4th century

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Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the 4th century CE. East-Hem 300ad.jpg
Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the 4th century CE.
Eastern Hemisphere at the end of the 4th century CE. East-Hem 400ad.jpg
Eastern Hemisphere at the end of the 4th century CE.

The 4th century was the time period from 301 CE (represented by the Roman numerals CCCI) to 400 CE (CD) in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity. Gaining sole reign of the empire, he is also noted for re-establishing a single imperial capital, choosing the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 (over the current capitals, which had effectively been changed by Diocletian's reforms to Milan in the West, and Nicomedeia in the East) to build the city soon called Nova Roma (New Rome); it was later renamed Constantinople in his honor.

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The last emperor to control both the eastern and western halves of the empire was Theodosius I. As the century progressed after his death, it became increasingly apparent that the empire had changed in many ways since the time of Augustus. The two-emperor system originally established by Diocletian in the previous century fell into regular practice, and the east continued to grow in importance as a centre of trade and imperial power, while Rome itself diminished greatly in importance due to its location far from potential trouble spots, like Central Europe and the East. Late in the century Christianity became the official state religion, and the empire's old pagan culture began to disappear.[ citation needed ] General prosperity was felt throughout this period, but recurring invasions by Germanic tribes plagued the empire from 376 [1] [2] CE onward. These early invasions marked the beginning of the end for the Western Roman Empire.

In China, the Jin dynasty, which had united the nation prior in 280, began rapidly facing trouble by the start of the century due to political infighting, which led to the insurrections of the northern barbarian tribes (starting the Sixteen Kingdoms period), which quickly overwhelmed the empire, forcing the Jin court to retreat and entrench itself in the south past the Yangtze river, starting what is known as the Eastern Jin dynasty around 317. Towards the end of the century, Emperor of the Former Qin, Fu Jiān, united the north under his banner, and planned to conquer the Jin dynasty in the south, so as to finally reunite the land, but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Fei River in 383, causing massive unrest and civil war in his empire, thereby leading to the fall of the Former Qin, and the continued existence of the Eastern Jin dynasty.

According to archaeologists, sufficient archaeological evidence correlates of state-level societies coalesced in the 4th century to show the existence in Korea of the Three Kingdoms (300/400–668 CE) of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla.

Long Fourth Century

Historians of the Roman Empire refer to the "Long Fourth Century" to the period spanning the fourth century proper but starting earlier with the accession of the Emperor Diocletian in 284 and ending later with the death of Honorius in 423 or of Theodosius II in 450. [3]

Events

Gregory the Illuminator mosaic, converted Armenia from Zoroastrianism to Christianity Gregory the Illuminator mosaic on Pammakaristos Church in Constantinople.jpg
Gregory the Illuminator mosaic, converted Armenia from Zoroastrianism to Christianity
Contemporary bronze head of Constantine I (r. 306-337 AD) Musei Capitolini-testa bronzea di Costantino-antmoose.jpg
Contemporary bronze head of Constantine I (r. 306–337 AD)
Tikal had a population of about 100,000 when it was conquered by Teotihuacan, less than a fourth of its peak population Flickr - archer10 (Dennis) - Guatemala-1619.jpg
Tikal had a population of about 100,000 when it was conquered by Teotihuacan, less than a fourth of its peak population

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honorius (emperor)</span> Western Roman emperor from 393 to 423

Honorius was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho, ruled the western half of the empire while his brother Arcadius ruled the eastern half. His reign over the Western Roman Empire was notably precarious and chaotic. In 410, Rome was sacked for the first time since the Battle of the Allia almost 800 years prior.

The 300s decade ran from January 1, 300, to December 31, 309.

The 400s decade ran from January 1, 400, to December 31, 409.

The 320s decade ran from January 1, 320, to December 31, 329.

The 380s decade ran from January 1, 380, to December 31, 389.

The 390s decade ran from January 1, 390 to December 31, 399

The 410s decade ran from January 1, 410, to December 31, 419.

The 360s decade ran from January 1, 360, to December 31, 369.

The 340s decade ran from January 1, 340, to December 31, 349.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Roman Empire</span> Western half of the Roman Empire

In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. Particularly during the period from AD 395 to 476, there were separate, coequal courts dividing the governance of the empire into the Western provinces and the Eastern provinces with a distinct imperial succession in the separate courts. The terms Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire were coined in modern times to describe political entities that were de facto independent; contemporary Romans did not consider the Empire to have been split into two empires but viewed it as a single polity governed by two imperial courts for administrative expediency. The Western Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court in Ravenna disappeared by AD 554, at the end of Justinian's Gothic War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Late antiquity</span> Post-classical antiquity in western Eurasia and northern Africa

Late antiquity is sometimes defined as spanning from the end of classical antiquity to the local start of the Middle Ages, from around the late 3rd century up to the 7th or 8th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin depending on location. The popularisation of this periodization in English has generally been credited to historian Peter Brown, who proposed a period between 150 and 750 AD. The Oxford Centre for Late Antiquity defines it as "the period between approximately 250 and 750 AD". Precise boundaries for the period are a continuing matter of debate. In the West, its end was earlier, with the start of the Early Middle Ages typically placed in the 6th century, or even earlier on the edges of the Western Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominate</span> Late Roman Empire administration phase

The Dominate, also known as the late Roman Empire, is the despotic form of imperial government of the late Roman Empire. It followed the earlier period known as the Principate. Until the empire was reunited in 313, this phase is more often called the Tetrarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentinian dynasty</span> Roman imperial dynasty in late antiquity, r. 364–392 and 421–455

The Valentinian dynasty was a ruling house of five generations of dynasts, including five Roman emperors during late antiquity, lasting nearly a hundred years from the mid fourth to the mid fifth century. They succeeded the Constantinian dynasty and reigned over the Roman Empire from 364 to 392 and from 425 to 455, with an interregnum (392–423), during which the Theodosian dynasty ruled and eventually succeeded them. The Theodosians, who intermarried into the Valentinian house, ruled concurrently in the east after 379.

In historiography, the Late or Later Roman Empire, traditionally covering the period from 284 CE to 641 CE, was a time of significant transformation in Roman governance, society, and religion. Diocletian's reforms, including the establishment of the tetrarchy, aimed to address the vastness of the empire and internal instability. The rise of Christianity, legalized by Constantine in 313 CE, profoundly changed the religious landscape, becoming a central force in Roman life. Simultaneously, barbarian invasions, particularly by the Goths and Huns, weakened the Western Roman Empire, which collapsed in 476 CE. In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire endured, evolving into the Byzantine Empire and laying the foundations for medieval Europe.

This timeline of ancient history lists historical events of the documented ancient past from the beginning of recorded history until the Early Middle Ages. Prior to this time period, prehistory civilizations were pre-literate and did not have written language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Roman Empire</span> Occurrences and people in the Roman Empire

The history of the Roman Empire covers the history of ancient Rome from the traditional end of the Roman Republic in 27 BC until the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in AD 476 in the West, and the Fall of Constantinople in the East in 1453. Ancient Rome became a territorial empire while still a republic, but was then ruled by emperors beginning with Octavian Augustus, the final victor of the republican civil wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in the 4th century</span>

Christianity in the 4th century was dominated in its early stage by Constantine the Great and the First Council of Nicaea of 325, which was the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787), and in its late stage by the Edict of Thessalonica of 380, which made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire.

The history of the Later Roman Empire covers the history of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the rule of Diocletian in 284 AD and the establishment of the Tetrarchy in 293 AD by Diocletian to the death of Heraclius in 641 AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Roman Empire</span> Period of the Roman empire ending 476 AD

The Low Roman, along with the High Roman, forms part of the historiographical division of the Roman Empire as seen by French-speaking historians.

References

  1. 1 2 "The invention and influences of stirrup". Archived from the original on December 3, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Roberts, J: "History of the World". Penguin, 1994.
  3. ↑ The Long Fourth Century 284–450: Continuity and Change in the Later Roman Empire ed. S. McGill, C. Sogno and E. Watts (Cambridge 2008).
  4. ↑ "The Maya: Glory and Ruin". National Geographic Magazine. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008.
  5. ↑ "The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives". ANU Press. Archived from the original on 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  6. ↑ Lee, Adela C.Y. "The stirrup and its effect on chinese military history". Silkroad Foundation.
  7. ↑ Sengupta, J. (2006). Refractions of Desire, Feminist Perspectives in the Novels of Toni Morrison, Michèle Roberts, and Anita Desai. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 21. ISBN   978-81-269-0629-1. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Kakar, Sudhir; Doniger, Wendy (2003). Kamasutra. Oxford; Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. xi. ISBN   978-0-19-283982-4.
  9. ↑ Bag, A.K. (1979). Mathematics In Ancient and Medieval India. Delhi: Chaukhambha Orientalia. p. 15.
  10. ↑ Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 109. ISBN   978-0-8028-4098-1.
  11. ↑ "Liste Handschriften". Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Retrieved 16 March 2013.


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