Decline+in+Classical+Civilizations

Decline in Rome


 * citizens of Rome fled their home because of poverty or death, and it made it difficult to collect tax
 * population drop from 1 million to 250,000, thus it made military recruitment hard
 * higher class were more focused on benefiting themselves instead of others
 * cultural decline, with writings on superstition beliefs that previous generations disapproved
 * higher class stop having off strings because the people thought babies were in the way of living their life
 * Diocletian ruled from 284 - 305 C.E, tried to improve tax collections and political loyalties. He also set up another capital city that lead to the splitting of the empire
 * With a separate empire it began the Byzantine Empire in the East
 * Fell towards invaders

Decline in China and India


 * Towards 100 C.E Han China began their decline with lazy rulers, where they just heavily tax free peasants
 * Civil War was because rebellions from The Yellow Turbans who were Doaist leaders that spoke out to people to have a golden age because of magic. The leaders would attack the weak of the rulers.
 * Regional rulers destroyed the unity of China
 * Gupta emperors ruling locally were declining
 * Constant invasions from Huns were disrupting central India
 * With regional rulers, India still continued to evolve but with outside influences people began to believe in new faiths
 * Class language, Sanskrit decline
 * Hinduism and caste system still lives on after the decline

Byzantine Empire
 * Byzantine Empire was the result of the decline in Rome; When it was split the eastern part became Byzantine
 * First ruled by Justinian( ~ 527 to 565 C.E) whose main goal was to recapture the past culture of Rome
 * Did not control a big chuck of land, where Parthian conquerors had taken over land that was once captured by Alexander the Great
 * Much of the Byzantine Culture was influenced by the Persian Empire
 * Christianity spread around the Mediterranean area; Augustine a bishop in north Africa could not benefit the people in North Africa with believing in Christianity
 * In North Africa there was a separate church; Coptic church in Egypt which still today is the minority of Africa
 * Christians scholars stop writing and much of the past isn't there because the people thought they could not write as well as Augustine, culture drop even as times improved