There will be no room in this volume to follow the history of the Eastern Empire, although it cannot be entirely ignored in studying western Europe. Its language and civilization had always been Greek, and owing to this and the influence of the Orient, its culture offers a marked contrast to that of the Latin West, which was adopted by the Germans. Learning never died out in the East as it did in the West, nor did art reach so low an ebb.
Constantinople the most wealthy and populous city of Europe during the early Middle Ages.
For some centuries after the disruption of the Roman Empire in the West, the capital of the Eastern Empire enjoyed the distinction of being the largest and most wealthy city of Europe. Within its walls could be found the indications of a refinement and civilization which had almost disappeared in the Occident. Its beautiful buildings, its parks and paved streets, filled the traveler from the West with astonishment. When, during the Crusades, the western peoples were brought into contact with the learning and culture of Constantinople they were greatly and permanently impressed by them.
General Reading.—For an outline of the history of the Roman Empire during the centuries immediately preceding the barbarian invasions, see Botsford, History of Rome, West, Ancient History to the Death of Charlemagne, Myers, Rome: Its Rise and Fall, or Morey, Outlines of Roman History,—all with plenty of references to larger works on the subject. The best work in English on the conditions in the Empire upon the eve of the invasions is Dill, Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire (Macmillan, $2.00). Hatch, The Influence of Greek Thought upon the Christian Church (Williams & Norgate, $1.00), and Renan, The Influence of Rome on the Development of the Catholic Church (Williams & Norgate, $1.00), are very important for the advanced student. The best of the numerous editions of Gibbon's great work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which covers the whole history of the Middle Ages, is that edited by Bury (The Macmillan Company, 7 vols., $14.00).
CHAPTER III
THE GERMAN INVASIONS AND THE BREAK-UP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
The Huns force the Goths into the Empire. Battle of Adrianople, 378.
9. Previous to the year 375 the attempts of the Germans to penetrate into the Empire appear to have been due to their love of adventure, their hope of enjoying some of the advantages of their civilized neighbors, or the need of new lands for their increasing numbers. And the Romans, by means of their armies, their walls, and their guards, had up to this time succeeded in preventing the barbarians from violently occupying their territory. But suddenly a new force appeared which thrust the Germans out upon the weakened Empire. The Huns, a Mongolian folk from central Asia, swept down upon the Goths, who were a German tribe settled upon the Danube, and forced a part of them to seek shelter across the river, within the boundaries of the Empire. Here they soon fell out with the imperial officials, and a great battle was fought at Adrianople in 378 in which the Goths defeated and slew the emperor, Valens. The Germans had now not only broken through the boundaries of the Empire, but they had also learned that they could defeat the Roman legions. The battle of Adrianople may, therefore, be said to mark the beginning of the conquest of the western part of the Empire by the Germans. For some years, however, after the battle of Adrianople the various bands of West Goths—or Visigoths, as they are often called—were induced to accept the terms offered by the emperor's officials and some of the Goths agreed to serve as soldiers in the Roman armies.