spittle Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Constantine the Great is credited with the creation of Constantinople but when he was named Emperor he was one of 2 Western Emperors (Maxentius being the other) and 2 Eastern Emperors. What cities were considered the 'Rome/s' of the east? If Constantinople had never existed do you believe that the barbarians would have stood less chance against a Roman civilisation that could not exist away from Rome (in the minds of its people) or do you think that the sack of Rome would have been an absolute finish to all things civilised in the Roman sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maladict Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 The two capitals of the eastern Tetrarchs were Sirmium on the Danube frontier and Nicomedia in Asia Minor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerva Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 (edited) Constantine the Great is credited with the creation of Constantinople but when he was named Emperor he was one of 2 Western Emperors (Maxentius being the other) and 2 Eastern Emperors. What cities were considered the 'Rome/s' of the east? If Constantinople had never existed do you believe that the barbarians would have stood less chance against a Roman civilisation that could not exist away from Rome (in the minds of its people) or do you think that the sack of Rome would have been an absolute finish to all things civilised in the Roman sense? As Maladict mentioned, Nicomedia was a popular spot for Eastern Emperors before Constantinople was founded. Diocletian ruled from there much for the same reasons Constantine founded Nova Roma, namely it's strategic position in the center of the East and the ability to move to counter threats on both the Danube and the Persian fronts. Whether the fortress of Constantinople existed or not matters little with respect to the Barbarian invasions of the 4th and 5th centuries. They would have had the same impact even with Italy as the power center of the Empire. I think it might have been possible for the Empire to survive the loss of Britannia, Gaul, Hispania and some of the Danubian provinces if they were able to hold onto Carthage, Sicily and the grain supply to Italy. They could have existed in a more limited form and perhaps reemerged to fight again another day, but that's just pure speculation on my part and not really provable either way. Edited March 14, 2007 by Nerva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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