1. Rebuilding the Roman Empire, 284-395
   Seeking an end to civil wars, a viable military to defend the borders, and a strong economic base for taxation, Diocletian and his successors transformed the empire.
   1. The Reforms of Diocletian (r. 284-305)
      With his tetrarchs as additional governors and commanders, Diocletian drastically expanded his army, imperial administration, and powers of taxation.
   2. The Reforms of Constantine (r. 306-337)
      Expanding upon Diocletian's policies, Constantine established an eastern capital and separated military from civilian command. He converted to Christianity and provided for legal tolerance of Christianity in the empire.
   3. The Fourth-Century Empire: A Fragile Stability
      The growing Roman army dominated the imperial succession and faced threats of invasion, but the taxes and legislation needed to support it alienated provincial elites.
2. The Catholic Church and the Roman Empire, 313-604
   Christianity came to dominate the empire, as the church itself struggled for uniform belief, increased the power of the Pope, and developed monastic life.
   1. Emperors, Bishops, and Heretics
      Constantine and his successors called the first ecumenical (all-world) church councils to define the terms of Christian belief and end controversies over doctrine. Nonetheless, "heresies" such as Arianism and Monophysitism proved robust.
   2. The Institutional Development of the Catholic Church, ca. 300-600
      The growing authority of bishops in general and the papacy in particular was supported by emperors, although they rejected some of the papacy's claims.
   3. The Rise of Christian Monasticism
      The early Christian church produced eremitic asceticism and cenobitic communitarian traditions of monasticism, such as St. Benedict's Rule.
3. The Rise of Germanic Kingdoms in the West, ca. 370-530
   The western provinces became separate Germanic kingdoms while retaining ties with the surviving eastern Roman Empire.
   1. Invasions and Migrations
      Viewed as inferior by the Romans, the "barbarians" were Germanic-speaking confederations whose encounters with Rome were as often peaceful as violent.
   2. Incorporating the Barbarians
      The Huns and the Visigoths exposed Rome's weakness in the west, culminating in Theodoric's establishment of the first Germanic kingdom on Roman soil in 418.
   3. More Kingdoms: The End of Direct Roman Rule in the West
      Rome's western presence disappeared by the 530s, but provincial elites linked the new Germanic kingdoms to Roman traditions.
   4. Old and New in the West
      Germanic customs of military kingship coexisted with surviving Roman practices in taxation and administration.
4. The Roman Empire in the East, 395-565
   The reality of a divided empire and an independent West contradicted theories of a united empire held in the populous, urbanized, prosperous East.
   1. Constantinople and Its Rulers
      Thanks to the efforts of its emperors, the capital city of the later Roman Empire became a "New Rome" as magnificent as old Rome.
   2. Emperor Justinian (r. 527-565)
      Tireless in his efforts, Justinian's amazing record of military conquest, administrative and legal reform, and religious leadership reflected his traditional conception of imperial authority.
5. Society and Culture in Late Antiquity
   1. Social Hierarchies and Realities
      As provincial elites and barbarians were brought into the hierarchies of power, more poor farmers lost their freedom and Christian ethics transformed cultural values and practices.
   2. The Quest for a Catholic Tradition
      Creed and canon established, Church Fathers addressed the intellectual, moral, and practical issues of the faith.
   3. Saint Augustine and the Christian Tradition
      The most influential Christian thinker after St. Paul, Augustine crowned the intellectual achievements of the early church and laid the foundation for later Christian thought. Augustine set the pattern for education in the Catholic world for the next millenium, arguing that the non-Christian writings of classical Greece and Rome were worth learning only insofar as they facilitated understanding the Bible and achieving salvation.