes (that Herodotus calls as “Bryges”) is assumed to have caused the foundation of the Phrygian rule in inner Anatolia, but even at that date, there is no historical evidence of a state founded in Thrace itself (Herodotus, Book VII, 73). About 750 BC some Greek colonial cities were founded in Thrace, namely Elaious, Sestos, Selymbra, Byzantion and Ainos. After this era, Thrace saw the invasion of Persians under Darius I and then of Greeks and Macedonians. Finally Thrace was taken under Roman rule in 47, by Claudius (Umar, B. 2003).

The Geology of Thrace:

The region is bordered at the North by the Istranca massifs, which belongs to the Alpine mountain chain. The massif contains several metamorphic zones and stone groups like granite, diorite, sienite; it emerged during the Hersinian period and contains some tertiary rock covers. The other main geological formation of the region is the Meriç(Maritza) delta and flood plain. The lower Meriç plateau is sited on a low area that emerged by the contraction of Oligocene sediments between the Rhodop mountains at northwest and the Gölcük massif at southeast. The Meriç plateau is channel-shaped and ensured the communication of the sea at south and the Ergene riverbed at north from the Oligocene till the Quaternary. During the Miocene a transgression advanced inside the Ergene basin. During this Miocene transgression volcanic activities took place and the volcanoes spread tufa around this region. The tectonic movements continued during the Quaternary as well and while the neighbouring plateaux continued to be raised by this movement, the river basin sagged further (Atalay 1982: 240).
Several terraces at the coastline and through the plateau witness changes in the sea level . At least five level changes are observable, and this observation has been verified in sea level changes in Southern Aegean . At least five superimposed deltaic sequences are observed in the gulf of Gökova, and the postglacial Holocene sea level rise resulted in a distinct seismic uncomformity throughout the region (Uluğ, A. et al. 2005). In the narrows near the delta, an old delta that developed during the post-Tirenian regression, whenthe sea level diminished by –110m . the Flandrian transgression inundated the plateaux of Meriç and Ergene rivers in estuaries and its effects are still observable as a thick layer of silt with fossilized seashells. The development of the flood plain and the current delta occured after this transgression when the sea level fell a little and came to today’s level (Atalay 1982: 241). The delta is advancing rapidly, and alluvial erosdional and sedimentary deposits that are found here are very rich in variety. The most conspicious among them is the backswamp deposits. On the other hand, the flood plain also filled due to two reasons: lateral erosion and constant changes in the river bed (Göçmen, K 1999).
In the northern part of the Thrace region, the Paleozoic formations are metamorphic and show inaccuracies with the Eocene limestones. The Eocene and the Lower-Middle Oligocene period however, presents a very soft limestone bed with fossiles of nummulitidae inside (Sirel, E. &Gündüz, H. 1976). In Çanakkale, those fossiles belonging to Sarmatiene and Pliocene were found: mastodon longirostris, Tapes gregarina, Ervilia podolica, Mactra podolica (in limestones), Cerithium priscum, Phoca pontica (in clays and sandstones), Sus erymanthius, Tragocerus amaltheus (in heavy sand and gravel) (Ternek 1987).
The Plio Quaternary is observed north of Kocaeli, in Ergene basin and in Gelibolu. In these areas a large amount of clay, silt and gravel is found, as sedimented by lakes and rivers. Around Gelibolu, conglomeric formations and terraces present the Pliocene. Pleistocene alluvion forms a large terrace in Ergene basin, and can be observed around 50m above the present river beds. The Holocene alluvion is more widespread and is formed of clay, sand and soil. Around the major lakes and rivers of the region, these large deposits can be found (Ternek 1987: 32). Volcanic activities took place in North Thrace and many examples of tufa, andesite and diabase can be found on the Istrance massif. These features cover a large area till North of İstanbul.
The Thrace region enters into the Pontid tectonic unit. This area is very rich in terms of faults, and generally the distribution of volcanic stones and hotwater sources reveal the fault lines. the Harala fault line passes through Harala Meriç, Ergene and Karaağaç; the İpsala Muratlı fault passes through Kurucuköy Hesaskalesi, Paşayiğit; Enez Çorlu fault passes through Keşan to Beşiktepe (a set of small volcanoes). The earthquakes in the region are very common and their epicenter is mainly in the Marmara Sea. Very strong earthquakes are a feature of the region and the South coast of Marmara is included to this range of earthquakes (Ternek 1987: 41-42).

Important Mines:

Although Thrace features a large number of mineral ores and important raw materials for many modern industries, I will only count those which might be exploited and used in the antiquity. Among them are lead, copper, zinc, gold and silver, iron, clay, marble, and construction stones like andesite and limestone.
At the south and east side of Marmara Sea, and north of Istranca mountains are feasible sources of copper and zinc. Lead can be found at the other side of the Marmara Sea, namely at Bursa and Çanakkale, but we have no information whether it was discovered in the antiquity. Gold and silver are generally found at the both sides of İstanbul and in Kocaeli in small amounts. Iron is quite common in the region, and is found in important amounts in Kıklareli and Istranca massif. Around Edirne, a thick layer of clay bed is sited and the clay is rich in illite. On the other hand, kaolin rich clays were found at Kırklareli. Both of those materials can have been used in the antiquity for pottery. The marble sources of Marmara region were famous in the antiquity, and these could be brought to very far sites, including the neighbouring cities of Thrace. In Çanakkale Biga, a soft green marble is quarried. The marbles of Marmara island are known as Procannesian marbles, and smaller sources were found at Erdek and Sarayköy, towns that are very close to Marmara island. Apart from marble, andesite is found abundantly as a volcanic stone around Thrace and there are some limestone sources, although we have no information whether the quality of the stone is good for construction purposes. Traces of basalt stones were found around Enez, Hisarlıdağ (Ternek 1987: 45-48).


Climate and Hydrology:

The climate of Thrace is quite cold and continental. Occasionally a rainy and mild winter is observed, similar to the Black Sea climate. The annual average temperature is 13.5 degrees and the annual average rainfall is between 600-800 mm. The average evaporation is 910 mm and precipitation is high.
A few lakes still exist in the flood plain. One of them is Gala lake, which is a salty lake. Dalyan lake is a soda lake, on the other hand, and its vicinities are very arid. The Taşaltı lake is a sall and very shallow lake, and its coasts are used as rice fields today. A few other lakes are small and salty, however, they are used in fish production today( Gürpınar 1994).
The most important rivers of the region are Arda, Tunca, Meriç and Ergene rivers, which are flowing on a very flat plain, which causes the plain to flood. The waters of the basin are flowing into the Aegean via Meriç river, however there are important problems of flooding and bad drainage. Because of modern deforestation and practices of agriculture cause the plant cover to disappear more and more and this results in floodings in heavy rains. Ergene river, on the other hand, flows into a small lake and floods its basin annually, which result in big marshy lands and reduce the agricultural quality of the soil.

Soils:

The conditions of precipitation and drainage play an important role on the qualities of the soil. The main kinds of soils found in the region are alluvial, hydromorphic alluvial, noncalcarious brown forest soils, noncalcarious brown soils and vertisols. On the mounatineous areas that encircle the basin, the rainfall şncreases and washes the soils. It resulted in the development of brown forest soils. The brown soils are found at lower altitudes and are mixed with vertisols. Most of the vertisol areas are found around the Ergene peneplaine, and these soils are produced under the hot climate of the basin, where annual rainfall is around 600-800 mm. Vertisols are heavy soils that contain a lot of clay and they dont allow most of the rain and snow to precipitate into the soil. In hot and dry summer days, big and deep cracks develop on the surface of vertisols. These soils are not suitable for agricultural purposes. ( Gürpınar 1994: 14-15).

Flora:

The hydromorphic alluvial soils are naturally near vrivers and lakes, but since their drainage is not always good, generally plants like reeds, carex, Typhae are the natural flora of those areas. Rice is being cultivated on those areas. The north part of the region is included in the North Anatolian phytogeographical area. Here the flora is made of large leaf trees at lower altitudes and pine trees at higher altitudes. Some widespread trees are varieties of Abies, Acer, Carpinus, Corylus, Fagus orientalis, Pinus sylvestris, Quercus, Tilia( fir, maple, hornbeam, pine, oak, linden). The centre of the region and the Ergene basin are now nothing but anthropogenic steppes, due to extensive agriculture and deforestation. machis, pseudo machis and dry forests cover the Meriç valley and the Aegean coast.
Among the grass and plants are many cereal types and small seeded legumes, that cover the pasturelands today. Among them are couch grass, plantago, Festuca glauca, Lotus edulis, Lupinus angostofolius, Dactylis hispanica, Stipa orientale. (Atalay 1983: 81-96).
The agricultural production is being done in a very extensive way today, and the most popular plants are wheat and sunflower. Then comes barley, rye, vegetables, legumes and fruits (Gürpınar 1994: 27).
However, the plant cover of the region is receding because of agriculture and increase of population. This causes further erosion and draught.

Fauna:

The fauna of Thrace consists of a homogenous distributrion of animals, mainly of European origin. The evidence shows that a few millenium ago this region was entirely covered by large leaved trees. Although the faune still preserves its characteristics, due to land use it is being reduced to a dangerous amount. The key site for the fauna of the region is the İğne ada region to the north of Istranca massif, where a large proportion of the natural fauna is still preserved (Demirsoy 1999).
From the recent sources it seems that the most popular domestic animal in the region is cattle. Following this are sheep and goat (Gürpınar 1994: 32). It is a natural result since the area is very flat and suitable for the breeding of cattle and sheep.

Archaeological Sites in Thrace:
There are many archaeological sites in Thrace, however most of them are still unexcavated. Together with a number of Greco-Roman towns that are sited where their modern counterparts are now, a large amount of smaller Prehistoric villages were situated near the water sources of edirne and Kırklareli. the field surveys aimed at three points:
1. to find new settlement areas , to assess the cultural transformation and try to explain the relationship between Anatolian and Balkan cultures.
2. to find Late Chalcolitic remains on the area.
3.To find Early Neolithic settlements North of Ergene Basin.
11 settlement areas were found during the surveys along Tunca river (Erdoğdu 1995). Only pottery samples were gathered in order to date the sites. From those sites, Kumocağı/Avarız revealed remains that show parallelism with the Late KaranovoIV-Kalojanovec culture. A lot of white painted black pottery were found, together with a number of flint tools, axes, and bone utensils. This kind of material culture is found in many othr sites of the region, but the earlier cultures found are Karanovo III-Veselinovo cultures (late Neolithic). Around the Northwest of Edirne a number of sites which reveal material that is contemporaneous with Pre-Cucuteni culture found in the area between Roumania and West Ukraine. However, these pieces show rather local characteristics.
A second survery has been done between Meriç and İpsala (Erdoğdu 1998). We know that during the Prehistoric age the Aegean sea was approaching the region as a big eastuary. Short after that, the aluvion and silt brought by Meriç River started to fill the area and create a flat area with small lakes and marshes.
In this region a number of sites were surveyed for dating and identifying purposes. Pottery belonging to Karanovo III- Veselinovo culture, as well as Karanovo II red pottery were discovered in the sites. A large number of stone and bone utensils were found together with pottery. In many of those sites, pottery examples from other periods exist which show that they were still inhabited even in Iron Age, and Classical Age. A flint tool group found in Bozdere (Erdoğdu 1998: 348) is the earliest assemblage found and can be dated to Epipaleolithic, Mesolithic.
A number of studies were conducted by Mehmet Özdoğan in this region in order to shed light on the Thracian culture and especially about the dolmens that are found in this region. Dolmens are megalithic monuments set upon a tomb and are mostly fund and best researched in North and West Europe, although their distribution comprises a very large area, from Europe till Japan at east, ans India at South. With the last studies the amount of dolmens studied in Thrace reach 74. A few of similar monuments were found in East anatolia as well. In 1983 the Edirne museum moved a dolmen and reconstructed it in the museum garden. The excavations under the dolmen revealed LBA-EIA pottery pieces similar to the culture found in Troy VIIb (Özdoğan 1991: 408). The general opinion about the dating of dolmens is that these were used during LBA and EIA, but their use continues till 7th-8th century BC. Özdoğan mentions that many of those dolmens were hiding in the forest but when they were cut for agricultural purposes the dolmens were also eradicated, and few remain to our days.

A Discussion about the Settlement Patterns in Thrace:

Thrace was well fed by several rivers in the antiquity and it seems that until recently, it was mostly covered by large leaved forests, marshlands and grass. A lot of prehistoric and Neolithic sites are discovered along the smaller riversides, but due to heavy silting and marshing, the evidence about any sites along the banks of Meriç and Ergene rivers could not be found.
Although the Prehistoric sites were very small, the occupation is very dense and one would expect the agricultural purposes to open up the forest land a little. With the abundance of wood the inhabitants of this area must have used wood in their architecture and as fuel. Several sorts of grass and early cereals are still found all around Thrace, and with a milder climate and more rain it is probable that they entirely covered the areas devoid of forests. This must have enabled the people to cultivate grains, and to breed large animals like cattle, sheep and pig.
The Ergene Basin as well as the Meriç basin are very flat areas and if there were any habitations in those areas, they would be affected from flooding. The plains covering this area are made from constant flooding of the river, and in the antiquity it is of great chance that these were marshlands. The marshlands have two advantages that they provide much fish, fowl and reed for construction and basket-making purposes. Their disadvantage is that they also provide a lot of mosquitoes, and we know that mosquitoes and malaria were great problems at any site affected from silting.
The wild animal reserve of the Thracian region is more or less the same as that of Europe. In the antiquity one could probably find a lot of wild boars, bears, wolfs and stags, as well as other smaller animals. however, today the fauna is much disturbed due to heavy agriculture and the scenery of the region does not give a hint about how it was in the antiquity.
The resources are many and there were a few mineral sources that the Prehistoric people could have used. The volcanic activities in the region provided a lot of flint, as well as hard stones like diorite, and andesite. Clay was abundantly found everywhere, especially in old river beds. Copper was also available in the region, together with zinc. During the Iron Age we know that the Phrygians used a lot of zinc in the copper and obtained almost brazz-looking bronze utensils, and one could expect the same technology applying here, although there are no much evidence about the Bronze and Iron Age settlements of the region.


References:
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Arsebük, G. et al.
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Erzen, A.
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Gurpinar, E.
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İstanbul: İnkılap Yayınevi.

Germanic Tribes

GERMANIC TRIBES

Alamanni: early on was part of the Suebian federation of Germanic tribes
Alans: Not a germanic tribe, probably of Sarmatian origin. The Alans became "germanized".
Amsivarii: men of the Ems. A germanic tribe on the "upper Wupper" River
Anglii/Angles: A germanic tribe that came from the Jutland Peninsula (Angeln?) and lived in the Schleswig-Holstein area (north Germany)
Burgundians: an east germanic tribe who settled around the Vistula Basin before moving west to the Rhine River valley.
Chamavi: The Chamavi, a Germanic tribe, are first mentioned in the year 289 AD as a "Frankish" people.
Chatti [added]: A germanic tribe absorbed by the Franks in 508 AD. See also Batavii.
FranksThe founding tribes of the Franks: Schutz states that these were the Batavi, Bructeri, Tungri, Sugambri and others that lived along both sides of the Middle and Lower Rhine. Goths:Archaeological evidence demonstrates that the Goths did migrate from northeastern Europe to Scythia [Source: Heather] --the "Gotones" tribe of the Vistula were related to the Goths. Archaeologically, the Wielbark culture moved from the Vistula area to the Black Sea, supporting a close connection between Gotones and Goths. In the beginning of the 3rd century the Goths migrated from the Vistula area in Poland to north of the Black Sea. The most famous ruler of this group was Ermanaric. This kingdom was destroyed by the Huns between 370 and 380 A.D. Some Goths migrated west to form kingdoms in Italy and Spain. Others remained in the East, forming another kingdom after the fall of the Huns. The Varangians and the Kolbjazi were the foremost representatives of this kingdom. The Slavic peoples called the Goths "Rus" (meaning the Red-Blond-People). [Source: O.Pritsak, _The Origin of Rus - Vol.1 - Old Scandinavian Sources other than the Sagas_ (1981)]
Jutes: Jutes were people originally from what is now Jutland in modern Denmark. Some Jutes, along with some Angles, some Saxons and other Germanic peoples went to England. The Jutes are less well known than the Angles and Saxons
Langobards (Lombards): The long beards. Legend had it that the Langobards came from Scandinavia
Marcomanni: Movement of the Goths force the Marcomanni to move in 167-175 and 178-180 AD (Hodgkin, 1880). The Marcomanni in 167 AD were from Bohemia [Source: "Tools, Weapons..." by Schutz at page 54]. The Marcomannic Wars begin in 168 AD while Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor (161 to 180 AD)--the Goths had displaced the Marcomanni in the Roman Empire and the Marcomanni were not smiling (167-175 AD)(Hodgkin, 1880). Some of the tribes sympathizing with the Marcomanni and joining them in the fights were the Quadi, Vandals, Sarmatians, Suevi and other tribes in that region [Source of this statement: Eutropius (4th Cent AD): "The Reign of Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 CE"]. Defeated, along with the Quadi, in 172 AD by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. The Second Marcomannic War started in 178 AD, continuing until 180 AD. The Marcomanni were forced back to Germania.
Saxons: (see also Chauci) The Saxon name is first mentioned by Ptolemy in about 150 AD. Ptolemy says that the Saxons were from lower Jutland and what is now Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.
Suebi: The Suebian federation was a federation of germanic tribes which consisted, among others, of the Marcomanni, Semnones, and the Hermunduri (precursor to the Thuringii). Teutons, Teutonii: a germanic/celtic tribe whose origins are unsure, whether Jutland or somewhere near the North Sea
Turingii/Thuringii The Turingii tribe, a germanic tribe, was from the Elbe and Saale River areas in middle Germany.
Vandals: The Vandals were part of the Przeworsk culture, emanating from the Silesia area of Poland

According to the Roman historian Tacitus

According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the Germans were notorious as heavy drinkers and gamblers.
The war band - comitatus in Latin - had an important bearing on the origin of medieval feudalism, which was based on a similar personal bond between knights (companions) and their feudal lords (chiefs).
In the first, the defendant had to lift a small stone out of a vessel of boiling water; unless his
A basic factor behind Germanic restlessness seems to have been land hunger.
Their numbers were increasing, much of their land was forest and swamp, and their agricultural methods were inefficient.
Barbarian Invasions
The impetus behind the increasing German activity on the frontiers in the late fourth century was the approach of the Huns.
The Vandals pushed their way through Gaul to Spain and, after pressure from the Visigoths, moved on to Africa, the granary of the Empire.

The End of the West Roman Empire
The decline of Roman rule in the West was hastened as a series of incompetent emperors abandoned Rome and sought safety behind the marshes at the northern Italian city of Ravenna.
The leaders of the imperial army, whose ranks were now mainly German, wielded the real power.
In 475 Orestes, the German commander of the troops, forced the Senate to elect his young son Romulus Augustulus ("Little Augustus") as emperor in the West.
In the following year another German commander, Odovacar, slew Orestes.
Seeing no reason for continuing the sham of an imperial line in the west, he deposed Romulus Augustulus and proclaimed himself head of the government.
Theodoric’s Kingdom in Italy
The disintegration of the Hunnic Empire following the death of Attila freed the Ostrogoths to migrate as other tribes were doing.
Under their energetic king, Theodoric (c. 454-526), the Ostrogoths were galvanized into action.
Theodoric accepted a commission from the emperor in the East to reimpose imperial authority over Italy, now in Odovacar’s hands.
In 488 Theodoric led his people into the Italian peninsula, where, after hard fighting, Odovacar sued for peace and was treacherously murdered.
Theodoric then established a strong Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy with its capital at Ravenna.
Because he appreciated the culture he had seen at Constantinople, Theodoric maintained classical culture on a high level.
Following his death without a male heir in 526, civil war broke out in Italy, paving the way for a twenty-year war of reconquest (535-555) by the armies of the East Roman emperor Justinian.
Italy was ravaged from end to end by the fighting, and the classical civilization that Theodoric had carefully preserved was in large part destroyed.
The Problem Of The Fall Of Rome
Pagan writers attributed the sack of Rome to the rejection of their ancient gods.
In The City of God, St. Augustine argued against this charge and put forth the view that history unfolds according to God’s design. Thus Rome’s fall was part of the divine plan - "the necessary and fortunate preparation for the triumph of the heavenly city where man’s destiny was to be attained."
This view was challenged in the eighteenth century by Edward Gibbon,
Author of the famous Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, who saw Rome’s fall as "the triumph of barbarism and religion."

Not only the Germans, but also the Christian’s had played an important role in undermining the imperial structure: "The clergy successfully preached the doctrines of patience and
Pusillanimity; ... the last remains of the military spirit were buried in the
Cloister." ^2
Modern historians advance a variety of theories to explain why Rome fell. Some explanations have been rooted in psychological theory.
Thus the basic cause has been attributed to a weakening of morale in the face of difficulties, to a "loss of nerve."
Or it has been argued that the ultimate failure of Rome came from its too complete success - the easy acquisition of power and wealth and the importing of ready-made cultures from conquered peoples led to indolence and self-gratification among the ruling classes.
Corrupt high-ranking bureaucrats and military leaders seeking private gain have also been cited as a key factor.
Some historians blame nonhuman causes such as an exhaustion of the soil, drought, malaria, plague, or the presence of toxic amounts of lead in Roman dining pottery and water pipes.
Such single-cause explanations usually reflect a personal bias or axe to grind.
Most historians today attribute Rome’s decline to a combination of interacting forces over a long period of time.
On the political side, no effective system of imperial succession had ever been worked out, and this, plus the failure of the emperors to control the army, resulted in military anarchy, the disintegration of central authority, and the weakening of Rome’s ability to withstand external pressures.
Beginning in the third century, the emperors had to increase the military establishment despite a growing manpower shortage caused by a declining birthrate and by recurrent plagues from Asia (perhaps smallpox or measles).
This decision led to Germanization of the army and to German colonization within the Empire. The West was becoming "barbarized" before the barbarian invasions took place.
The economy of the Empire had been declining for two centuries.
Rome had grown rich on the spoils of conquest.
This source of wealth ended when expansion ceased with the stabilization of the frontiers.
Without manufactures and other sources of new wealth, Rome’s capitalistic economy contracted.
To pay their armies and other costs of government, the emperors continually debased the coinage.
To escape the resulting inflation, the rich invested their wealth in land, which, unlike money, retained its value.
Inflation and a crushing tax burden destroyed much of the middle class.
Eventually, the rigid economic and social reforms of Diocletian and Constantine created a vast bureaucracy that merely aggravated the existing ills in the western half of the Empire, already far along the road to decline.